The invention of social media is so beneficial in many, many ways. You are able to stay in contact with friends and family in ways that you never could at any point in western civilization. You can converse and keep up with those that you care about, or just people in general that you know as much as you'd like. Today, Facebook has become the form for older people though it started for college students, there is Twitter, Instagram, and I am sure other forms that this old person does not know about.
Be careful how you use it. What I have found is that I know way more about people than I really want to know and sometimes care to know, yet, I seem to continue to go back for more. Be careful what you post. Trust me, the irony of this post is not lost on me as I write this book out in my blog and then will post it to Twitter, but be careful.
Understand, too that as you put your opinions or life out there, it does open you up to criticism or worse. Be prepared to read things from people that you thought you knew and they will be attacking maybe not you personally, but ideals, ideas, and values that you have. I have found that typing out responses to issues and then deleting them does about the same as airing out my gripes. However, if social media makes you an emotional wreck, I would back off. We have enough stress in our lives, so do not add more to it.
I got in on the ground level of social media and have changed how I use it. I constantly wonder if I should continue changing it and if it is worth it then I read something, or learn about something that reinforces the good in it. Maddie wants to be involved more with it and at this writing, she's 10 years old, and she has already gotten upset about a couple of silly things. She came to me crying last night that she saw on Instagram that if you did not post this certain post within 5 minutes, your dad would die. She was distraught, and there is training and teaching that goes on even as a parent with social media.
Challenge: If social media is controlling your life, you have lost the benefits of it. Rethink, and rework how you use it.
