Welcome to this weeks' waffle in which I feel moved to ponder on an article I recently read in a UK broadsheet about being a “boy mum”. The journalist, a mother of boys, was upset at being told she was getting a raw deal. For so it is written in chapter 7 trillion and 5, verse 3 million and one of the Gospel according to TikTok:
Being a 'girl mum' is way easier and more rewarding than being a 'boy mum'....
Now, if we could all just take a few breaths and close that app, I would like to think that, after pondering the vastness and complexity of human experience, we would quickly conclude that this statement is so over-generalised as to be barely worthy of debate. And yet .... here was an ostensibly intelligent and articulate journalist feeling the need to argue for Team Boy Mum, and most troublingly, letting the existence of said vacuous memes mar her own experience of motherhood. As if parenting any child, boy or girl, didn't already present enough challenges!
And having once again witnessed the quasi-hypnotic grip that social media holds on our psyche, I feel it's important to counter this with the following sanity-defending mantra (deep breath now... )
"Social media only cares about engagement"
and once again....with a bit more welly this time please...
*Social media only cares about engagement*
Social media does not consider your personal context. Any kind of nuanced message is impossible to convey in the seconds that each post can expect to be noticed for. Nuance has, by definition, zero mass appeal, so how could it ever generate the volume of clicks that 'influencers' want? You could even say that any kind of considered 'it depends'-type advice stands about as much chance of 'trending' on social media as, ahem, 'flattus' in the wind... that, as they say... is the 'bottom line'.(Thank you, thank you for reading my joke)
Meanwhile, over here at Winchester GP, we firmly believe that for anything truly important in life; parenting, relationships, or indeed your health, the best advice tends not to come from strangers you will never meet shouting into the void. It comes either from your most trusted personal connections or from skilled professionals, with time to get to know you and understand your priorities. They share expertise without being prescriptive, giving you the confidence to make your own informed choice. The next time you are troubled by a health concern, please think twice, thrice, a squillion times before turning to socials. Our doctors are ready and waiting, sitting in actual clinic rooms (or on a screen if that works better for you) to offer bespoke advice and treatment.
Wishing you all a wonderful week,
Gemma, Tom and all at Winchester GP xx