I’ve been asking myself what is the point of Social Media [SM] a lot lately. Mostly because it’s becoming dizzying. Things that are beginning to urk me are reading about other peoples very cool things they’re doing, and commenting on it, and receiving no acknowledgment at all. Or how about the endless drabble about what I’m doing and my thoughts on what I’m doing.
I must be careful here, because this is very sensitive ground.
Each of ours drabble is necessary. We must share what we’re doing, talk with others about what we’re doing, learn from others from how they’re doing it, and what I really enjoy is to receive feedback on it all. Without this process, evolution is impossible.
Related: evolution is good.
I’ve read in multiple places about how you become a mixture of the 3 closest people around you. I know Oprah is responsible for saying this, but I’m sure it comes from others too. This doesn’t mean that the two people sitting next to you in the café influence you, it’s the circle of influence, the sphere of intimates that everybody has that influences us. This is talked about in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Why do we crave more and more and more SM friends then? We all look at that number once and a while. Perhaps it’s a hope that our SM friends will validate us, maybe just one of them will!
Perhaps it’s more than that. Perhaps it’s a desire to influence more and more people because we each feel that we are strong beings and want to spread our love to each other. Naturally due to the yin/yang or qi balance of the world, there are those that also need to be influenced. Maybe this is the essence of the SM thing that we have on our hands.
It’s weird. Being immersed so far into the culture it’s hard to understand anything but that which I’m doing. Even at that, I don’t think I understand why I’m doing what I’m doing. I read articles on what good practices help ensure a successful SM presence. I learn from other people I respect online and adapt some of their styles as my own with some of my own quirks. But why am I doing this? What is my goal?
What has social media become? What is the point of it? Take a moment to define this for ourselves and ask ourselves if this is truly what we are doing immersed in SM. Or, are we abusing it and falling into lazy tactics like the much feared [by this writer] couch potato, droning into the background by a sense of semi-aware but no direction known.
Perhaps some of you have read my latest thoughts on Facebook. Indeed, I have taken a good long look at my habits I’ve accustomed myself to, and have found what I’ve been looking for. I’ve noticed that I’ve stopped telling stories on my SM sites, and instead have become one of the drones. A person without a direction but with a whole lot of shit to say. I’ve become somebody saying things without the right introduction to what I’m saying. I’ve become one of those people who say to much, and become the victim of a semi-muted state of sadness by many people.
I realize this is not something I need to take personally. This is not a sad story with an unhappy ending.
This is an awakening.
This is a chance for me to understand my next bold move.
One thought on “What Has Social Media Become”