Social Media: The New Front Porch

           As I ride through a new neighborhood being constructed, I can't help but notice the front porch is a thing of the past. The front porch used to be a place where family got together to talk about their day, their likes and dislikes, and how everyone they associated with was doing. A conversation with our neighbors was more frequent because we could usually find them on their front porch. Face to face interaction with the people closest to us was frequent.Then Social Media was introduced to the world.

          Slowly, this changed the landscape of how and where we interacted. For the most part, sitting down for a conversation on the front porch is a thing of the past. Now everyone can be updated on the who, what, when, where, and why in 140 characters or less.
          
          I am a big fan of story telling. This is where we are losing that art form. Before the instant updates, there was catching up with friends face to face about things that you have done or trips taken. The fun was usually in telling a story with a couple of embellishments here and there while describing the emotional roller coaster you went through. Now we get the new sensation of a play by play of our friend's trip as picture after picture is posted in real time. No picture can take the place of seeing your friends reactions as your story unfolds. If you aren't getting the attention you crave from social media, try telling an interesting story in person. All eyes will be on you.      

         There is also a certain cowardice associated with social media. People would rarely say the things they post in a face to face conversation. The nobility of calling someone to go on a date is disappearing. It is much easier to use that social media buffer instead of running the risk of hearing the rejection over the phone. You really want to show your confidence to a girl nowadays? Call her.

         Post after post of glamorous lifestyles is creating an envy and jealousy that has snowballed into a mass depression across the social realm. A majority of our days are dedicated to wasting our lives in a zombie like trance gazing upon how great everyone's lives are when we should be focused on our own. Our real social status should not be portrayed through how many likes we can get, but how we interact with others. And besides, do all those likes matter if no one likes you in person? Our face to face interaction still means something. If we can find a way to put down the phone, we can spend more time focusing on making an impact on our own lives as well as others.

        If we start to look at the big picture instead of just staring at the little ones, we will realize that there is a world beyond our computer screens to see and learn from. If you don't look up every once in a while, you just might miss it.