The other day I tweeted the above and also posted it to Facebook, Google Plus and LinkedIn.
Ironically I got responses from a lot of FB friends (one of whom also responded on Twitter)! More ironically, I used a Tweet so couldn't say everything I
wanted, which was that Facebook strikes me as being a lonely place for many.
The desire to share is huge, but nobody has
time to read everything everybody shares. I often see on friends' pages that
they've shared stuff nobody has responded to. I know that for some,
social media is a primary source of connection and for others it isn't, but
still it's hard for me to believe that anybody shares anything without wanting
it to lead to a connection of some sort.
Maybe I'm wrong about that, though. Maybe it's just what I want. I guess I won't know until I ask people individually.
Facebook makes choices for us as to who we
see on our pages. It can make you forget that others exist. And it only has
buttons for support. What if I post something and you don't like it? You don't
respond, so I think you've forgotten me. The logic seems right, but it actually isn't; non response can just be the result of algorithm control. Me, I prefer somebody to disagree than
say nothing, but you might not be the same, so there's no way to connect.
It's a strange world, Facebook. Twitter can feel
more immediate because you can find specific conversations with hashtags and
join in. So if you have an interest, say, in politics you can find others with
the same.
