The Social Media Black Hole

I went down the rabbit hole of social media tonight.  It started so innocently, checking Facebook, which lead to Instagram, which lead to Twitter, which lead to more Facebook, which landed me on Google+.  (Does anybody even use Google+?)  I've spent more time in all of these time-sucks as a result of the business, since this is the new direction of marketing.  I stop and wonder about the direction we are going as a society.  We make "connections".  As an introvert who is notoriously horrible at meeting people and making friends, one would think I would revel in this type of detached attachment.  Part of me likes hearing from old friends.  Part of me still feels as awkward, self-conscious, insecure, and isolated as I did in junior high/high school.  (Why haven't people sought me out?  Why am I always the seeker?  How much do I reveal?  Why do I still feel like a dork?)  I do check people's posts all the time, and I don't know why.  What I mostly see is polarization and extremism.  Polite debate has been drown out by all-caps screaming.  No one is listening and everyone is yelling.  The anonymity emboldens people to be, for lack of a better term, dicks.  Some of this behavior is spilling over into real life.  Hopefully, we can all remember our manners when not in front a screen.  I promise to remember this, too.  And to put down the screen periodically.  Or at least at family functions.  And at the dinner table.

Many of my connections have unplugged from one site or another.  The sites where they remain involve a much smaller, selective circle of connections.  Maybe we *should* all join Google+ to avoid the bullshit that wears us down.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look at pictures of baby hedgehogs.

The end

This quarter is the first after many, many years that I do not have a teaching appointment.  I am/was so low on the totem pole that I wasn't given any classes.  I am still torn about how I should feel.  I wish the end of my teaching career would have happened on my own terms.  (Officially, it isn't over,  but I have a feeling that I won't return. I'm still on some list somewhere. )  The loss of medical benefits and a steady,  albeit tiny,  paycheck is stressful. The freedom to focus my energy on our own business is awesome.  Now I really need to work on my time management skills. Or find a personal assistant. So much to do;  so little time.  

Mmmm... ducklings

Me:  We're going to Bruno's.
Flynn:  YES!  Schnitzel!   Mommy,  what are those things I always take off your plate?  Ducklings?
Me: Dumplings.
Flynn: Yum.  Dumplings.
Me: Ducklings on your plate would make for a very different meal.
All:  Quack quack quack!