It's 2016.
This isn't so much of a resolution as it is just something that I want to do.
I'm not deactivating my Facebook account, nor am I stepping away from social media. However, I am going to use Facebook less. Here's why:
First of all, there are trolls among us. I try to use social media for good things, silly things, positive things...definitely nothing political or derogatory, and I keep a sharp eye on who my "friends" are and what I choose to share. But there are creepers around, as well as people who are just downright stupid, and there is a lot of unnecessary drama on Facebook. Sometimes unintentional drama, but mostly intentional. Other people's drama that I don't allow myself to get drawn into but drama nonetheless.
That's why I un-follow these people or "hide" their posts; I've rarely unfriended anyone, because I don't "friend" people I don't really know in real life to begin with. I weeded out my list years ago and realized I actually DID know the majority of them, from growing up in Mena, to Henderson, to schools I've taught, graduate school, work, etc. I have VERY few friends I've only met via the Internet, and those are ones I've "known" even since the MySpace days, or have communicated with through work or school. So let it be known that this "stepping away" isn't because of any one individual or group of people. Those have already been dismissed.
I hide links and pages I'm not interested in. News channels and radio stations I'll never watch or listen to. People I DON'T know and probably never will. If other people like them, fine. I've just tried to "teach" my newsfeed to show the pages and people I've chosen to follow and that's gotten easier for all of us I think. I review items I'm "tagged" in, and I prefer not to be added to groups; I'll do that on my own.
I'm not really in a band anymore, so I'm not particularly interested in the music "scene", or anything associated with any music "scene" anywhere. I follow the professional bands I like that still perform, and I'm good with just that. There's some of them I've even "un-followed" because, well, they're just doing the same old thing everybody else does: going to work and making a living. Pretty exciting, huh?
The one reason I LIKE Facebook is because most of my family uses it to correspond and keep up with one another. That I do love, because I have a wonderful family, from my parents down to my grandchildren, mother's side, father's side, in-laws side, and I consider myself extremely lucky in this respect. I love the pictures they share and the updates on what they're doing and this brings me great joy because I love them all very much.
In regards to family, I know many people like to stay updated on Gabriel, and we will continue to honor those who keep this special little man in their thoughts and prayers. He's an angel among us, and he's a reminder to us all that even in the face of impossible odds, one can always smile, safe in the knowledge that there are people who love us, seen or unseen.
Secondly, I'm somewhat disheartened by the cruelty of people I don't even know, by their off-hand comments to an opinion or some other post. A company posted an announcement about their after-Christmas sale and someone responded by saying, "You were too crowded before Christmas so I won't be going back." Seriously? Was that really necessary? Another company posted about a discount for a military ring, and one disgruntled customer had to go on about how it was made in China, so she was going to send it back. I can understand her opinion but it just seemed kind of...bitchy. Yet another site, related to a recently-released film, posted a simple "Happy New Year" photo, and someone had to jump in and gripe about how much they hated the movie. Someone replied, "Can't you just say, 'Happy New Year'??"
(I'll discuss current nerd fury in another blog at another time, and I'll apologize for the abundance of Star Wars nonsense that's blowing up your newsfeed. But I've discovered I'm not as bad as some. It will subside. Maybe. The Twitter stuff has been hilarious.)
Opinions are good, debates are good, but people being nasty for the sake of being nasty is just...nasty. Some people feel the need to vent, and that's okay, too...(no pent-up aggression!)...but it's sad to see it played out for all the world to see at times. Do they ever have second thoughts? Do they think about how their words may have hurt someone else's feelings? If you're defending yourself against a verbal attack that's one thing (and those can be pretty brutal as well), but to just lash out and bash someone without provocation? I've seen too much of that lately, and it upsets me.
"Well, just don't read it." True. "Just block that person." Yes, I've done that. I've even blocked people I'm NOT friends with because they were assholes on one of my friend's pages. I realize some people are just big piles of stinky poo, and if there was a good way to keep them off social media, I'm sure we could all find a way.
Anyway, here's the deal: I'm spending more time on Twitter and Instagram. Both of my accounts for these sites are linked to my Facebook, so you'll see the posts (if you're interested), but I'll be hanging out there more. I'm particularly fond of my Goodreads app and Blogger, so those are still linked as well.
I'll still be around, but feel free to follow me in the other places, if you'd like!
