My “Social Media” World – Or the Lack Of…

I am contentedly out of step with the world of ‘social media networking’. 

This is my cell phone.  It makes phone calls where I speak to people.  On rare occasions will I use the text feature… basically when I must reach someone and know that is the only way to get thru to them or I don’t want to disturb those around them. But it is very rare because as you can see… I have an old-fashioned key pad.  Punch-punch-punch “C”, punch “A”, … and so on.  And truth be told, I don’t talk on it much either.  It’s for travel or when the phone service goes out here in The Sticks.  Otherwise it is not turned on.  Less than 10 people have the number.

I do not photograph with it.  I do not have ‘aps’ on it.  I do not connect to Facebook with it.

And I do not tweet/twit/whatever with it.  Random thoughts of others don’t interest me in the least.  I have a hard enough time keeping up with my own!

Ahhhh… Facebook.  “Will I be your friend?”  Probably not, unless it’s on my second Facebook account.  That one is for the ‘masses’ who are acquaintances or people I used to know.  I post a bit to it 1 to 3 times a month.  If I remember. 

My main Facebook page is for my family and true friends.  People I interact with.  People I care about and really want to see what they are up to.  There are 22 people on it.  And one dog.  I have 21 pages I like… because I really like them.

Blogs.  I love to write and photograph things for my blog.  It started as a way to let family and friends keep up with what I was doing.  I found other people’s blogs and started reading theirs regularly.  It’s become my morning ‘magazine’ I enjoy with my hot cuppa.  Then others starting reading and ‘following’ my blog.  Pretty cool.  I’ve even developed a ‘bloggy friendship’ with a few.

But it is still, and always will be, for fun.  You’ll never see an ad (that I have allowed) on my blog.  Sadly, some of my favorite blogs have gotten so ‘commercial’ that I’ve stopped reading them.  All the ads slowed it down so much it took forever to load and all they talked about was their “sponsors” and “being featured” (and gads! I caught myself doing that too – won’t happen again!) and “how to grow your blog business”. 

Pinterest.  The newest social media it seems.  But for me, it is a place to store ideas I like, until such time as I do them.  Then I delete them.  I don’t ‘pin’ for the convenience of others so I’m not going to follow some person’s grandiose ideas of proper “Pin etiquette” with descriptions just so and boards just so.  My only Pin etiquette is I do not put other people’s photos on my blog… just my own, even if inspired by something I saw in Pinterest.  

Perhaps I am a Luddite.  Perhaps I just don’t have time for the drama that seems to accompany ‘social media’.  Perhaps I don’t want the whole world knowing my every move.

But that is how it is.