Did you miss me?
Whaddaya mean, you didn’t notice I was gone? Sheesh, I could’ve been lying in a gutter for all you lot cared.
My computer decided to pack up on me and has been in the shop for the past brace of weeks being mended. Hence my tardiness at keeping up to date with my things to be grateful for. I wouldn’t mind, but it’s only six months old. Bloody shoddy workmanship if you ask me.
If you’re a newcomer to this series, it’s my attempt at putting into perspective just how lucky we actually are compared to a lot of people around the world who might not have some of the things that we take for granted. (Like a laptop!)
Today’s topic is Social Media (150).
I really missed it when I didn’t have my computer. Sure, I have an iPhone, so I could keep track of Facebook (151), Linked In (152) and Twitter (153). But it’s not the same. When you get to my age, I can’t be bothered typing with that fiddly little keyboard, what with my sausage fingers, an’ all. I end up rewriting 60% of what I’ve typed. And writing a post on WordPress (154) is just a no-no. Likewise for downloading on Pinterest (155).
So, a large part of my life is made up of connecting with people on social media. Some people say this is a bad thing and that I need to get out more. Except that, I went out to pubs and clubs for 25 years, so I don’t want to go out much anymore. It just gets very messy and it takes me three days to recover.
I’m quite happy looking after my children and relaxing in the evening with a glass of Shiraz while looking at my friends’ posts of kittens on Facebook. Or checking out England’s bleak chances of getting out of their group in Brazil in a couple of weeks.
Obviously, there’s a less trivial side to social media too. What with things like the Arab Spring gaining momentum on Twitter and You Tube (156). Or troops being brought to justice for war crimes. And more recently, the riots in Brazil over injustice towards the poor in favour of the olympics and the world cup. The ongoing crises in Syria and Ukraine. Governments must hate it. Unsurprising that the US and UK want to put internet restrictions in place. Western news media spoon-feeds us what our governments and corporations want us to hear. So, having social media to highlight to us a different side of the story is essential. Albeit, in many cases, unverified or edited. But that’s okay, because we have brains to help us to add up the pieces and form our own opinions.
Anyways, whatever we use social media for, I am very grateful for it. If I didn’t have it, I might actually have to go out and talk to people in the flesh. God forbid.
Meanwhile, here’s a budget airline stewardess going the extra mile. (Not that kind of extra mile, you cheeky things.)
Thanks to my mate Markham for sharing.
Oh, and then there’s this…
David Milligan-Croft
Thereisnocavalry 
Of course we missed you! How could you doubt us?
🙂
Definitely missed you, thought you had OD’ed on girly birthday cake. Cheers.
Must admit, I did get a bit giddy on icing sugar and Vimto.
Actually, yes, I did miss you.
Several months ago, I had a complete computer crash and lost everything, but fortunately a guardian angel had made me open a Dropbox account the day before and upload my novel-in-progress onto it.
I agree with you, that fiddly keyboards on small electronic devices are so annoying and not at all worth bothering with.
Social media — well I don’t spend that much time with it. My favourite is facebook, as I belong to a closed writers’ group there and also I get to see photos of my daughter and grandchildren. I do spend quite a lot of time interacting with other bloggers though. It’s great fun communicating with people from all around the world without having to move from my chair, and, when I get sick of them, I can switch them off, which is more than I can do with people in real life. It’s much cheaper than travelling, too!
That’s very kind of you to say so, Sarah. Thankfully, I backed up my novel-in-progress too, so nothing was lost there. Lost a few other things like photos of my girls and music. Apart from that I got off pretty lightly. It’s amazing how cut off one feels when separated from social media. Like you say, building relationships with people all over the world that wouldn’t otherwise happen. It’s a bit like the connectivity of the universe. Or is that a bit heavy?!