Social Media is Scary

When I think about blogging, I am crippled by the fact that I don’t have anything terribly interesting and certainly nothing important to say. I believe that when people who don’t have much to say start a blog, it’s usually because they are raging narcissists. Narcissism is not my go-to thing, but I can play that role. 

Part of the reticence in blogging about my reflections on social media is that I am fearful of becoming painfully out of date or “unhip” on current trends. I recognize that people are leaving Facebook in droves, but I still really like Facebook. Instagram is fine, I guess, but I would prefer to do the Instagram thing on Facebook instead. That’s where my “audience” is and, to me, it’s a lot more user-friendly. Also, I prefer a different app for editing pictures (Phototoaster) than the ones built into Instagram. Additionally, I abhor Twitter. Ok, maybe “abhor” is too strong of a word, but I don’t get it. I was talking with my cousin Kayla, a freshman here at the University of Oregon,  and was lamenting that I don’t like Twitter and really don’t understand why people use it at all. Looking at her phone, she kind of chuckled, shook her head and probably sent off a tweet of her own. Not only do I not get it, Kayla has judged that I likely never will, and chooses not to invest the time.

I feel like I run the risk of being a caricature of the aging person who confounds and conflates the social media tools…or worse, uses them incorrectly in a way that is unintentionally hilarious. Case in point, my dear mother and mother-in-law apparently think a person’s Facebook wall is the same as a person’s email address. Except it’s not. Take a look at their exchange below.

The point is that I don’t want to be that guy. I have always considered myself not necessarily an innovator, but certainly at the leading edge of being an early adopter. However, it seems I am the type of guy who creates a Facebook page for his unborn son...a fact that perhaps perfectly underscores the reason for my reticence.

I know this class is not designed to help me learn how to better use the currently prevalent social media tools, nor did I want it to serve that purpose. I am eager to learn more about how and why these different tools are used. In the end, I hope my work in this class will help me have a better informed perspective on the landscape of social media, it’s relevance to different parts of our society. But ultimately, I just want to figure out why the hell Twitter is still a thing.