People become overwhelmed by the demands and stresses of social media and they, or we feel that we need to be somewhat aware of the stories being written on any given day. That it is good that we know that our neighbours are facing challenges or they are experiencing a good holiday with good food in Spain.
Or that its somehow good that we know the state of the world and someone's recent version of what our state leaders are doing and we are free to comment on them and the general state of the world.
But just because we can doesn't mean we should.
I don't often treat social media as a must read, and often the only reasons I check them is perhaps to see a delightful photo of the granddaughters or what the kids are doing, or maybe to be aware of whats going on in the lives of those I care for, as in the people of this community. So I don't feel really tied to them.
But today after a particularly stressful people day in real skin, I happened upon a post by a good man I normally respect, that just went sideways in me. His expectation of his readers was more demand on me than I could handle today.
The other day a lady I follow said something that seemed quite counter to her character and I was surprised and disappointed. Did I have a right to feel that way? I'm not sure, but I did. I don't have enough of a relationship to mention it to her, and I am not sure I have any right at all to expect better from her. But as I say, I did.
That doesn't even include some of the crazy wild tinfoil hat declarations you see on any given day.
Or the false sense of reality some people try to create of their lives, to give the impression that life is great and we've succeeded to create something of meaning with our (online) lives anyway.
If its true that you become more like those you hang out with, I need to stop hanging out in these sorts of places. It may be time to start walking away.
And we had such hopes for web 2.0.
Hey Randall. God bless you. I don’t know if you follow my blog all that often, but if I am the person who said something disappointing, or offensive, you are more than welcome to let me know, no worries. Take care.
ReplyDeleteNope Susan, all is well. And yes I do hop over to your patch of the internet now and again. But you see, its that attitude of sensitivity that makes all the difference in this world. We don't always see that out in social media. You're making a good difference out there. :)
DeleteYou are a real encouragement to my husband and I. If you are taking a break from social media, don’t be gone too long, okay?
DeleteAs you know, after many years I could bear it no longer. Good people have bad days and that can often result in things being written that might not were the day different. But when one connects to the broken, the slightly deranged, the determinedly nuts and proud of it, then one can start to feel sick after a bit. Or feel like them.
ReplyDeleteYou moderate comments here. Perhaps it's time to moderate the stream of stuff that social media provides too?
Yes its true, as I tell the locals occasionally if you're going to hang around with cattle you're going to start smelling like them soon too. I've taken your advice and have moderated my instagram feed to more "life-giving" photos. And yeah, Facebook is off my phone.
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