I have been thinking about this question a lot lately.
Clearly I enjoy social media.
I love the expression. The outlet. The connections. The community. The instant access to information and people and life.
But at what expense?
Over the last few weeks, social media has smacked me in the face.
And made me ask myself:
Are we sometimes guilty of focusing too much on the media and not enough on the social?
Are we so connected that we have actually become disconnected?
The background...
Just this weekend, one of my dear old friends got married. I knew she was engaged, she sent a small group of us a note about it on Facebook. Looking back at her feed, I now see that she made reference to planning her wedding. And then boom. I popped online and she had announced she was married. I have no idea if she eloped, had a small ceremony or a big one. All I know is that watching it from afar on Facebook stung.
There was a time, before social media was so integrated in our lives when she probably would have called or emailed. We would have talked. I would have known. At least I hope I would.
That was actually the second time that happened in two weeks.
The second time that I found myself watching something from afar. Watching with the masses. And feeling like that. Like just one of the masses.
It made me ask myself:
By always talking to the crowd, have we stopped talking to each other?
I am guilty of it, too. I recently had a great, long overdue conversation with my one of my dearest friends. It has been over 6 months since we have found time to talk on the phone. She is a Facebook, Twitter, blog holdout. It just isn't her.
And while life has been busy, I certainly have found the time to be online. I have been out there talking to myself. Blabbering on about whatever. Yet, I haven't found the time to reach out and pick up the phone.
Sometimes, I talk to the crowd at the expense of talking to individuals. Of course real connections have been created and nurtured online.
But I miss getting excited phone calls announcing that someone is engaged.
I miss middle of the night calls that a new baby has arrived.
I miss parties with invites that you actually get in the mail.
But the question I wonder is, with all that social media gives us, what does it take away?
Does the ease of just putting it out there mean we stop actually putting ourselves out there?
