The Hammer in my Toolbox
Sitting in the toolbox in my garage is a hammer. Like any tool, it serves some pretty specific functions, and can be incredibly useful. When I need to nail something together, break something with force, or even flip it around to pry things apart. When I need to do these tasks, I go get my hammer, use it for its intended function, and when I am done it goes back in the toolbox. It’ll sit there idle, ready to go, for whenever I need it next.
However, what would happen if I didn’t put it back? What if I took it out for a specific task, and then just hung onto it? I would bring it with me wherever I went. Being it sitting at my desk at work, or going to the grocery store, or even while I spent time with friends and family. I just had my hammer with me. At first, it just might seem like an odd distraction. Just having my hammer at times and places where it didn’t make total sense, and where using it didn’t really have any practical application. With friends, after I show them my hammer once or twice they probably stop caring. And carrying my hammer around might be more of a distraction for myself, causing me to pay more attention to its weight than what is going on around me.
Eventually though, it might become a bit destructive. Like the age old adage says, “if all you have is a hammer, the whole world starts to look like a nail” aptly applies to this example. Soon, I begin trying to use my hammer on anything and everything. Even if it makes no real sense as to why. If I’m out to dinner, using my hammer to enjoy my meal doesn’t really add much to it right? Or if I am at some event, using my hammer might become more of my focus than enjoying wherever I am at. I might just start looking for reasons to use my hammer, even if it creates an issue for anyone around me, and makes me seek out opportunity to use my hammer, rather than do something more worthwhile.
This isn’t to say I should stop using my hammer entirely, but maybe I should leave it in the toolbox, only to take it out when necessary.
Lets swap the example. Instead of something as conspicuous as a hammer, let’s try something like social media. Because much like the hammer, social media is a tool. It can be used to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as get news about our favorite brands and products. Like any other tool, we should be taking it out for its intended purpose, and be putting it away when we are done with it. Its overuse has brought on discussion regarding its effect on mental health, how it can become an addiction, and even prolonged abuse leading to severe issues. So much so, that some are working to ban or regulate its use. Of course human nature has proven that even when you try to ban something bad, people still find a way to get it.
Regulation can be a good “start”. Helping protect the most vulnerable from predatory tactics, and preventing large companies from abusing their power. But the ultimate responsibility still lies with the individual. Much like with the hammer, no one is forcing us to go into our toolbox and use it. We need to have the control and self-awareness to know when is an appropriate time to be engaging with social media, and when we should probably be more mindful of what is happening around us. Being on social media constantly detracts from our ability to be present in the moment.
Our discernment will be paramount in making the healthy switch. We need to be able to know what is something that should be shared, and what should remain ours. Because the truth is? Not every bit of our lives should be posted for everyone to see—strangers and friends alike. Some moments? They should be kept for ourselves. For only us to savor and enjoy, to be fully present in. That is how we will get more from it. How we will begin to feel those moments again, and recapture what we lose when we do it simply for “the gram” or “clout”. We aren’t doing them for the approval of others, or to showcase our glamorous life. We are doing it solely for us, or those immediately around us. We are doing it because the actions itself brings us an immense feeling of satisfaction, not because of how many likes it will potentially get. Through this, we will find that discernment. So when we do need to use social media, we use it like we would any other tool. When it no longer serves its purpose, we can put it away, and go back to leading the life we want to, rather than the one we show online.
