I hate social media. According to Webster's definition it isn't really social in my mind; seems more anti-social. Unless you personally know someone, there's no real connection other than "like"ing the same movie, music or whatever. I don't know about you and maybe it's my age but it sure seems to be sucking the life out of a lot of people.
Don't get me wrong. I'm on Facebook, Pinterest and Linked In. But I have to say once I get started on one site I feel I need to check another and it sucks me into wasting even more time on the internet. And, I find it extremely frustrating! Even now I don't check it as often as I'm supposed to. I've missed invites because I'm so bad. Why do I do it? Because I feel like I have to.
Family ties and pictures.
Once in awhile someone posts some great family pictures. That's really the only reason I started on Facebook. My niece had to set it up for me and it took me forever to learn how to use it. Then all hell broke loose when someone "invited me" to play Candy Crush. You know the one. Highly addictive, you're bombarded with so-called happy music and constantly changing screens of colorful candy objects. You get sucked in as it goes on and on forever and you really want to give "life" to your friends and see what the next land is all about. Clearing the screen is a big success.
It actually reminds me of a casino -- and I hate casinos. Have we become so shallow that these games and online friends give us our only rewards in life? I'm happy to say I went cold turkey and quit playing games. I have so much more to do in life than stare at that screen!
No one ever calls.
If you don't text or tweet and whatever else there is to do, your phone stays silent. I have what I call a dumb phone. I'm sure it's considered a dinosaur. In fact, it was the butt of many jokes at a recent gathering. Yes it has a camera and I can text on it but I hate texting. It takes me forever to get even five words ready to send.
And tweeting? Don't even ask me because I have no clue except it uses the pound sign, oh excuse me, hash-tag for something. I signed up for a Twitter account because someone told me I needed it for my business. Haven't used it, obviously no clue how to and I'm not ready to tackle that yet. Baby steps for me.
Society demands it.
In order to have any sort of small business these days it seems like social media presence is a must. I was told I would need a Facebook page, a Twitter account, presence on Pinterest and that was a few years ago. Now I hear about Instagram and others. Personally I believe the only reason for this is because the majority of people have their face planted in their smart phones; constantly. Unless you can get their attention on that phone, don't even bother opening up shop. How do small businesses make it?
College and job hunting.
If you're applying for college or looking for a job in the professional world they're interested in your social media presence too. Social media can tell an awful lot about how you live your life, your opinions and beliefs, even your personality and the company you keep. It can be very revealing and judgments will be made on whether they want you to be representative of their college or company.
In conclusion I must ask you:
Does anyone actually talk anymore? I miss having real conversations with real human beings where you don't need to know another language in order to communicate. LOL? I always thought it meant Lots Of Love. I like that better than Laughing Out Loud! Go ahead, put LOL in your comments. I get it. Just don't forget to "Like", "Tweet", "Follow", "Share" and everything else too.
Btw, are you addicted to social media? What does your social media say about you?