Social Dilemma

I have spent a lot of time in recent days pondering the impact of it on our lives.  The impact of technology in general, but especially social media.  Truth be told many of us got lost in our social media especially in the last year and a half, because well, we couldn't socialize in real life, safely   But as time has worn on, breaking out of the social media trap has been hard.  And I say trap, because in so many ways, it is as much of a trap as living in the past if you allow it to be.   It's so very easy to lose everything in our present, when we bury ourselves in carefully crafted worlds that people build on here.   It's so easy to get caught up in it and lose sight of what is important.  So in the last few weeks I have been spending less time on social media.   I made commitments to myself to get some things done, and I was finding that hanging out on FB for literally hours at a time, getting lost in the scrolling, gave me an easy excuse to not do things, that honestly scared me a little.  

We tell ourselves that this is how we stay in touch, this is where our friends are and we need to stay connected, while feeling increasingly disconnected at the same time.  As I have spent less time on the platforms, I have learned something very important.  Well, honestly, not anything I didn't already know, but it finally forced me to realize, that while yes, there are some genuine relationships that have formed from association on social media, most people have no idea that I have quietly been living life outside the ether.    I imagine that there are many of us who have experienced this at one point or another, so it's good to remember:

    "People (in real life and on social media) come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime"

 but wait,  there's more.

    "When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person"

I am grateful for the relationships that I have built from FB and IG.   And the quote above is fitting, as modified, because it is true.   Of the thousands of people we meet in social media, only a handful are likely to be with us for a lifetime.   And that's okay, truly, because if you come out of it with even one true, genuine forever friend, then wow, how awesome is that.  More importantly if we have figured out which ones are here for a reason and which for a season, then likely we have  provided one another what was needed.  Whatever the reason, whatever the season, people come into and out of our lives.    At first I was a little sad, as I began pulling away and immediately started losing touch with some people, but now I have to smile and I realize how blessed I am to have met so many of them at all.   Everyone we have met here, or in any other amazing group in which we are members, have impacted us in ways that have shaped us for our present and our future.  Together we have all shared lessons in humility, bravery, love, kindness, fearlessness, compassion, friendship, patience, tolerance; every single one a point of light that has added to our collective glow.  Peace