I have been experimenting with this “Social Media” thing for six months now. A question that has been in my mind is the value of the time spent on the computer and whether or not it is (in reality) adding to the quality of my friendships and social groups.
So now in the last few days I have had some clarity. A parent of a student from the school for troubled teen girls has connected with me via Twitter. At first that didn’t register significantly beyond “cool, someone I sort of know other then family and co workers”. But I realized that it added an a small and welcomed element of personalization to our relationship. By it self, this exchange didn’t register as pointing to the question in my mind about the value of social media. It did resonate with my attraction to fellowship and sharing with others the journey of life – in this case about growing in our role as a parent.
But today I see something more happening as a result of SM. I was on Facebook, read a status comment that a women had added to my mother-in-laws wall when I realized that I was – in real time – part of that persons life as well and that connection is through Social Media. Here is why:
Yesterday, as my family and I were leaving the graduation party of an acquaintance through Boy Scouts, the woman who wrote on my mother-in-law’s wall was just arriving with her husband. It is a small community so that sort of a physical intersection of our paths is not the “TaDa” I am talking about. What was different was my internal response.
The recognition was joined with a sense of belonging or being part of her life. Social Media, and in this case Facebook in particular had created a new line of connection for me with another family. Consequently, the hurdle that sometimes holds me back from a greeting beyond a mere “nod of recognition” or some other passing gesture of “Hello” had been significantly reduced. We stopped and had a quick conversation – just small talk but the feeling in the conversation was immediately enthusiastic, light, warm etc.
I am not sure how well I am communicating this but the story above and several others I have experienced over the passed six months lead me to the pleasant conclusion that my participation in the “Cyber land” of Social Media has added value to my relationships in Reality.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The sense of how our internal response changes is fascinating to me and rings true. I can think of the many ways where social media has improved my relationship with colleagues, has opened up opportunities in places I would not have otherwise had access, and has created dialogues that have furthered my own opinions and beliefs. In each and every case, what these tools did was open up change in my perspective, changing the sense of limitation that can hinder growth (I’d even go so far as to call that limitation fear of it social risk).
Mike,
I agree with your statement about personalizing relationships through SM. I have been “following” members of FFS as a way to gain knowledge into my daughter’s daily life at FFS and to try to learn the people that my daughter deals with on a daily basis. I met colleagues of yours on graduation day and another after returning my daughter from a visit and found a connection there beyond the nod that might not have been there w/o the use of SM. I see all this as a positive. Thank you and your colleagues for your interesting articles and postings.