Whether we like it or not - technology, the internet and the biggest scourge "social media" is here to stay, regretfully for a very, very long time. And it would appear that you have a simple choice - ignore it completely in the hopes that it will quietly go away or better yet, get acquainted with the darn thing and in the process you might just be lucky enough to find a way to make it work for you.
Let me explain - when speaking to people of my generation (okay, perhaps a little older too) the strongest impression they seem to have about Facebook is that it exists entirely of very lonely, socially inept people who insist on sharing a picture of their muffin they are having for breakfast! Regretfully, this is true to some extent but that is the same as describing a Rolls Royce as a family sedan! I run an organisation for mosaic enthusiasts and needed to create a Facebook page for it and the system required that I first identify myself. Having done that, I did my best to ignore the whole thing as much as possible. Beyond updating the page with activities and new photographs, I pretty much left it alone (considering it more of a chore than anything else!). As time went by, I noticed that more and more HUGE businesses, organisations, very famous and highly credible people were all getting in on this thing and realised that I must be missing something and investigated further.
To cut a very long and convoluted story short, I finally figured out what makes this mighty engine so highly effective - and no, this is not a marketing or promotional blurb for Facebook, it is simply that it is a magnificent tool, available to anyone with an internet connection or smart phone - and there are many hidden treasures if you are willing to seek them out.
Anything and everything has a page on Facebook - whether you are into whacky
comedians, mystical religions, seriously heavy philosophy, art, music, a new detergent, the nutty presenters from Top Gear and of course your local supermarket! And then of course there is the family, and friends, and friends of friends that you have lost touch with over the years that you can find and without having to pick up the phone and talk to them, find out what they have been up to! (Works really well for those relatives you dont really want to come for a visit!)
The posts I really enjoy and appreciate are those with a positive message, little blocks of wisdom and inspiration that have the ability to lighten you spirit and bring a ray of hope into an otherwise mundane day. Beautiful and stunning photographs of nature, people doing simple yet profound things, sharing information on missing people which at times DO have a happy ending, and for those nuggets of joy I must thank my Facebook friends! *hug*
To borrow from Forrest Gump - Facebook is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to find inside. Yes, some of your Facebook "friends" may turn out to be a whole lot more (or less) than you expected once you see what they post (which is then shared with you). That rather normal lady who lives down the street could have the most wicked sense of humor and the grumpy old man could be an avid animal rights activist. Yes, viewing the most gorey animal abuse photographs first thing in the morning can be a bit much. And who knew that the quiet introvert from the coffee shop had such a sharp, analytical brain that cuts through the rubbish and gets to the core of the matter in such a scathing yet witty commentary? On the other hand, the funnies, inspirational, weird, whacky and downright hilarious postings of your other friends seem to balance out and your daily news feed becomes a downright adventure! But there is a need for caution here - with all the dire warnings of internet security,
malicious software, identity theft and a myriad of other nasty aspects, I would be remiss if I did not bring that fact in here. Do be careful what information you allow into public viewing, select your friends with care and most of all ... be circumspect in what you write. (If you watched Carte Blanche recently, they dedicated a entire program to social media disasters!) If you take a little time with your security settings, you could have as much fun as you like without being stalked, bombarded with religious or political propaganda and with liberal use of the UNLIKE button, can remove most of the annoyances.
If I have learned anything in life it is
simply this - YOU CANNOT COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY via instant messaging
or simply the written word. There are no voice tones, body language or
hand gestures to guide you and all you have is the typed (written word)
which more often than not comes out flat, grumpy, insulting and nasty
.... when the intention was never that at all!! So please - take a chill pill, read whatever you are reading twice
over, and then a third time to make sure you have got the intention
correct, forgive typos and other weird and wonderful gobbledygook, count
to 10 and then reply. Repeat these instructions twice and when you are
sure that you not gonna hurt someone's feeling or cause a massive rift, only then hit the SEND/POST button!
Whichever way you view Facebook, it does seem to be addictive as it turns a lot of us into voyeurs, curious to see what is happening in the world of our friends and family.
I know for example that my daughter-in-law in the UK has recently completed a diving course, my mosaic friend in the Cape spent a weekend at a wine farm, my neighbor has just returned from a holiday at the coast, another friend has returned home and recuperating after an operation and my rather humble employer won a massive sporting world championship! Have you visited a restaurant or public area recently and observed how many people are busy scrolling through their phones instead of chatting to each other?? I have been in a group of people and watched in horror as they all rudely studied their phones most intently - horrible, horrible, horrible!!! Perhaps I should have gained their attention by posting on their timeline .......
And mea culpa, I have yet again wasted an entire morning catching up with who has been doing what and neglected to finish the admin work I was determined to do today!!! *chuckle*
