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Writing my blog and then writing in my journal and then all the social media that has to be done each day not to mention checking email, etc. I spend hours on networking but am I really communicating at all? Is anyone really listening? All this communication but are we really communicating? We run around all day chasing to do lists and checking off boxes and at the end of the day there is still this long list of things left undone. Technology was supposed to make life easier, to free up our time so we could pursue leisure, and think big thoughts but it hasn’t. If anything technology has consumed our day so that we can not function without being tethered to a smart phone. We can not just talk without posting it to Facebook. We can not just be present and watch the beautiful sunset, we have to Instagram it. We can not just watch a concert, we have to record it for youtube. We can’t just be at a protest, we have to livestream. We are so busy hiding behind a camera or a phone that we are missing out on the things that make us human. We are so attached to our technology that we are missing out on what makes us human. Interaction, communication, awareness.
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and tumblr. I don’t even know what tumblr is but I have one and vine. Exactly why do I need vine if I have youtube? Is any of this really that important, that we spend hours on it while ignoring the people who are actually in the room with us?
Nothing is worth ignoring the people in the room, but these media are forms of communication and I think valuable ones. I have “met” people I would not otherwise know through these venues, and I value the things I’ve learned through those connections. It does take time, and we have to think about which connections are serving a good purpose, but I think it’s worth the effort.
I agree with you completely–so why do you do it all? Some is necessary for “modern” life, but a lot of it is just electronic “white noise.”
I am somewhat in-between with electronic communication. I have my blog and use Facebook, although not to post every action I take. Most of what I tweet is about my blog or causes with which I am involved. I don’t have a smartphone or video camera and seldom post photos, which means I run afoul of most social media advice, which relies on an image to draw people in rather than on words.
My blog is small, so it does sometimes feel that few people are listening/reading, but I so appreciate those that do stop by. Maybe I am tolerant of small audiences because I am an emerging poet, and poets have to be ready to accept that. 😉
Did you ever see City Slickers where Billy Crystal’s character is trying to figure out the meaning of life and Curly says it is one thing but each person has to figure that out for themselves? I think that is what each person has to do about the never ending social media sites. Are you keeping in touch with family? Are you furthering your business? Or are you just wasting hours of your day and are addicted to the constant feedback and taking of selfies? I decided a while back to take control of it instead of the other way around and life is sweeter, at least for me. 🙂
It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all the social media but I focus most of my time on the ones I enjoy. Like Twitter and Instagram. I find it sad that the younger generation are in constant need of that feedback they get from social media.
I love City Slickers 🙂
I think something will come along, some day, and people will get off this track. It isn’t that interesting that when something else (that may not have even been invented yet) arrives, people will drop these devices like hot potatoes. I was telling someone this morning as I walked to town I saw dozens of people, and each one had a device and they were looking down. As they walked, in their car, moms with stollers pushing with one hand, hand held in the other, dad behind with his device. Come on, social media isn’t so great you risk getting hit by a car? I must be missing something.
My Aunt said she misses the days when you made small talk with people when you were waiting in line. She met many friends that way.
That is so dead on. We have all become so entranced by our social media and “wired” world that I am not sure we are even living in the real one. Thanks for reminding me to enjoy life…and not just for instagram likes.
Nothing is interesting enough to make me ignore other people. I think social media is like everything else. Moderations is key. Thanks for sharing!