Social Media, five years ago I didn’t have any clue what that was. If I had to guess back then the definition of Social Media, it was something to do with Media (TV, Movies, Music, etc.) and it was a social group. Close right? Kind of. Little did I know Social Media would become a cornerstone in my everyday life as well as most of friends and family.
I touched back on a previous blog, “My Social Media Friends – Why I Need Them” the importance of some friends that I have on these sites and the different reasons why. But today want to write about, “Is Social Media an Addiction, Illness, or a Must Have?” For me it’s all three.
My husband introduced me to MySpace maybe 3 years ago. I thought this is great. Being a new Stay At Home Mom I was not used to not being surrounded by my peers. I had a job that demanded a lot of me that involved many people. All of sudden there I was sitting there looking at a infant not use to hearing only my own voice. Myspace became a Savior at first. I connected with a few friends and some local people. I loved making my profile unique and my own. I thought I would never tire of my new “Addition”, MySpace. But alas, like any human with a shiny new toy, I got bored.
Then my husband introduced me to Facebook. I hated it. It was the “Anti” Myspace in the fact it was not personalized like Myspace with the Layouts and the music and the images allowed. Not to mention “The Wall” of Facebook was annoying to me. But sometimes we are against change, but change is actually what we wanted whether we knew it or not. Facebook became my new “Addiction”. MySpace slowed down to almost nonexistent activity and Facebook is active almost every minute of the day. I am friends with almost everyone I went to high school with, old co-workers, old friends, and family. There is not a day I do not check it. Some of my friends would not embrace Facebook, but like an “Illness”, it spread. Now even those who were against any form of Social Media are fighting the “Illness”, the “Addiction”. They are hooked and getting others hooked everyday.
Finally a” Must Have” is where is ends for me. Between Twitter, where I chat my random thoughts with mostly strangers and Facebook where I get my everyday fixes and friendships from many, I am fulfilled. (Myspace..still have it but nothing happens on it..ever..) I think whether you are a stay at home parent, or someone who works in an office 50 hours a week, Social Media is a “Must Have”. It keeps us human, in touch with so many that we would have not had connections with before the internet. It keeps us abreast of our fellow man. It makes us thinks of others, if only for five minutes in our busy lives. It gives us sounding boards and loads of advice. It tells the place to be on Friday night and a place to try the next time you are on vacation. It gives us our connection to Life. So what are you waiting for, join one, we’re all waiting…..You know where I’ll be…
