Social Media: Interaction or Noise, Life or Death
Without reaction and interaction, social media is pointless.
Just sharing for the sake of sharing, throwing it into the wind and all that... sure, that sounds nice too, but it can also be considered a complete and utter waste of time. Pointless.
Wasting time, one of the few things I consider a sin.
Some turn to provocative posts, in order to ensure a reaction.
I am not going to do that.
Some are content to share whatever it is they share, and make a few bucks.
That doesn't work for me.
Yes, I do want to show my artworks, but, if it was just that, I could show up once a month, or so, and that be all. Perhaps I wouldn't even bother. Not anymore. To be here regularly, here or anywhere, there has to be more. There has to be interaction, quality interaction.
Does that even make sense though?
Are social platforms really built for quality interaction?
Consider the versatility and the amount of input. So many people... Most of you follow hundreds of people. Some follow thousand of people.... Why?
It's impossible to treat everyone with the kind of respect with which you would treat someone in real life. The one on one, direct eye contact, body language, words, interaction, sharing experiences, insights, etc.
So what do we look for here?
Why are we here?
A couple of months ago, I posted the following text on Minds.com, another social platform I am fond of:
So you witness a group of men all excited about a little girl who is doing porn, and who is younger than my youngest kid, telling themselves it's ok because the website says she is much older than she looks.
On that same platform I post my artworks, my thoughts, my inspiration. You will also find photos of me with my artworks, where I (and you, too) can witness a conversation on whether I'm a "babe" or just "an angry bitch". Or scary bitch?
I don't know..., some kind of bitch anyway.
These are important questions evidently.
Why am I on social media?
Someone remind me, please.
I can't remember.
I received many answers, some good ones too! A few elaborate, and beautiful ones... and then, there is one that stood out through its simplicity: It said:
"Because you're looking for resonances."
Yes. I am looking for the real within the unreal. So yes, you will see me share, you will see me try.
Any time it seems pointless, fruitless, and a waste, I simply stop, because, in a way, if the result is the same, whether I share or don't share, then... might as well stop. Might as well do better things with my time.
Like paint, and write.
Read.
Draw.
Swim.
Go for a walk.
Write long letters to faraway friends.
Travel.
Listen to music.
Dance.
Sway.
Do yoga.
Have breakfast in bed.
Have lunch by the river.
Have dinner in a fancy restaurant.
Play badminton.
Have philosophical discussions with intelligent people.
Have philosophical discussions with experienced people.
Play around and be silly.
Experiment with cooking.
Surprise someone.
Sleep.
Ride the bicycle.
Watch a movie.
Learn a new language.
Learn a new skill.
Do a random act of kindness.
Pay the bills.
Strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
Write a poem.
Sing in the shower.
Sing to someone.
Sing in the middle of the street.
Play the guitar.
Get some clay and sculpt.
Carve oneself a magic wand.
Call it a paintbrush.
Create a talisman.
Do laundry.
Clean out the closet.
Create a present for someone.
Publish a book using a pseudonym.
Communicate with birds.
Play a game.
...and hundreds upon hundreds of other things. Some of the best ones I haven't even mentioned here!
Basically, anything is better than wasting time.
Wasting time, the killer of spirit.
"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
~ Henry David Thoreau (from "Walden")
I am posting all of this on a platform where, past experiences have shown me, a vast number of people don't even read... Sometimes they even post comments, have opinions, have something to say, after merely glancing across a post.
The illusion of interaction.
Is it interaction, or is it noise?
What's the point? Why would anyone ever choose an illusion of anything?!
Why not just go for the real thing?
I can enjoy solitude, I can enjoy the silence, alone, or with another. However, if with people, if on social media, or at any social gathering, I do require interaction. Joining people is a choice, it means wanting exchange - real and meaningful exchange - or else it is death, and I don't have time for death right now.
There is life to be lived!
Carpe diem, carpe noctam, carpe vitam.
With love,
Sabina Nore
www.SabinaNore.com
You're not the only one thinking about this. Real, meaningful interaction here is scarce. Most people post and wait for payout time.
People who produce content of certain value, who put their grey matter and soul into their blogs want more than that. At least judging from myself, I want to see feedback in the comments of my posts, otherwise what is the point of making them? (This saddens me mostly when it happens with my stories)
I love the comment section but it is true that it is not as 'social' as say discourse, which I TRY to use and love but fail at miserably. I look at the comment section as an old post box and I wait patiently for a 'letter' to arrive and then like to answer back. It won't ever be an constant rush of texting, but for me, I'm not really excited about the constant barrage of texted statements running down a screen at breakneck speed, but I'm probably just an old fuddy duddy :)
It's like a desert on my steemit, Hope the rain comes eventually.
I understand your cravings. There is LOTS of commenting and groping around here, but real engagement beyond “great post! Go look at mine! Gimme a dollar!” is a bit scarce. But I see it building here, at least more than a while back.
All we can do is be true to ourself and our longings. So go...be what you want to see, make quality comments , engage with other quality contentors, etc. it will come back to you then.
Not saying you don’t do that 👆🏼 Just saying...that’s all we can do and enjoy the ride.
So well said, @anibas. It is an interesting phenomena this thing we call social media, which is in essence sticking our head in this box called a computer and trying to connect with others doing the same thing. Imagine how it would be to attempt to describe this strange thing we do to ourselves back in say the 80's or even the 90's, when the internet was just starting to take off. I think it would sound like ETs had invaded our world and taken over... LOL
I love the way you ended it with saying,
I totally agree. Thus, I spend less and less time on Steemit and actually found your post through my Minds account where you also posted. Thanks for sharing it, as it does make me really think about this almost addiction so many of us have and why that may be.
Hey Positivesynergy I originally was going to say that I genuinely thought that Steemit exists in a category then Facebook or Twitter but as I started typing I totally changed my mind. I worry about my use of social media, it has the capacity to be extremely useful as a tool for acquiring knowledge, forming communities and maintaining relationships. The reality? It just isn't. I think there is not enough concern given to the effects social media is having on our children. This is my thinking
We like to play off the effects of social media on children as trivial. It isn't front page news and we dismiss regulation because it seems overly restrictive and ultimately impossible.
Looking through history at the social events that eventually lead to massive change, we see tiny events. We see slight shifts in perspective, or strange social responses to natural phenomenon. We are undoubtedly still feeling the impact that the invention of telegram had on our societies, in how it changed communication between people and thereby shifted some of our perceptions and consequently our social structure and systems.
In the last 15 years, the way our children learn and grow and psychologically develop has changed drastically. The ability to instantaneously video communicate with anyone on earth, s new. The gamification of social status, that's scary and it's new. In fact the invention of the smartphone gave every access to everything.
The reason I'm saying all this, is because I sometimes I try to look almost retrospectively and think 'What good impacts could this have in the future and in what was could this positively develop' and I'm quite hard streched to think of anyway it looks good.
I'm rambling...
I agree the impact of social media in the future worries me too some. I'm more the out of the box sort of person.
I have been off Steemit for two days. Since about 7 months ago that has not been the case, as I really began to appreciate and look forward to my morning 'steemit time'. However, because of steemit I have let other social media fall on the wayside and I am told, as a modern artist, that is bad. We must post to FB and insta and such daily! Well, I haven't.
For me, as an introvert and self diagonsed hermit, the internet and social media is a good thing for me in a way. It gives me that interconnection in a way that also feels safe in that I can stay home and putter about and not feel the need to be as much out and about, yet that can be bad as well.
I use it now as a portion of my day. I take my morning time for steemit and my daily sketching. This is both work and some joy (and frustration lately as it has not been loading properly or I've triple commented etc) but it is what it is.
I figure we are obligated to live in the time of our present and social media is part of that construct so I shall oblige it. However, one must try to have some control (though probably illusive) of their days, so I relegate it to portions of my day. My garden, my studio/play time, even my sit and stare watching birds, waves, my animals whilst sipping coffee/tea is also a time slot given to my days. So really, proportion in all things is good, as well as days. So , if we do not feel the need to be ON social media all the time all day long, then it can be a more positive thing, I think. True, some will tell me to increase sales or make more 'exposure' more time spend the better, but again, when needs perspective and proportion and my unplugged time each day is far too important to me to give over for some 'possible' increase in wealth or status.
I can't wait to see some of the other answers you have got. As far as the seedy part of the world, it has always been there, it merely takes different forms. The human animal is a creature of dichotomy, wanting both to love and hate and this manifests itself in some very extreme ways. What can one do? C'est la vie and C'est la Social Media.
It's a good quote that resonated with you. resonance is the key to so many of our actions and reactions, both conscious and (largely) unconscious. Forget the "law of distraction" (and the so-called "law of attraction"), resonances happen even surrounded by noise - witness the phenomenon of hearing your name in a crowded room, even if an accidental homophone.
Education does not teach much about resonance, even in physics, from whence the concept arose; I suspect because it would make people far more aware of the potential interactions with our environment.
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@anibas Great post, I found you over on minds. I must really think about what you said. Am I wasting time? I don't like that I may be. But anyway glad to have stumbled upon your work, it's wonderful.
...well, may be you should consider this...if you are a member of any group, you cannot be the leader.