For me, social media and blogging has been both a blessing and a struggle. To be honest, sometimes lately it’s more of the latter.
Social media has given me great opportunities for work, travel, and income. For that, I’m thankful. It has circled me with great friendships and people as sounding boards. This is a big blessing.
Truth be told, I feel a big pressure, mostly pressure that I’ve created, to be a cheerleader of dairy and a cheerleader of life. Spread joy and limit negativity; really, this is my mantra. With that being said, this motto can be hard, especially in the industry we live and work in. And it is particularly tough after a year that seemed to lack joy and surfaced so much headache and struggle for so many of us. How many of you can relate?
Perhaps some of you are in a similar situation. Here are my tips for continuing with social channels in the new year:
- Grant yourself space and grace in life and on social media. This is your space; use it as you wish and use it wisely.
- Take a break! That's right, you could delete social apps from your phone. Or monitor how much time you spend on them. Make it a goal to reduce your time on social media by 20% for 2021.
- Block or remove people that don't add joy or end up creating a headache for you. The same can be said about companies with values that no longer align with yours. It is easy — simply unfollow them.
- If you have too many social channels, remove one or more. I deleted Twitter in 2018 from my phone and truthfully, I never skipped a beat. I also don't have TikTok or Snapchat. Yes, my kids will attest, they think I am a dinosaur.
The best advice I can give you, my friends, is to be transparent, like I am being now. Even if it is just to yourself. When you are struggling or simply just want time to breath, be honest on social media, with your friends, your followers, and most importantly, with yourself. If there ever was a time to push the pause button and redirect, it certainly is now, as we gear up and prepare to embark on 2021. Lord knows, we are all ready to flip the page.
Karen Bohnert is a second-generation dairy farmer, born and raised on her family dairy in Oregon and moved east after graduating from Oregon State University. Karen and her husband work in partnership with family, and they along with their three children live and work on the family's 500 Jersey cow dairy in East Moline, Ill. Karen's pride and love for dairy could fill a barn, and she actively promotes dairy anyway she can.
