My Love Hate Relationship With Social Media

THE LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

Let me begin this with a caveat: I’m as guilty as anyone.

There, we got that out of the way.

I love Facebook. I love it so much that I won’t allow myself to tinker with any of the other sites like Instagram. I already spend enough time checking my Facebook feed and posting to it; I can’t imagine what my life would be like (read no spare time at all) if I got hooked on Instagram or X or whatever.

I decided, yesterday, to do some investigation into my reasons for spending so much time on Facebook. I had an ulterior motive, mind you, which I will share with you shortly.

At the core of my Facebook journey is this fact: I am a diehard introvert, and communicating in this way gives me access to the world, a world I at times find quite scary in person. I love that I can meet people from around the world, from countries I in no way will ever visit. I love learning about different cultures through the people who live them and yes, I love making online friends, many of whom I feel quite close to.

Facebook also gives me a platform for my writing, both a business platform and a platform for my creative side.

All valid reasons, as I’m sure you will agree.

However, some self-doubt enters the picture at this point in my musings.

Do I live for the “likes” and “smiley emojis” and “heart emojis?”  Does it affect me positively, and do I get off on the good-feeling vibes?  And, worse yet, is it possible that I, at times, portray one person, for approval, while actually being a completely different person?

Now we’re getting to the meat of the matter.

I want to believe that no, I would not do those things. I am also aware that I am human, and all humans, I believe, seek approval from their peers.

I dove deeper into this; you can obviously see that I have far too much spare time.

Are we who we say we are? Are we who we portray ourselves to be?  And the interesting thing about those questions, and about social media, is I don’t think those questions are limited to social media.  Far too often, I believe, when out in public, we act one way when, in fact, that is not who we are privately.

It does not take a genius to see the truth in that. Hell, Ted Bundy was our paperboy when I was growing up, and no one saw him, in his teens, as warped and demented.  Dialing it down a bit, my mother and father were greatly respected in our neighborhood, but I know for a fact they were racists.

Would you like me, warts and all? Would you like the Bill you don’t see?

Do you have any idea how tired I am of asking people how they are, and having them say “I’m fine” when I can see the pain on their faces?  I reach out to people online, people who I know are hurting, and ask them how they are doing, and they will not, cannot, as in literally impossible for them to open up and share their feelings.

Several recent surveys showed that at least 40% of Americans consider themselves “lonely” to “very lonely,” so is it any wonder that social media dominates a large portion of our spare time.  Add to that the point that social media has a sort of anonymity factor to it, as in no face-to-face meetings, as in more likely to speak one’s mind if there are no physical repercussions.

What are the implications of this particular rabbit hole I find myself in? None, really; it’s just my overactive mind picking up a loose thread and seeing how much I can unravel it.

Just food for thought, folks; just food for thought.

Besides, if I’m going to start an intentional community someday, I need to know who the heck I’m inviting to join me. Are they who they say they are? Am I being conned?  You know, things like that.

And what, pray tell, does it have to do with the wonders of life?

Humans are fascinating, me thinks, and our species truly is a wonder.  Why in the name of Sister Mary Catherine would I not include humans in any discussion about the wonders of life?

Have a great day and I’ll see you on Facebook.  Whether it will really be me or not, well, we are all left guessing about that.