I could barely read email when I was hired for a very prestigious job that required strong computer skills. I did not have them. I adapted the best I could. I lacked the formal training my younger coworkers had. I got by, I made due. I am now retired and I still spend too much time on the computer. Somethings I understand, others... I never will.
I found myself getting messages to "friend" people on Facebook. I came to learn EVERYBODY goes on Facebook. It is a great resource for finding college, and school friends, reminders for birthdays, and most important learning family updates, through words and pictures.
We are a society of voyeurs. We want to know what our favorite celebrities wear, eat, and who they date. In the theory of our own "15 minutes of fame", we can all become celebrities. You can post pictures of yourself, your friends and family.. You can discuss current events, who you are voting for, and who you sleep with. You can friend one person or thousands.
My families post pictures that are old and new. They share special events, good news and sad news. I get to see what the assorted ex's are doing, and who they are doing it with. Good Grief! I think this all might be to civilized for this Grammy. I bought some lovely craft items from Etsy, now I have new Facebook friends in Minn. and California. I connected with a childhood school friend in Atlanta. They send me " fortune cookies" and I read about their lives. They have nice lives.
I have to admit I like to wish people happy birthday, and acknowledge cute baby pictures by pressing a "like" button. I am not comfortable with this Facebook world, but have not canceled, or deleted or refused a request yet. Am I alone on these feelings? Grammy the voyeur.
You are not alone. You are the rule, not the exception.
ReplyDeleteI, on the other hand, who usually have my cell phone off, and have no laptop, no Smart-Phone or I-Phone, no I-Pad, no MP3, etc.,...I am the exception. I am sure that part of this stems from my past, when some people called at all hours, when a workaholic boss / friend didn't know how to take a day off (and tended to rope me into work on my days off), and when during my former teaching years students and parents did not respect my privacy at all and constantly insinuated themselves into whatever I was doing at the most bizarre times (on the dance floor at a wedding, DURING the seder at my home, on the cashier's line in the supermarket, and in the road, as I was scooping dog poop, or riding my bike on a hot summer day, to name just a few instances). The result is that I don't want to be 100% accessible. Hearing about those with whom I lost touch is lovely, but if I lost touch, I most likely was not that close to the person. I can barely keep up with the people with whom I do still maintain contact. Thank goodness for e-mail because the time and date are less consequential than they are for phone calls and the recipient can answer when it is convenient for him/her and not be inconvenienced the way a phone call might. Yes, e-mail is a blessing in that respect and more personal than Facebook and Twitter, etc.
But as nice as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc. are for keeping up with people and sharing photos, they tend to display messages and photos for all to see and hear in a less narrow manner than I prefer. They seem to have changing rules of security and numerous advertisements for merchandise or services that I see as questionable. Note that for each ad that I block, a new one springs up on Facebook, requiring constant monitoring. My significant other's Facebook page, started as a business venture to post shows, but has become a collection of odd postings from some very lonely people who post easily 10 or more times a day about unremarkable and daily events, as if they have nothing else to do.
Technology changes all of the time. By the time we master one skill, ten others spring up. That is the nature of what keeps it marketable and exciting (and exhausting). We learn the skills we need and hope that the next set of changes are not so extensive that we can't catch up. Technology is a way that the newer generation can feel that it is truly contributing to this world something to which the older generation has only a tiny claim....So whatever you can't grasp you'll learn from Baby P, who will also have to tutor Mummy & Daddy, as well as Grammy & Grand-da.
B
Grammy The FaceBook Voyeur
Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:34 AM PST