Falling Into The Eddies of Social Media

Falling into the eddies of social media has been an interesting experience.

Initially it was unplanned.  I just stopped checking my Major Social Media account as much as I used to - no particular reason, except that I was just finding different things to do with my time.  But I found my check-ins falling away from multiple times a day to 2-3 times a day to once a day or not at all.

What surprised me is how quickly everyone and everything suddenly seemed strange to me.

The Major Social Media - especially if you do not follow it regularly - becomes a mass of short post-it notes of people's lives, information drops of single dollops that become very overwhelming if you are not involved on a regular basis (as a side note, you also realize that you are contributing to the dollop/overwhelming situation as well).

You come to suddenly realize that all of these lives, these dollops of information that continually come in, are rolling along completely without you.  Perhaps it is the nature of the media, but no-one seems to have noticed your absence.  No-one comments on how your posts seem to be coming in less and less than they used to - unless you visibly commit Social Media suicide and comment as such (making your picture go dark, leaving the goodbye monologue, etc.)

In a way, it points out to me how incredibly disconnected and socially inept we have become.

I am fortunate - I have a fairly settled and secure character and am not (on the whole) trapped in needing to be relevant in social media to be important, of having my self worth checked by being "liked" all the time.  But that said, I remember a time where friendships were built on actual contact on a regular basis and how a period of silence or absence would be noticed by those around you.

But now technology, to a large part, determines our "friendships" once we grow up. And social media is no longer a method of catching up but the method of friendship.  We become dependent on the technology not only to sustain the relationship, but to build it in the first place.

My intent is not to re-engage on the level I was.  I am curious to see what, if anything happens over time.  My heartfelt suspicions is for 90% of those involved, I will simply continue to drift into the outer waters of the river of social media and thus lose relevance.  Only the 10% - those who probably really do matter and care - will come rowing down the inlet to check in.