Social Media – A Multitude of Musings

Daily writing prompt

In what ways do you communicate online?

I get almost all of my social interaction from the Internet. I mean, yes, I do interact with my staff offline, but I mean interaction for fun and connections. Heck, without the Internet, I wouldn’t have met my wife. I have probably told the story of how we met a few times before, but it all boils down to one message I put on a forum back in 2007 and my now wife’s desire to expand her social circle. Had I not moaned about being bored and feeling lonely living on my own, she might never have reached out.

As for the types of online communication I use, these have evolved a lot over the years. Forums are no longer a thing. Neither is Facebook or so I’m told, but I still use it almost daily. I rarely post anything to my personal wall, but I do participate in groups and gather information off Facebook (though obviously one might wonder how much of that information is actually misinformation).

I’ve been told blogging is no longer a thing either. It’s probably partly true, in that for a blogger I’m young at 39 and eventually the generations above me will die out. I have been blogging on WordPress for 19 years next month, though I’ve only had my current blog for 7 1/2. Oh wait, I briefly had this blog back in 2011 too and till this day remember an embarrassing post about my wife from just after we got married.

So what types of online communication are actually still a thing today? I doubt I use many of them. I never used Snapchat and only watched a couple TikTok videos several years ago. I did try Instagram several times, but didn’t like it. I do watch YouTube videos, but will never create video content myself and that does make it less fun.

I do try to use Discord for expanding my social circle but experience that I’m a dinosaur compared to most of the users even on adult-oriented servers. Oh wait, someone half my age is already an adult. I remember explaining that Discord is like IRC and mentioning this in a Discord server and no-one knew what IRC was. I got a comment asking how it felt to be older than Google and responded that I’m even older than the World Wide Web.

As I get older, I find it harder to adjust to the new developments in online communication. I mean, I’m typing this post using the Block Editor and that’s a major struggle for me already. I learned WhatsApp with relative ease in 2017, but Discord is very hard for me to adapt to. However, I do want to keep up with the changing world of Internet-based interactions. If I don’t, I’ll lose the most important vessel of connection to the outside world. After all, my life might’ve become less exclusively virtual since living in a care home, but like I mentioned at the start of this post, the Internet is still where I gather most opportunities for leisurely interaction.

Hi everyone. It’s Wednesday once again and this means it’s time for the Hodgepodge, in which bloggers answer Joyce’s five assorted questions and add their random thought at the bottom. Here goes.

1. Do you have a word for the year (WOTY)? If so, and you’d like to share, please share. How do you decide on a word? If you don’t have a word are you still on the hunt for one for 2024?
I don’t have one for sure yet, but one has been floating around in my mind for a few weeks. It is “Explore”. I probably should be deciding whether I want this word as my WOTY or no word at all. Or maybe something else will pop up, but I doubt it. I usually don’t think hard on my WOTY, those years when I’ve had one. Last year was the first year in a long while that I didn’t have one, by the way.

2. January 23rd is National Pie Day…will you celebrate? Do you like pie? What’s your favorite?
I didn’t celebrate. In fact, I’m just now finding out about it on January 24. I do like some pies, particularly my mother’s homemade apple pie.

3. Tipping. What are your thoughts, expectations, as to who, when, where? Do you appreciate a store/restaurant giving a “suggested amount”? Have you ever left an extravagant tip?
I’m probably in the minority here but I don’t generally tip and think it’s a stupid thing. If waiters/hairdressers/etc. need a tip, it means their salary is too low and consequently so are the prices of their products/services. Here in the Netherlands, tipping isn’t considered obligatory and is only more or less expected in restaurants. I’ve never left an extravagant tip. In fact, when I do tip, I usually tip only about 10-15%.

4. Share with us one “household tip” that works for you.
I am absolutely clueless about housekeeping, so I’ll need to leave this blank.

5. Influencers on social media are people who’ve built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular subject. Do you follow any influencers online? Have you made a purchase or tried something new because of that “influence”? If there’s one you particularly enjoy tell us who and why.
Huh? I thought “influencer” was just code for someone who is popular on social media, irrespective of their actual knowledge or expertise. As you might guess from this, I don’t follow any “influencers” as far as I’m aware. I have never purchased anything because it was recommended by a popular blogger, vlogger or Instagrammer.

6. Insert your own random thought here.
I’m very nervous because my care plan review is coming up on Monday. Thankfully, in addition to my assigned staff, support coordinator and behavior specialist, my mother-in-law will be attending. I have some important things that need changing about my care plan. For one thing, there’s extensive descriptions of my traumatic experiences in rather vague terminology. I’d like that made clearer and more concise.