Social Media

There was an old joke that asked: what are top three ways to pass information to others? 

Answer:
Telephone, Television, and Tell a  woman.

Now, I think that punch line would have to be: 
IPad, IPhone, and IPosted it on Facebook.

In some ways, social media with all of the constant  updating annoys me. It seems almost ridiculous that we post less than  news-worthy information as freely as we do, as if we are certain that the world  is so amazed with us that everyone deserves to know whether we ate traditional  Cheerios this morning or Honey Nut.  What  is this craving we have to be known? We want people to see our pictures, to know  that we are shopping at Target, to read what we are thinking.
In some ways, this  blog is a testament to that, as well. After all, apparently I imagine, possibly  as some subtle sign of my own arrogance, that people may just want to hear my  thoughts on subjects like red shoes, love, and… well… social  media.

Perhaps, though, this tweeting and updating is more  of a reflection of our mobility than of our arrogance or curiosity. In years  past, when families rarely ventured out of their home towns, it may have been  easier to keep track of one another. We saw each other, I imagine, at the drug  stores or walking downtown. We probably passed one another on sidewalks where we  said things like, “I just had the best
spaghetti at Sally’s mom’s diner. Did you  know they had spaghetti there?” There was something friendly, I suppose, about  sharing the non-earth-shattering details like, “Jody fell from the swing, so I’m  here to buy some mercurochrome.” After all, everyone can spout the headlines,  but only the most trusted and intimate of our friends know the nitty-gritty  happenings of our daily lives.For the 21st century, social media is our way of  maintaining some of what Mayberry had to offer. We can gossip, share our  thoughts, ideas, fears and situations in a way we might have shared with our  druggist, our barber, our filling station attendant in previous decades. Since  we aren’t as likely to pass our friends on the sidewalk anymore,
we can  substitute the posting of our little one-liners to pass information through our  profile pages. We may have become busier and more removed from others, but  clearly, we’re not willing to live without some way to tell someone a funny joke  we just heard.

It’s important  to feel connected, to think that someone cares what made us happy today (which  they can “Like,” if it makes them happy, too) or watch as a quote we thought was  interesting spurs conversations
between our friends who live hundreds of miles  apart. We can move out of our parent’s homes, out of the towns of our  childhoods, across or completely out of the country. Still, thanks to social  media, no matter how mobile we have become, we can feel connected to the people  in our community by sharing those
little, day-in-the-life details that only  friends care to hear. 

I guess when I think of it like passing a neighbor  on the street and saying, “Hi! I’m headed to the grocery. Do you know if peaches  are on sale?” I don’t mind all the Tweeting one bit. In fact, it makes the world  seem a little more like a small town and just a little friendlier. So, if you’ll  please excuse me, I think I’ll go update my status. And while I’m at it, I’ll  look for yours and hope it reveals that you are having a joy- filled day!

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