Week 7 — Who to Follow?
I am a firm believer that social media is not inherently evil. Sure, I am still working out how to keep myself from wasting copious amounts of time on it, but I am under the impression that much good can come from it.
As I've thought about how I use social media, I've found that who I follow makes a big difference in how being on social media makes me feel. Surprisingly, following people from my hometown that I haven't interacted with in years feels more like an obligation than actually "keeping up" with everyone like I have always told myself I was doing. Many of them I would honestly be likely to pretend I didn't see if I happened to run into them on the street.
I really get the most out of social media when I interact with my current friends. Whether it's congratulating them on an achievement or supporting them in a difficult situation, I feel the most fulfilled when I am building relationships. Additionally, following accounts that post about things I'm interested in has been a positive experience.
So why waste time scrolling past pictures of people I don't ever actually interact with? Part of it is keeping up appearances, I'm sure. But I also think that it could be a better experience if I started commenting more on posts of people I used to friends with in high school. Who doesn't need a little extra love and support, even from someone they haven't talked to in awhile?
Tell me how you make your social media work for you.
I love this post! I have had the same feeling where I am following people just because I think I have to or they will be offended lol. While I don't consistently talk to most of them, it does feel good when someone reaches out just out of the blue to do a little check-in. I am assuming it would be the same for others, so I try to do that when appropriate!
ReplyDeleteI love your thoughts! I am totally the same with people from high school who I follow but would definitely pretend not to see if I ran into them. I want to do a better job of reconnecting with people and letting know that I do enjoy seeing their posts and what they are up to!
ReplyDeleteI do the same, haha people from high school and my ward in high school are like not relevant anymore i guess? I never wonder how they are doing and i never idk show interest in their posts, Which is probably kind of mean. I'm going to work on that!
ReplyDeleteHm I really like this! I agree with it feeling like an obligation, for people I haven't seen in a while from high school... and I do get the most out of it when I comment and it's for close friends. But I really don't comment very much, so I think I'll try to do a better job of that because of what you wrote. Thanks Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI love this post and actually wrote something sort of similar on my blog this week! I agree- Social media isn't this crazy evil thing but still has the power to portray those negative feelings. I think it's awesome that you pointed out that we need to spend our time and energy following people we actually care about instead of feeling obligated to follow them just because it looks good on our part. Thanks for your insight!
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