Tags

, , , ,


I started this post two weeks ago, got distracted and abandoned it.  But facebook’s landscape this morning has me dusting it off.

 

Why does my dog’s new hairstyle get 50 likes and a ton of comments about how cute he is and my post about being so low I can’t function gets nothing?

I used to be a prolific “Facebooker”.  I was online all day and would check in constantly.  I “liked” posts for recipes and jokes, took the silly quizzes, posted pictures of vacations, and of course, the required pics of my animals.

As my mental illnesses have worsened over the last few years, my “facebooking” has slowed down considerably.  Now, I mostly keep my account to watch out for my stepchildren and nephews.

But, I usually do a quick run through my wall in the morning just to see what people are talking about.

And today, they are talking about guns.

Except, they aren’t actually talking about guns.  They are posting memes, put together by someone else, taking polarizing positions one way or the other regarding the President’s speech yesterday.

And I have a real problem with that.  Posting a meme like that tells me that you are not articulate enough to tell me what your position actually is. You just want me to know that you love or hate guns or the President or whatever.  But nothing is ever that easy.    Rarely is someone’s position on an issue strictly white or black.  Shades of gray exist everywhere and memes don’t allow for those shades of gray.

If you are going to post something like that, elaborate.  I always thought that social media would be a great tool for society to share opinions, organize and make social change.  Instead it has sunk to the lowest common denominator.  Pictures of dogs and dinner and cats and drunk people litter my wall daily.  If there are important conversations taking place, I have yet to find them.  And if I try to start one of those conversations, I am usually met with crickets.

WordPress has almost completely replaced social media for me.  I don’t go to Twitter at all anymore, I don’t even post my blog there.  I don’t share my blog to facebook because I need to maintain some anonymity until the disability situation shakes out one way or the other.  If I want to have a conversation, this is the place.

The group therapy situation of WordPress cannot be understated either.  If things get bad, I can come here and get it out.  Usually I get feedback, sometimes I don’t, but *crosses fingers* I haven’t attracted trolls yet.  Facebook is useless for this because I’m posting something serious and personal and that just isn’t what facebook is for.

If it can’t be said with a pic of my dog, it’s not worth saying on facebook.

I won’t be giving up my candy crush anytime soon though  😉