Let's Talk Social Media and Technology

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Oh, it used to be so much easier, I think. Someone called you and you picked up the receiver and said, "Hello."  You wanted to "type" something and you sat down in front of the ole typewriter and went to town. No?  You think it's easier today with smart phones, ipads, computers, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, and on and on and on....aaaaghhhhh!!

I guess you could say I am on technology overload right now.....

You may have noticed I haven't posted in almost two weeks. It's been a combination of things that has kept me from it, including taking two pretty much back-to-back online courses about using technology and then coming down with a case of...I don't know....the crud? Fever, stuffy head, sneezing, sore throat...ugh. It hasn't helped my temperament that's for sure.

Perhaps I have officially become a curmudgeon....

It's not that I don't want to learn new things and keep up with the times. I really do. But, there seems to be so much to keep up with. I will now reveal a secret. I had never joined Facebook until earlier this week. Yep, it's true. I just never saw the point and plus we were always being "warned" about Facebook as teachers, so I just decided to stay away from it. Until this week, when I was required to join a Facebook community for one of my online classes. So, I caved and set up an account. Just doing that much seemed like a huge step for me. But, then, our teacher...a really kind and knowledgeable man by the way....has had us doing video talks with him in Hawaii and delving into all the opportunities for online publishing. I never knew so many opportunities existed! Perhaps it's the fever talking, but I am overwhelmed right now by possibility.

Maybe there can be too many choices?

I don't know about you, but when I am presented with too many options and choices I kind of feel like I have been blindfolded and someone is turning me around and around in circles. The blindfold comes off and I'm so dizzy I don't know which way to turn.

That's how I feel about technology and social media right now. I'm dizzy....

Starting this blog a little over a year ago was a tremendous technology leap for me.  Then, I discovered Pinterest and then Google+. I figured out how to join circles on Google+ and connect my blog posts to my Google+ page and to my communities. I discovered how to save things I find online and like to my Pinterest page. I can reply when someone leaves me a comment on the Google+ page. I thought I was....you know....with it.  I'm cool, I'm cool, oh yeah.....

And then I joined Facebook

Oh my goodness, people.  I have entered a whole new world of friends and family and acquaintances and comments and sharing and commercials and.......

I kind of feel voyeuristic....

I feel like I am able to look into peoples' lives and their photos and their comments and I see what people are writing to me...none of it bad...but everyone else sees it too....I think....I'm still learning. And more and more people keep showing up or are recommended and I see folks from years ago that I knew.

And I'm not sure how I feel about it....

Somehow, even though it's been really great to see people and to glean some of what they are doing right now, I can't help but wonder....

Are we losing our privacy? 

Do people really need to care that I had a great summer vacation?  Do they really need and/or want to know that I ate Tacos last Tuesday? (Just examples, mind you.)  Does everyone need to connect with me and do I need to connect with them? And yet, I feel that tug....that pull....to look.....to post.....to share..... OK, so I think some questions need to be asked. At least from my perspective....

What is relevant?

I guess people will answer this differently. What is relevant information to one person may not be relevant to another. But, shouldn't we be asking this question? And, maybe even, talking about it?

What is meaningful?

What brings good to someone else's life?  What uplifts and encourages, rather than tears down?

Where do we draw the line?

Maybe there are some things that are better left unsaid, or unshared, as the case may be.  And, how much time should we be devoting to sharing and clicking and liking and plus oneing and on and on and on?

These are questions I'm asking myself.  You may already have the answers. 

It's a whole new world out there with technology, people. Maybe I'm just late arriving at the party....

But, at least at parties, we talk face to face with human beings. 

I hope we never lose the ability to talk face to face with one another. Even if it's on Skype or Zoom or Google Hangouts. I have to tell you, I get a little concerned when I see folks never diverting their eyes from their phones. Even while they drive or walk down the street.

I don't want to get too plugged in.

And, as I say this, what am I doing?  Oh yes...typing on a computer after which I will post it to my blog and then upload it to Google+ and then post it on my Google+ communities and then.....very likely....share it on Facebook.

Sigh....

Am I too far gone with technology?  And should I be worrying about being too far gone?  I know, this is the wave of the future. Sink or swim, right?  Although, the way I feel right now, I'm treading water and may need a lifeboat soon. Anybody paddling my way?

I'm taking a brief step backward....

I did make one decision that moves me backward and not forward with technology. I'm changing from a smart phone back to a flip phone. It just seems so much easier to me. No more swiping on glass surfaces and screens freezing and blackouts and having to pop the battery. I know...I'm hopeless.

Just flip the phone open and say, "Hello." It's not that different from picking up a receiver.

Dumb phones rule.  Talking face to face rules.  And, yes, I am a curmudgeon.

Oh...and if you like this post, or it gives you food for thought, or you can relate....you might want to share it on Facebook or Google+ or Pinterest.

Sigh....

Until Next Time,
Debbie


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