Thursday Thoughts: The Soul of Social Media
Whether you like it or not, social media is a major part of life. Period. Point. Blank. Strangely enough, I do know a few people who still just don't get the popularity of the internet, but I digress.
We overshare our familial and personal woes. We meet up with new business partners and friends or ones that we’ve not heard from for years. We find our mates and we learn valuable information. But wait, do we really learn “valuable” information on social media?
The way that humans communicate and receive information has drastically changed. The internet came through with things like Wikipedia, google, and Bing and nowadays information is right at our fingertips. But how good, or should I say valuable is this information?
Increasingly we are seeing more and more articles from self-professed guru’s, giving their two cents on a wide range of topics. And the question is, should we listen, or nah? J Do these people know what they are talking about? Does one have to be a studied scholar to issue a little bit of advice? With the invent of blogging sites and youtube, so many are out here giving their opinions and writing the way of life and people are following. Literally. But really, should we be? Does a ".com" dub as a Ph.D. or other qualified professional?
I’ve read many “lists” about what makes a good wife. I’ve seen them break down the facts of life on how to raise your children right and how to choose the right shoe for your suit and be the best coworker. But, whose to say what’s really best for people? Are we not all individuals in need of walking our own paths? To me, it seems like some of these lifestyle lists and suggestions are far too superficial and if people followed them we’d all be living in the same cramped box.
On the same token, I've wondered why some are so quick to follow and jump on the band wagon of the "what's happening now" things that are on social media? For teens and children, I can see it. At least, a little bit,At a young age, people tend to be more easily persuaded to go with the popular thing going on around them. But, I've began to see a lot of this coming from adults. Have the "like" buttons and "follow" buttons, to keep up with the likes of our favorite celebrities, Youtubers, bloggers and even popular instagrammers and tweeters skewed the way we react to information that we come across and how we apply it to our "real" daily lives?
I think the internet is a wonderful, wonderful thing. The connections that you can make, whether it be for business or personal lives, is amazing. But my hope, is to not get lost in a way of looking at and applying to my life, what works for others. Life is a journey. A beautiful one at that. With all of it's ups and downs, days of feeling full and overjoyed, to days of emptiness...life is. It just simply is. In my opinion, it should be experienced first hand by the creator....you. There is nothing wrong with a little inspiration, or advice here and there, but don't crawl into the same box with everyone else just because it seems colorful and enticing. Live your IS. But hey, that's just my two cents. :-)
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