Watch On Being Sold To Social Media

One ought to make the most of social media for one’s own benefit and set of objectives. The danger lies in being sold to it and often times not even realizing how much it’s taken/ is taking from us.

Disclaimer: In reading this, although you may disagree entirely or agree

partly, it is almost certain that if you have not as yet spent a few minutes thinking about this subject, through this brief discernment, you will embark on a process that will perhaps help clear much clutter from your life, enabling you to realize that when a day had 24 hours, it had enough time for just about everything.

THE BIG QUESTION - Why social media? What is the objective for an individual using it? How much of it is needed? Does it not need to be avoided in many circumstances?

TIME - How much time needs to be spent/ invested on it? How much time in a day/ week/ month/ year is spent on social media, both personally and professionally? Is it truly time well spent? The likes, shares, comments, messages, endorsements et al, received and given… what gratification do they amount to?

PEOPLE - Who is one involving with on social media? Do these people really matter? On a professional note, is time spent on a virtual network truly beneficial in translating to business?

PERCEPTION - Does it not matter how one is perceived on the network? Does it not need to be more defined in terms of who is being targeted? Does it not need to be more specific in terms of what goes up and what doesn’t? Isn’t so much simply better being aborted or not initiated in the first place?

TRADITIONAL MEDIA NOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA – It’s interesting to see that TV cannot reach its TG on TV, nor radio on radio; as they used to prior to the social media boom; amongst other things we now find TV and radio on these as well.

My thoughts…

On the Professional Network

It is an investment of time and effort to enhance visibility to the world at large, hoped to lead to benefit in:-

• Profitability in one’s own business
• Making a worldwide declaration about an opportunity
• A better career prospect
• Widening one’s network
• Being a voice, sharing knowledge

How long will one be at it not experiencing any of the perceived results?

If one does attain some of the anticipated result, does the lack of fruition of the rest of the time and effort justify the results obtained? Notwithstanding this, is there no upper limit in terms of how much time is worth it?

Does one ever retire from the network? Should there not be some kind of a timeline in mind to achieve certain goals and exit thereafter?

On Other Networks

It is an expense of time and effort for the following reasons:-

• To see what’s trending
• To post information that you would like friends, family and a real network to know
• To expand one’s circle of friends to a whole lot of fictitious friends/ one’s network to a virtual network, and keep them also posted about things that are conveyed to friends and family
• To vent/ express/ educate the world. How much should we actually reveal about ourselves, our status, our thoughts and what’s going on in our lives? Often times although we are specific in our response being sent to a certain person, our intention is that everyone and not just the recipient should know. Do we really want people to perceive us as our responses convey or would we prefer not to be as known? An alcoholic wakes up in the morning hung over and regretting things expressed when tripping. Do we have second thoughts about anything posted?
• A place to be at when one feels lonely (this is a truly sorry state for anyone to be in…)
• A place where one gets attention and can call for attention
• To publicize anything for benefit/ popularity
• Engaging with people one doesn’t know - Is this reasonable by any standard?
• One is simply hooked on to it and cannot resist the urge to keep checking/ keep posting for any or all of the above reasons (this is akin to any addiction replete with withdrawal symptoms, and one needs to be delivered/ freed from such a fixation, no less a vice; no wonder it is referred to as ‘social media detox’, the bigger picture being media detox)

How long will one be at it seeing that in effect, much of it is wasted time, in the larger context of applying time judiciously?

In conclusion...

Do we not have other meaningful pursuits that could do so much better with our time, or for that matter, individuals in our lives that we could actually spend/ invest our precious time with? Parents poking at their phones when the family is out for a meal. He and she staring at the phone when they are sitting beside each other, what on earth for! Children playing games on screens when they should be out in the field kicking a ball, swimming, dancing, drawing, singing, playing a musical instrument or sitting with friends and having a conversation ex-gadgets. While the transcending generation is adapting quickly to the change in media culture forsaking a state, pace and ethos that they were accustomed to; the concern is about the emerging generation that only knows this state of being once the parental filter is lifted. Only a breakdown will take them to a premise without, and the cold turkey we are referring to is something we can barely imagine…