Reasons I use Social Media:
1 - To keep in touch with extended family and friends (Facebook)
2 - To stay fresh and knowledgeable in my field of work - Fashion (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook)
3 - To make plans (Facebook)
4 - To show others what I am doing and what I look like (Facebook)
5 - To keep tabs on people I haven't spoken to in years (Facebook)
What qualifies as a good life:
- Time spent with family and friends
- Time doing activities that bring you happiness
- Working a job that you enjoy
- Eating good food
- Helping others
Looking at the 2 lists, it is difficult to say with conviction that my Social Media usage is directly related to me living out a good life. Sure, I connect with extended family and friends on Facebook, I can see pictures and read status updates, but I think that a 15 minute phone conversation will give me a much better connection with the person than creeping their profile and "liking" photos.
When I compare my list of good life qualities to my Social Media usage I don't see a strong connection. Yes, there is the viewing blogs for professional reasons but that to me is the only obvious similarity that we can compare between the lists. Posting pictures of myself, creeping profiles, and surfing blogs can be fun, but it does not lend a solid hand in my overall good life (You can't sit down and enjoy a big plate of "Tweets")
2) When did I start using Social Media and why?
I joined Facebook early in my Kwantlen career after another student showed me. I didn't use it much during the first few years. It eventually became a tool to connect with friends I had in highschool and even elementary school! My is now used more as a way to keep connected with people that A) I actually hang out with away from the computer and B) Work in my industry. I have gone away from having a friends list full of past friends to a list of friends that share similar interests and our reflective of my current life.
Twitter and blogging were things I was introduced to while I was interning for a photographer/blogger/social media expert, Kris Krug, in 2008. Looking back now, I wish that I had taken his advice more seriously about getting on broad with social media and creating an online presence. If I have a regret in my "Career Life" it would be NOT starting a blog 4 years ago and NOT realizing the opportunities that social media would of opened up for me as I ventured forward with my career goals.
3) How would I replace Social Media if it was taken away?
Social Media would be replaced with the following:
1- A Women's Wear Daily subscription
2- Increased Talk and Text plan for the cell phone
3- Email communications
4- More face to face connections
If I woke up tomorrow and Facebook, Twitter, and Personal Blogs where gone, I would be disappointed. The habits I have formed around checking various Social Media applications would take awhile to dissolve and I would crave to "be in the know" and my FOMO (fear of missing out) would flare up. But if I was to reflect back on my list of good life qualities I would see that not having my Social Media fix is not negatively affecting my quality of life. I would remind myself that I know how to speak on the phone, call up a friend I haven't seen in a while, and meet up with them over some good food and verbal conversation.
No comments:
Post a Comment