Social Media Hopes and Fears

In the fateful year now coming to a close I worked from home for a good while, went out to eat a lot less often and yet put on 10 pounds, read far fewer books than I should have, became a grandfather (!), and watched my country kind of fall apart. Other than that, nothing much happened.

During the course of the year I've kind of re-engaged with blogging again. My readership is negligible but it feels right simply to be writing with some frequency. My goal for the new year in this regard is simply that I keep it up. Writing seems to have a honing effect on one's thoughts. To express oneself clearly, even when things are complicated, is always a good goal to have.

I became somewhat more thoughtful in my use of social media this year. At least most of the time I did. I use Facebook frequently, probably too much, but especially as 2020 went on I tried to use it to share, well, not to sound all high-falutin' here, beauty and truth. This dreadful year has produced a lot of political argumentation, and on the one hand that has been somewhat clarifying, but I'm trying to avoid that sort of thing now. My goal is to follow Philippians 4:8 in all my social media engagement.

I am not hiding from controversy, mind you. Where lies are presented, I often try to answer back with truth. But I'm trying not to be scurrilous or mean, and to recognize that the issues are complex. Maybe they're too complex for social media, as many contend. Anyway, gotcha sloganeering won't do. So I'm trying to share long-form articles that recognize the complexities and call people, should they so choose, to a deeper level of intellectual engagement.

I've also begun to make more use of Twitter these days. I use it differently than Facebook though. On Facebook I have friended just about everyone I've ever met (exaggeration alert!), and the result is that I wind up scrolling past a lot of silly memes, conspiracy theories, and cute kitty pics. I try to curate my wall to some extent (blocking the conspiracies at the source), but as I've often been told about many sorts of things, "it is what it is." Scrolling through Facebook winds up having the feel of rummaging through a sort of community junk-drawer. 

Twitter is different. What I see on Twitter is the result of my own strict curation. There I'm trying to create a space to connect with people who show signs of wisdom and clear thinking. I'm trying to be very exclusive. I'm not seeking old friends and co-workers and so forth. I'm going for quality, not quantity. In other words, Twitter for me is not so much a place of personal connections as it is a tool for gathering and engaging with the wise and good (it's there, it really is!).

All that sounds rather, I don't know, optimistic? I mean, can you really enhance your life via social media? Well I'm going to try.