An early resolution for 2016: no more social media for me.

[closeupready]

I don't see the value in social media.

I don't like the way in which it seems to have become a tool which is being abused by mobs of the ignorant to scapegoat people who are weird or non-conformist. Someone said it better than I can recently, that his participation in social media was something that actually seemed to be contributing to his mental distress (kind of like the Schroedinger's Cat dilemma), and so he stopped participating in it.

I'm kind of there, too. It's just a waste of time, IMO, and there's a lot of life to live for real, not on the internet.

[NJCher]

1. I've heard other people say

That social media is the biggest time sink in their lives, and that's why they quit. Better things to do.

So since I have no experience whatsoever with social media, I have a question. Would you call posting on DU a form of social media? If not, how does it differ?

My question is sincere, and I am genuinely ignorant about Facebook and Twitter. The reason I am asking is that people have asked me if I am into social media at all and I want to give as honest an answer as I can.


Cher

[closeupready]

2. Hey hon! Hope you are well. :-)

yes, I do think DU is social media - not perhaps the same KIND, but to the extent that people come online to DU to socialize, then that would make it social media.

Given that most English-centric social media is dominated by Americans, it reflects that culture, too.

In my real life, I rarely venture out anymore because I find people here generally to be scary, toxic, abusive, and predatory, even women. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the same dysfunction pervades the online forums where many of the same people are involved.

Happy holidays to you, Cher!

[Le Taz Hot]

3. I'm on FB

ONLY for the Sanders campaign. As soon as he's elected President, I'm out. During campaign season, though, it's sort of a necessary evil.

[easttexaslefty]

4. I use Facebook a lot

I gives my a way to connect with other grieving parents from all over the world in real time. We share suicide prevention articles and lift each other up

I also use my page as a clearinghouse of a sort for interesting political articles or really anything I find interesting.

[Sherman A1]

5. It is to a degree

what you make of it and how you use it. I find that I can connect with folks from the past who I would have otherwise lost track of through the years, I can be updated on events at local museums, libraries, the zoo and botanical garden. I can enjoy some great photos posted on photo sites and keep up on those political figures and news which I find of interest.

I don't really watch much TV so it is a news feed for me as well.

[Katashi_itto]

6. I am stuck with Social Media. Thats how we promote our indie movies.

[closeupready]

7. Well, it's a useful tool, but

it's been misused, in my opinion, and I was trying to think of a literary corollary last night ...

An imperfect parallel would be Shirley Jackson's story, "The Lottery", in which someone from a pool of people got selected at random for internet stoning. I want no part of that, but lots of sadistic and evil people do, seems like.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm just one person out of many millions who feels that way.

[Katashi_itto]

8. Oh no I agree completly Its just from a business standpoint its the great playing field leveler.

For me in order to sell a movie I have to engage with the audience and sell the movie directly to them. For example we average about 50k person facebook reach a week. But we push all sorts of funny sci fi memes and are cheerful.

On the other hand, having this sort of free form now available is where any idiot can get a soap box and spout their opinion also coarsens any sort of rational discussion.

[closeupready]

9. I'll say this: if I'm ever on a civil jury for a case involving failure to get model release,

I'm going to vote for plaintiff, Big Time. I'm thinking here of the recent surveillance footage of that woman in Brooklyn eating a piece of pizza while in back of her, an auto accident occurred.

Somehow, because she was simply in the footage and neglected to "do something!", she found herself subject of conversation among millions of internet clowns who wanted to hound her, name and shame her. I think that really did it for me. Incidents like that make it seem like social media is a metastasizing carcinogenic tumor.

I do enjoy watching old movies on Youtube, IMDB things, trailers, news footage, etc. I just think I have a super low tolerance for that kind of mischief.

[MrScorpio]

10. I'm planning on giving up food, oxygen and water meyself...

I need my social media!

I'm on it right NOW!

[closeupready]

11. I want my MTV....!

[MrScorpio]

12. I radio show is on right this very minute and I'm tweeting out all the tracks!

https://twitter.com/Mr_Scorpio http://invader.fm

[closeupready]

13. Wow, love that - bookmarking for later.

[bigwillq]

14. What about DU? (nt)

[closeupready]

15. I don't know - I'd miss many liberal people here

like yourself and many others, but who knows, perhaps as I'm getting older, I'm getting grumpier.

We'll see - I doubt I'll follow through - I've always been a political junkie; that'll never change, haha.