7-18-15

Social Media....

I did something this morning that I had never intended to do.  I created a Twitter account.  

I did it because my all time favorite cartoon character came out of retirement and was Tweeting.  Opus the Penguin from Bloom County re-emerged on Monday 7-13-15 after a 25 year hiatus.  Opus the Penguin helped teach me some sarcasm and a little about politics.  I was ecstatic to have him re-emerge onto Facebook and just had to follow him on Twitter.  

So I created my Twitter account for a fictional, old, beloved bird.  

When I created my Facebook account it was to keep up with the teenagers that I had come to know in youth group who were heading off to college.  I wanted to make sure that I was still able to watch them grow and become adults and have families and houses.  

Facebook quickly became something that spread into every aspect of my life.  Youth group, friends, family, coworkers, long lost friends... people that I rarely speak to in person.  I am picky about who I “friend” and I rarely just send off a “friend request”.  I usually ask permission from the person first.  

I have an Instagram account because I sometimes do not use my Facebook - I take a break every now and again, and I had adorable grandson pictures to post!  

So with all of this social media, it does scare me that people are losing touch with the real things that happen in life.  Real interactions.  

For Introverts (which I am), it is an easy way to make excuses to not go out into the world.  All of our “friends” can see our lives unfolding in front of them without leaving the couch and vice versa.  It provides a socially acceptable reason to be anti-social.  That scares me too....

On the flip side of that, how amazing it is to live in a world were we can stay in touch without having to take long road trips and adventures.  When people post on any of social media app, they are inviting you to be a part of their life - their wins, their losses, their joy and their sadness.  Even if these people are not close to you, it still means that in some way, your lives have touched and that they still want you in it - if even from afar.

With all of that said.... I am going to keep my Twitter account, even if I never have followers and only follow Opus the Penguin.  Maybe he can teach me more about this social media as he learns about it.  :)

Thanks for reading yet another form of social media - the blog ;)  Megan