Why Social Media May be Sabotaging Your Homeschool

sabotaging your homeschoolI love social media. My husband would be the first to tell you I practically live on Facebook. It’s true! Besides email, I do the majority of my social interacting on Facebook. But, sometimes, as much as I like social media, I don’t like what I see there. Sometimes, I must watch as others (and even myself at times) change from happy homeschooling moms into fearful, insecure, unhappy homeschooling moms. Social media may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I also think it could be sabotaging your homeschool. It’s a conspiracy, I’m sure. Something designed with good intentions, twisted into something divisive.

Building Up Your Homeschool

Don’t get me wrong! I’m not advocating a complete exodus from social media. There are so many perks to the various platforms, such as:

  • Interacting in groups with like-minded homeschool moms
  • Finding neat ideas for making various school projects fun for all ages
  • Watching live or pre-recorded videos of how to create or do something
  • Gleaning from the wisdom of those who are farther along on their homeschooling journey

Most days, these are our main goals as we use social media. But every now and then, something goes wrong.

Sabotaging Your Homeschool

Every now and then we’ll come across tweets, comments, and social shares which are not very helpful. Keep in mind, the people who post these things are probably not intentionally sabotaging your homeschool, but they are trying to get your attention. Here are five types of posts to watch out for when you’re on any social media platform:

  1. It incites anger. Do the words you are reading cause you to tense up or get defensive? Do you feel the need to “set someone straight” right away?
  2. It incites fear. Does your heart beat faster when you read that blog post or news article? Did the conversation you participated in convince you that you’ve done something wrong?
  3. It elicits emotion. Do you find yourself melting into tears over some sappy article or video, and wishing something like that would happen to you? Are you left feeling depressed that your family isn’t like everyone else’s?
  4. It causes uncertainty. After you finish reading something, are you stressed out over your choice of curricula, electives, or lunch menu? Do you flip-flop between knowing you’re doing right by homeschooling and wondering if you should send them off to school?
  5. It encourages overspending. From curriculum reviews to online parties, do you know how much money you spent last month? Do you feel you need to buy something now, so you don’t miss out?

Finding Balance

So, how do we find a way to balance what we read on social media? How do you stop it from sabotaging your homeschool? The answer is in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Whatever is Right

Sometimes, we just need to ignore the angry political posts, the sappy soldier-coming-home videos, the comments from anti-homeschooling friends, the blogs written by people with perfect children (okay, these don’t exist, but it sure seems like it at times!). We need to avoid attending online parties if our budget ‘just isn’t there’ right now. And we definitely need to stop jumping from one program or curriculum to another every time someone posts a success story.

It’s hard, I know. We love our friends, but sometimes we just need to not read what they share. Even if what they share is right, is it edifying? Is it something you need to get involved in? Does it affect your little corner of the world?

Dwell on These Things

If you were to look away from the screen you are reading right now, what would you see? Your family? Your badly neglected lawn outside your window? A craft project that needs finishing? The clock telling you it’s time to make supper? Don’t let social media sabotage your homeschool. Focus on the here and now. Love on those babies before they grow up and move away!

Do you ever feel stressed and uncertain about your homeschooling adventure after reading social media? Leave a comment and share which social media platform affects you the most. If you have a tip for controlling what you read/see, let us know–we could all use a little more help!

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