In my opinion, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even LinkedIn, and others are an unavoidable evil. They are a part of a professional’s life though, as we need to send out our message and be in constant communication with clients and supporters.
They are an addictive force in the lives of both working and retired individuals though.
The number of times a person looks at a personal cell phone is increasing at an ever-alarming pace. Cell phones are taking us away from family interactions, conversations with our children, and grandchildren, attention to details in our homes, and oftentimes in our vehicles. Americans of all ages are choosing their cell phones and interaction on social media sites more than any other activity.
Just as distressing is the constant barrage of information that individuals share on social media, such as the intimate details of a loved one’s surgery or extended illness, for example. I wonder, if when the patient awakes from suffering, if he or she will appreciate the sentiment and the prayers, or feel violated by having their personal details shared in such a way?
Messages can become misconstrued because they are read, and not heard. We cannot truly understand the sentiment of many messages that are sent because we are writing in unclear ways, often with unfinished sentences, or phrases, often misspelled, often shouting instead of whispering, and often without punctuation. Relationships can become strained or estranged through the process. Misunderstandings sometimes become deep hurts in the lives of those we love.
People call each other out to respond to a cause or a problem they may not want to become involved in or make comments. People place their causes on each other’s timelines. We judge each other for silence, forgetting that some of us only see social media pages occasionally, and so a lag of 15 minutes to 15 hours, to 15 days can become a reason for anger and judgment on behalf of another person.
We feel a new urgency to judge each other, the motives and values, and to educate our friends, family, and even strangers about the world around us and how they should feel and act.
Although we are hungry for real affection and interaction, we have become greedy for connectivity and communication. We create division when we could create hope.
When cell phones became popular years ago, there were real initiatives to place them in a basket away from the dining room table, and etiquette rules were developed, but it seems those quickly have been abandoned as our addiction rages on.
Concerns for safety of our children and teens, coupled with the invasion into our personal privacy, and our financial stability all speak to abandoning the cell phone, limiting its use, or doubling down on our personal security. But will we?
True confession time: I manage my own Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts, and manage an additional five other accounts for business! This crazy load of information is tracking that I need to accomplish in my regular day to day function!
As a diversion from social media, I decided to take up a Spanish language App! Call me crazy, but I decided to use my so-called free time to improve my mind instead of filling it with non-essential information. It helps keep me away from weighing in on my friend’s diet attempts, illnesses, and political leanings. I find that when I don’t see some of the misspelled political rants that come along, I respect my social media friends more than I did several weeks earlier.
My thought for today is, why not use the cell phone for its best attributes, and then put it to rest in the bottom of your purse or pocket, or better yet, back on the charger?
Barb Nadeau is a community relations and mobility manager for the Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois, representing five counties. Barb’s career includes many years as a professional television and radio host, as well as a print and social media journalist, and as a volunteer coordination professional, networking among non-profit social service agencies throughout Illinois. She is a freelance writer and an elected alderman in the City government of Plano. Contact Barb at bvnadeau@gmail.com.