Journal Day #7

Journal Day #7 - Social Media
Prompt:  Do you use social media in your daily life?  Do you think it adds to your relationships with others, or takes away from them?  And furthermore, do you think social media adds more positive or negative to your life?  Write about your relationship with social media, and talk a bit about how you got started, and what role it plays in your world.

I have a love/hate relationship with social media.  I love having friends and entertainment right at my fingertips, but I hate how it's almost forced on you if you use the internet.  If you visit a website or a blog you are invited to pin things or follow them/like them on Facebook, sometimes quite persistently.  Even work requires use of social media at times

I was slow to get into social media.  I started with message boards which led to LiveJournal, then MySpace, and Blogger, and then Facebook and Google+.  And then I find myself using Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit, and Pinterest.  And those are just the ones I have used or am using.  There are so many others out there, and then programs to help you manage them all - I have to throw my hands up in the air and walk away before the crazy consumes me.

My first steps into social media were not entirely by choice.  I wasn't avoiding in on purpose, I just didn't have much interest.  But that had to change when I became the webmaster for a fan club; part of that responsibility was maintaining a message board.  It was my social media gateway.  I had friends who were into other fan club boards, which I was lured into.  A few friends were into LiveJournal and I joined them.  LiveJournal was my first blogging experience, I'm pretty sure I still have the link for it somewhere but it's been years since I posted there.  A few friends talked me into MySpace, which I never really understood.  When people started switching to Facebook I held out for a bit but eventually joined to connect with family and those friends I knew from MySpace.  Then other things just sort of fell in with it, like Instagram (because that is the fun way to see what our tattoo artist is up to), and Pinterest.

It was mostly fun but the message board, for example, was a lot of work.  It was my first introduction to trolls and people who would say anything for attention.  Moderation on a message board is something I never want to do again.  As I got familiar with other social media I saw that there were those types people there too.  Another downside is privacy is harder to maintain.  David and I are pretty private people  I think he is more than I am and I try to be respectful of that.  Being online and connected to all the different social media can put you our there a little more than you may want to be.  Fraud and scammers have really ruined some of the fun.

I have to admit I like having friends and family right at my fingertips, just about any time of day.  Part of my day is visiting my Facebook feed to see what people are up to, and what cute animal pictures Daily Squee has shared.  It's nice to sit and mindlessly play Facebook games (yay CastleVille).  Pinterest is also a great place to find and save recipes, cleaning tips, and cute animals to look at on a bad day.  And blogging, that's where I regain some sanity as I work through all the things going through my mind, and work to find my writing voice.  And lastly I have to be thankful for social media because back in the day when AOL was the place to be, I met and made friends with my husband.  For me, I feel social media is a positive in my life as long as I don't get sucked into all pins and games.

Thank you for the prompt Sometimes Sweet!