i love facebook. i am part of a lot of support groups there where i stay connected with people i only see once or twice a year. to me it is just as valuable as socializing in person with folks that i am close to - both are really important. i also have an easier time keeping up with friends and family members who don't live close by, and otherwise i would probably lose relationships with them. i don't view facebook as "less than" other forms of socializing...i have deep, meaningful conversations with people via facebook and also over the phone and in real life.
i do sometimes get overwhelmed by the main facebook news feed and by news articles, political stuff, or other things that i'd really rather not spend as much attention on. (like, i try to make a point of not posting a lot of political things and election posts - i tend to post more about community projects and social justice stuff. but lately i've found myself engaging in the election postings which really is unnecessary for me.) there isn't much of a way to exclude those things from my attention though, other than to ignore them when they come up. i can also get a bit overwhelmed with trying to be there for everyone in my support groups who's struggling or spending too much time reading/responding, so i try to monitor how much time i spend on that. i'm an introvert, even online, so that can get to be draining if i don't moderate myself.
i can't stand twitter. i've used it from time to time personally and for work but i feel like if i am on it i have to be following it 24/7 to keep up with things and i don't have a smartphone or anything that i can use social media 24/7 on...not that i would even WANT to. if i just visit once a day i feel like i am really behind on twitter. so i don't use it much.
i've tried pinterest and other things but they don't really hold my interest. i tend to stick to facebook and message boards.
http://facebook.com/aishah.hils if anyone wants to add me.
