Social Media: Have we gone too far?

While I realize as a writer and I may have a different outlook on social media than others due to the simple fact that it the primary gateway for me to keep a pulse on the thoughts of potential readers; it occurred to me today that sometimes it is all too much.  Personally, professionally and even socially.

Today I found myself working between social media access instead of the other way around.  Before 9 a.m. today I had Facebooked, tweeted, emailed, texted, iTuned, iPaded and even went old-school and used my laptop.  When I go out of the house I am now finding myself juggling my purse, phone and some other kind of electronics.  Next week we are taking an last minute road-trip before summer ends and as we pack we are not just packing electronics but downloading movies, TV shows and games on our devices to past the time in the car.  Whatever happened to fighting with your siblings in the backseat?

Just a few days ago a group of people I am close with made a secret group on Facebook so we can share photos, etc. in a safe space because of other peoples’ issues.  That is where, while I was glad to have the capabilities to make that secret group, the fact that we have that option and have to use it really made me take a step back and wonder how we got here.

Then this morning, a comical exchange on social media occurred when a small group of virtual friends got into a discussion over the fact that just about all of us had been either unfollowed or blocked by a certain someone.  Why?  Because he didn’t like something we had each said to him at different times over the past few months?  We all live in different states or providences, have never met in person and while our comments to each other are normally oozing with sarcasm and smurkiness – Someone felt compelled to  flip the twitch on us because he disagreed with us on something most likely mundane and inconsequential.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am ALL FOR cutting people out of your life if they have repeatedly hurt you, used you, taken advantage of you; in fact I highly recommend it.  Family, long-time friends, neighbors, etc. if that individual doesn’t appreciate you or add anything at all positive to your life, then hell yeah, let them go.

I just saw that Sean King, one of the voices of the Black Lives Matter movement blocked  conservative pundit/columnist Michelle Malkin from his Twitter account.  All that shows to me is that King is a child and can’t defend his argument so he cuts off one of his detractors because he can’t respond to her line of questioning.  It is that simple.  If you are a person with a strong conviction about something, you should be able to defend it against your more ardent detractors.  If you can’t do that, then you need to find a way to do it or else your cause is a lost one.

The Other Side of the Coin

I know people who are on Facebook that never post, never comment, never engage in anything.  So, why are they there?  To see what everyone else is doing and keep up on gossip.  I have a relative that has literally posted one thing in the past year but when we get together all she talks about is seeing this and that on Facebook about everyone under the sun. So you know that she is on there for the wrong reason.

Now, these people deserve to be deleted, unfriended, blocked and anything else you can do to them.

Conclusion

Social media has taken on a life of its own.  While for many it is just a fun way to share your day with family and friends who may live far away or those you don’t get to see very often.  But the marketing world has moved us all to a new level where they now use social media as their primary source of contact with potential clients and customers.  It seems like social media has become saturated with subliminal advertising and it is becoming harder and harder to even find your posts among the ever-growing litany of ads.

So, before you hit that unfriend or block button, really think about it and how it makes you look.  Are you being reasonable or, are you that kid in the sandbox when you were six who marched off because someone took his favorite shovel?