Who Knew?

Did you know that today is considered to be Worldwide Social Media Day? I sure didn't, and you'd think that since I use social media, I would have a clue. Oh well. I found out when I read this post by Louise Tillbrook, and I think it's a great post in favor of the positives that come from the social media experiences.

And it got me to thinking that a lot of what she says is true. Face it, having a blog is an early form of social media, and it was a way for me to meet so many people of like minds and develop actual friendships, even if we never get the chance to meet in person. I really enjoy having a blog and reading other blogs, even if nowadays it is considered "old-fashioned" and/or unnecessary.

Now granted, I don't use every single type of social media available. I occasionally check Pinterest for things like recipes or haircut ideas; I check on Facebook daily or every other day to "talk" to family and friends I don't usually get to see, or to find out what is new with them; I still have a Twitter account, but seldom check in there, ever since Evil Elon took over. I will admit that my favorite is Instagram, because I follow a lot of accounts that are things I love - knitting, art, animals, books, travel - and so to be honest, I seldom come across really negative or damaging things there, though I am of course well aware of their existence. I have seen TikTok videos, but do not have a TikTok account - not because of any political beliefs, just because I truly cannot imagine what I would do with an account of my own!

Some of the others out there - I may have heard of them, but I have absolutely no clue what they are about, for, etc.

Now I do have some personal rules for checking social media that I put into place while The Orange Menace was in office. I found that I needed to stop looking at online news, social media, and just about everything else all of the time if I wanted to keep my emotions and blood pressure down, and be able to get any sleep at all at night. I'm not a good sleeper in the best of times, so things were heading downhill fast.

My personal rule is that in the morning, I don't look at any social media until after I've eaten breakfast; and in the evening, I don't look at any social media after 8 p.m. This means in my case that I am able to start my day by easing into things, and end my day without being angry/upset/annoyed/whatever - well at least as far as news and social media is concerned!

So thank you to all of you who read my blog for at least participating in this type of social media. If we are also friends on Facebook and/or Instagram, all the better. And thanks to some of the social media for - as Louise Tillbrook points out in her post - introducing me to small businesses where I feel like I am actually purchasing from someone who appreciates my custom.

What about you? Do you find social media has good points, or do you wish you could just ignore it all? I have to admit, my favorite thing is that it allows me to "talk with friends" without having to leave the house, in my own time, and if I feel like it. As someone who is an introvert, most of the time it's just the amount of interaction that I need.

Have a good weekend! Here in the States, we are leading up to July 4th, so there's lots going on. I have no real plans to do anything special this weekend, but I'm glad it's here so that The Tim can be home and I can watch him take naps ... 😂

I hope your June ends well, and July starts off just as you would like. Take care, and I'll see you next week.