My Relationship With Social Media Is Pretty Rocky
🖋️ Writing prompt: What are your thoughts on the current state of social media?
I've become less and less enthused about social media. So much so that I've deleted most of my social accounts.
I signed up for Facebook in 2009…
It was a fun way to keep in touch with family and friends. I enjoyed seeing what people close to me were up to in their lives.
When I moved into my van in October 2015, I used Facebook as a way to share some of my travel adventures and stay in touch with fellow Nomads I met along the way.
The past several years…
Something changed. My desire to even open a social media app is dwindling fast.
On Facebook, a third of those on my friends list have passed away and half of who's left no longer get on or post on Facebook.
Of those who do post, what I usually see is a mix of:
- Political rants, inciting heated discussions with those who disagree and choose to participate.
- Religious invitations that are so abundant I get tired of scrolling to the end of them. A few are fine (even if I don’t agree) but I’m not ok having to scroll thru 27+ posts that you spammed that day.
- Stuff that really doesn’t need to be shared - if you’re in the emergency room, focus on getting help, not on sharing detailed pictures and information on social media!
Nowadays, very few people post stuff that's interesting to me - not to mention having to scroll past all the advertisements just to see those few posts.
I've always loved writing…
I tend to follow my own rules when it comes to grammar and punctuation, though. Sometimes I even make up my own words.
I also enjoy reading other blogs…
The challenge is finding blogs written by people who are more interested in sharing real-life and real-thoughts than they are in getting the most likes, followers, or sales.
It feels like platforms built for genuine conversation - without endless scrolling - are becoming extinct.
I've been trying out Bluesky…
It’s been all the rage so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Apparently it's like Twitter - which I was never a fan of.
I deactivated my Bluesky a couple times because it just doesn't feel like it's my thing.
Sadly, I re-activated it thinking it may have changed. I think they call that insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Parting thoughts…
I re-de-activated Bluesky a couple days ago. Time will tell if I’ve learned my lesson.
Maybe my relationship with social media isn’t ending in a big dramatic breakup - it’s more like we’re just drifting apart. And I’m okay with the distance.
Connie 🌼
💬 Share your thoughts… send me a note!