Sunday, April 28, 2013

Being Social Online

Part of my daily ritual is checking Facebook to see who is doing what.  During the week I check in the evening after the meal is over, dishes are done and that moment of finally sitting down in my preferred Barcalounger and relaxing, has come.

On the weekend I check in the morning.  Early, as routine is hard to break, but before the chores of the day require attention.

The morning still new, the house still quiet, a fresh brewed cup of coffee on the end table, the laptop on...well, my lap and I open up to see who has reported doing what, on Facebook.

We live in the generation that saw the birth of social media and continue to experience the growing pains.  What is put online is there, in some form, forever.  Understanding what that means and putting in place safeguards and laws is taking time.

My personal observations support that those who are social in nature likely make the most use of online socializing.  Those, not so much, read what others are doing but don't post as much of their own activities.

In April, 1992 D. was working on his Ph.D. at Southern Seminary.   He went to Oxford, England for eight weeks to do his required outside studies. International phone calls were expensive so we planned for a weekly day and time to talk . . . for ten minutes . . . and we mailed letters.

That seems like the dark ages.

Email was just on the horizon but had yet to make it into every home in the neighborhood.  Online was so close yet unavailable to us during this eight week time slot.

That I communicate regularly over Facebook with L, recalling those long, lonely eight weeks, makes me appreciate so much that I am here to participate in this technological age.

I am a social being, online and off, and I look forward to whatever technology will bring. Yes, there is always bad with the good but what would you choose to leave behind...now that we know?

What memories do you have that bridge this technological divide?

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4 comments:

  1. I sure don't miss the expense of long distance phone calls. I kind of like how facebook puts everyone in one spot, but I prefer "face time" with my friends and neighbors best of all!

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  2. When my husband was in Vietnam, I wrote daily.
    He occasionally got to call me, usually on a Saturday night--Sunday morning over there--via a ham radio. After we finished each sentence we had to say "over," before he or I could respond to what was said. Saying, "I love you, Over," or "I miss you, Over" wasn't very romantic, but hearing the sound of his voice and knowing he was safe meant the world to me.

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  3. Being able to instantly connect with people is very convenient but can become very obsessive....Discipline is really require in order not to let the computers and cell phone dominate our lives.....I think it's really important to teach our kids and grandkids that they have to use some self control....A very good thing can become a very bad thing....

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  4. As we had to date long distance, we did a lot of letter writing. We spoke on the phone, too, but that was expensive. My husband, God love 'im, was fabulous at writing letters, even though normally he hated writing.

    Treasures now, for sure. :)

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