Surprising how many days can go by without blogging--still struggle with self-discipline. But I'm also doing (or trying to do) so many different things at the same time: develop a voice acting career (OK, get some voice acting work); train to become a yoga instructor; write a blog; maintain my public policy and analytical background via community service. And strengthen my singing voice.
So back to the blog. I joined Facebook shortly before I retired, as a way to keep up with people from work. Network also includes family and high school friends. And now I have my first dilemma--whether to unfriend someone. According to a recent article in the WSJ (I think), one of the biggest reasons people "unfriend" is when someone writes too frequently about mundane topics. So that's what I'm faced with--one person who writes daily, and sometimes several times a day. Some recent examples: "c'mon Bills"..."so happy to be home off my feet..." "heading to bed soon...: "bought my first Christmas gift tonight..." These blurbs clog my Droid, which has a "social media" app. Often her blurbs are the only new items to show up. Everyone else with whom I am friends is pretty judicious about posting items on Facebook. (Including me--my dog posts more items on her wall than I do on mine.)
According to my son, writing about one's every move is common among teen/young adult Facebook users. But not so for boomers. Among other things, I don't want people to think I have nothing better to do than write on my FB wall. I've been considering unfriending the prolific scribbler for some weeks now, but get nervous about doing so. My son assures me that she won't get a "you've been unfriended" message. She apparently won't know unless she tries to contact me specifically, or notices that I'm not on her list of friends any more. But I still feel uncomfortable unfriending someone--I keep thinking her next blurb might be interesting; that I'll miss something. And how do you refriend if you want to? Guess I need to ask my son--maybe they find out then that they had been unfriended.
Today's Washington Post had an article about Facebook and infertility--how difficult it is for people who are trying unsuccessfully to have kids to be bombarded with postings about children. Someone called it Facebook envy. Guess I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that while trying to have a second child. But I'm starting to feel some of that toward grandparents; I don't think that's in the cards for me. I try not to think about it; but that will get harder as the years go by.
I still haven't decided whether to unfriend; not until I find out more about refriending...
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