Instagram Support

By Karen Farris, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, April 17, 2018

I spotted a place to charge my iPhone in the ferry waiting area—a lone wall socket with no place to sit. So, I leaned against the wall with my cord dangling. A young woman approached and asked if she could join me to charge her phone. I smiled and commented about the battery life of iPhones.

As we charged our phones, I asked if she was heading to Seattle. She was. She'd been looking for jobs with no success. I noticed she was posting on Instagram.

When she finished, she sighed and explained that there wasn't a whole lot of options for her fine arts background. But on Instagram she had people who appreciated her artistic side.

I nodded and told her about a young woman who'd used Instagram to help her through addiction recovery. For that woman, on a particularly bad night she'd posted a selfie when she was high. Her blank eyes stared into cyberspace.

Then the comments started.

Most were concerned for her well-being. Her followers took time to share words of caution, hope, and even directions toward change.

It wasn't just cyber-randomness, but real people offering lay counseling and encouragement.

She posted her journey from addiction to recovery—and it wasn't a straight line.

The jobless woman nodded and said Instagram was a very public place but offered empathy too.

She showed me her Instagram post about job hunting—the picture showed her leaving a building with the words across the image, "I tried and I'll keep trying."

I noticed her post already had comments. I hoped it would give her encouragement. While I may find most of my moral support offline, the younger generation gets support within moments of posting.

I wished her well in the job search and watched her walk towards the ferry. We all need friends—especially when we struggle.

Sometimes social media is a random mess, but it can also be where someone reads words to give them "hope to help them cope when they're at the end of their rope."

A true friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Proverbs 17:17

Karen Farris served in the crisis pregnancy ministry — traveling thousands of miles and speaking to over 10,000 students about their life choices — for nearly a dozen years. She became a grant writer and helps find resources for projects that serve those in poverty, mainly children. She's been a blogger since 2010 — Friday Tidings — sharing stories of faith, life, and purpose to give hope in a hurting world.