11.08.2012

Social Media has killed my Social life

Yup - dead in the water.


Not that a mother of four, with a small (very small) business, a marriage, and a need to workout should have time for a social life.  



Hell, I'm 36-- isn't it time to go to bed when the kids do.  I drive a minivan for pete's sake.  People who drive minivans do not equate to social lives.



Social lives are for the young, the single?, the childless, the non-mini van driving people who tend to know the latest fashions and can handle more than one glass of wine without passing out.



But wait, maybe I do have the social life - the connection I long for.  After all, look at these stats--



There are 16 people who follow my blog.

212 people actually read my post yesterday.
I have 490 facebook friends who represent 32 states, and 5 countries.
There are 290 people waiting, salivating on twitter for my 140 characters or less.
Or how about Pinterest?  Are you one of the few who are dying to see what I dream my dining room might look like.
And my friend Instagram.  The place of few words but yet so many at the same time.  I have a life there.  Tons of "heart" action going on when I post a picture of our dog chewing on the deck.


And while these number are not even "write home to mom" worthy stats - for one person they are -- well, more than myself.  



But in the end - they are numbers, that is about what I have for a social life.  Numbers get you much of nothing in the hug department. Numbers don't call you and say, "let's do lunch." From an overly emotional artist stand point - numbers really don't mean a thing.  In my world 0 and 1,000,000 mean about the same thing.



Five years ago, I didn't have an account anywhere.  I had email.  I checked it twice a week.  I really didn't care what was going on in the virtual world.  What I did have was lunch dates, time to meet other young moms at the park, a place in my heart to listen to stories over coffee (often).  My phone rang - it didn't ding with a text.



I know, I know - I'm not completly alone, that I am a victim and a contributor at the same time.  



But in the world of instant pictures, and such - I would rather just say in my case "ignorance was bliss."  Before I had a Facebook account, I never really knew if my feelings were getting hurt.  I didn't have the opportunity to sit at home and think, "why wasn't I there."  I didn't compare myself to the skinny people I know on Instagram.  It was awesome.  I was happy with my little non existent social life and all was good. 



So now you read this post, you are probably sitting back thinking, "man, this girl really needs to get a life." Maybe you are right but maybe you're wrong.  I think what this girl needs to do is stop making up wonderful "wanna be" stories based on other's pictures.  




This girl is going back to the old days.  The days where I spent so less time fantasizing and more time investing.  So goodbye.  Time to pick up the phone and call the people I love so much.  




2 comments:

  1. Social media can be fun, but it depends on how you socialize in it. It's because sharing information and photos can be dangerous by now, most especially if you've just added a person whom you personally don't know. These things must be kept confidential, and do avoid posting sensitive photos and information.
    - Emilia Loza

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