My Stories Matter
My Stories Matter helps people connect by sharing their stories, memories, and experiences safely, securely, and confidentially. My Stories Matter mimics how we tell and share stories in real life. It was built in consultation with psychology professors and leverages the latest academic research on reminiscing, nostalgia, memory, and positive well-being. I’ve written various articles ranging across a number of different topics to help push their goal forward.
5 Tips For Collecting Family Stories
Blog Post - 03.30.2022
The pandemic has taken an emotional toll on families. Since March of 2020, 27% of parents reported worsening mental health, and 14% reported worsening behavioral health of their children. It's important to reconnect and rekindle our family bonds now more than ever.
Children who are told family stories have better self-esteem, higher levels of social competence, quality friendships, less anxiety, stress, and behavioral problems. Unfortunately, many family stories get lost through the generations. One should not forget activities like decorating the Christmas tree, camping, watching a favorite movie, or playing charades.
So how do we keep these bonds and traditions alive? Here are some tips for collecting family stories.
Find Inspiration from Story Prompts
Grandma and Grandpa may have a lot of wisdom to share but may not know which stories to tell first. Our prompts feature helps you or your grandparents begin telling stories by asking specific questions, triggering memories. These memories can be about childhood, time in the military, or their first time abroad.
Make Your Family Stories Private
We created My Stories Matter to go against the trend of every social media platform selling your data. Unlike the social media apps under federal criminal investigation for data breaches, we protect your information. Only you can choose who sees your family stories when you add a memory.
Collaborate with Your Family
Whether grandma is sitting next to you or just a short drive away, everybody can share stories with our collaboration feature! They can contribute photos, audio clips, or videos to help complete that memory. By inviting your family to collaborate, that particular moment in time becomes whole.
Organize Your Family Stories
We remember only a limited amount of things from our lives but research indicates that staying organized is critical to retaining memories. My Stories Matter, for example, allows you to post your family stories in chronological order in your timeline.
Categorize Your Family Stories
Categorization is essential because it allows you to group family stories. Otherwise, it takes time to navigate everything. Unlike “organization,” “categorization” identifies or divides into classes, labeling. My Stories Matter’s Collections feature categorizes for you by labeling specific family stories into their respective folders.
In a Rush Jotting Down a Memory?
Hearing yourself speaking out loud improves your memory. With the voice recording function in our mobile app, you can record on the go, so you don’t lose your train of thought. Once your voice records, people can hear you tell your family stories. You can also capture the stories of family members who have difficulties typing.
Questions? We have more information about how you can record your family stories on My Stories Matter.
Note: Written under the alias “Arnold,” the CEO.