In Defense Of Social Media

On the front page of our paper today is a feature on Facebook, other social medial and Internet use by AP Technology Writer, Barbara Ortutay.

By today's technological timing, the survey by the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is stale. It was done last year.

I have written before on families spending time together. Less families sitting around the dinner table discussing their day has been a fact of life for a long time now. When mothers started working outside the home, families started to have less "quality time" together. For most families - especially today - this is a necessity.

Handled well, I am in favor of "Social Media". In fact, it helps many families who are separated by distance stay in touch. I do not do much but converse and hope I do not offend too many when I do not play a game or join a group.

Hubby and I only have one granddaughter living in our city and the rest are very much scattered. It is much easier to get an answer to how the others are doing on Facebook than any other way.

I also like that Facebook lets me connect with local people I might not have known very well otherwise. Also, it is much easier to go to the computer and get an overview than to telephone people. Quick telephone calls often become half an hour and that may be time that most of us do not have.

I also very much like Twitter but for a different reason. It lets me pick those things I want to know about and I can go there and get a quick rundown of what is going down. I can see the latest news without commercials and without a producer prioritizing what he/she thinks I want to know.

I don't have all the gadgets and gizmo's on my phone so I actually sit at a computer and check various things a few times during the day.

For seniors who keep up with the technology, it is a blessing to have new ways to connect with grandchildren in other areas.