Is slow living the new hustle culture?

Girl bosses became trad wives, and I fear it's just as toxic.

Social media is going to be the death of us. I used to believe that the pros and cons were pretty 50:50. But lately, I’m wishing it would all just go away.

If you’re in your late twenties, early thirties, then you’ve also been a victim of social media since the very beginning. I remember exactly where I was when I discovered MySpace, made a Facebook profile, downloaded Instagram, and sent my first Snapchat. I’ve had, and been obsessed with, them all.

Over the last few years, there’s been a slow but inevitable shift. I’m not enjoying this the way I once used to…are any of us, really? And I can’t help but wonder—what kinds of effects have these apps had on us that we will never truly know? We can point to a few clear things, but the truth is, we’re still living in it… this massive social experiment. I was never more acutely aware of how it was affecting me until I became a mom. But that’s where it gets tricky because having access to the amount of information that we do can be extremely helpful. Trouble breastfeeding? There’s an Instagram account for that. Want to have a home birth? Go watch your favorite influencer’s highlight. I feel so grateful for social media in these situations. But what about all the shame we feel when we see someone on their perfect postpartum journey? They’re back in their old jeans in two weeks, and baby is “sleeping like a champ”! What about overexposure to the heartbreaking stories of children with terminal cancer or a horrible accident we would’ve never panicked about otherwise? You can’t have one without the other.

We were never meant to have access to people in the way that we do. We’re seeing a few seconds of someone’s entire life and making decisions (good or bad) based on those snapshots alone. It’s not fun anymore. It’s simply exhausting. And I think the whiplash, on both a small and large scale, is the worst part.

In two minutes of scrolling, you’ll see everything from someone’s perfect kitchen to a GoFundMe link for someone whose house burned down to a family-friendly dinner recipe to an extreme weight loss journey. Before we can process the information being served to us, we’re on to the next thing.

On a larger scale, a few years ago, being a girl boss was the ULTIMATE goal. Starting businesses, grinding 24/7, up before the sun, crunching numbers till the wee hours of the morning. Hustle, hustle, hustle. But now, the girl-boss mentality is met with severe criticism from the latest and greatest way of life—the slow living movement!!

Living intentionally is what it’s all about these days, ladies. Make your sourdough, be a homemaker, romanticize every moment, buy some land, have a lot of kids, grass-fed only, cottagecore!, you’re missing it all, mama. And hear me out. I’ve been eating it up… I couldn’t resonate more. It feels like the right way. But why does it? Are we all subconsciously hopping on yet another train that leads us away from who we truly are, causing guilt and resentment along the way?