I have mixed feeling about Social Media and Texting. I love it on the one hand; it's brilliant for sharing and keeping in touch, but on the other hand, I am beginning to feel a few negatives.
- Instead of being present in a moment of beauty, we take a quick look, capture it on camera, move on, post it to FB and say we've seen it. But have we? Did we really see it, did we sit down, absorb, watch and experience the moment? Or did we take the picture, go home and then try to see it.
- Facebook is a very poor substitute for face-to-face, but a great way to keep in touch.
- A negative in texting is that ones tone is completely lost. Not even a smiley face can change that!
- Probably my main concern is losing the art of deciphering the language that speaks the loudest... Body Language.
Look at me when I am speaking to you, watch what I am saying.
Seeing what I am saying often says more than what my words say.
Seeing what I am saying often says more than what my words say.
There is a part of me that would like to just close my eyes and go back in time to before Social Media, when we listened to friends rather than read them.
In 2013 I want to ensure that I don't ever lose the art of what it means to be present in a friendship rather than a participant in a friendship.
"A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still,
gently allows you to grow."
~ Shakespeare ~
Could not agree with you more, Lis!
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I purposely did not even take my camera to the Christmas Day festivities so that I could be "fully there" for the day.
I think social media is wonderful for those people you dont want to lose contact with but who are not close enough to maintain contact with any other way.
Its also true that in these days, we just know too many people. And are fond of too many people.
One simply cannot find time to get face-to-face with all of them the way we;d like to.
For that too, I'm so grateful for the contact Facebook and other social media provide.
To say nothing of blogs! Which are great forums for airing points of view etc . . .
But thats another story :-)
I didn't take any at Christmas either - for the same reason! :)
DeleteI agree with everything you said! We both know how faithful an FB partipant I am!:), and a Blogger, and Twitter, so there is no hope of me deleting those from my life. I think I am just reflecting on how much time I spend at work unnecessarily. I want to change that this year to make sure I have time not only for me, but for more.
I totally agree with you. The only social media outside of blogging I have tried is Facebook...but I am not very active there. I find it sad that we don't phone or send a card on birthdays...just post to a timeline...it is as if the magic has gone.
ReplyDeleteA friend also had to find out via Facebook that a loved one had died...how very, very sad. I also want to cherish the face to face times with family and friends in this new year.
Wishing you and your loved ones much peace and joy for 2013.
xx
Hi Lynette
DeleteThanks for your comment.
Yes, there is something special about receiving a letter in the mail, isn't there? What a terrible way for your friend to have to hear news like that, really is sad.
Wishing you and yours lots of face-to-face lovely moments this year too.