"I love that my friends have different views, taste in music, religion, spirituality, they support different charities, it all broadens my horizons and opens my eyes, mind, and heart to how unique we are but yet proves we are all connected."
--Debbie McPherson Campbell
Should you participate online? Should you like posts and/or comment on them? Should you buy things online?
Over the past couple years, I've decided that the pros outweigh the risks. I "like" judiciously, comment whenever inspired, & tweet & retweet all over the place (and, of course, I shop almost entirely online).
Here are some of the pros and cons...
| PROS You make friends from all over the world & from all walks of life. Your world view expands. You become better at expressing yourself--often in very few words. You keep up with technology. You learn to interact via different platforms, know what's going on, keep up with changes. Interacting online is also light relief, a break from all the serious work we do on our computers. Your online presence may lead to new contacts, new opportunities, even to a new career. Some people live alone, & some are surrounded by family & friends. But your online friends become a second community of friends. Your online persona can be anyone you want to be. It's a space & time just for you. Everyone knows shy people aren't really quiet; they just need the right environment to open up. Shy people speak out online. It's easy to be generous online, & in the process you help people grow, thrive, & achieve their dreams. Shopping online has many benefits: 10 Reasons to Shop Online here. | CONS Everything you do online leaves a permanent record. Every time you enter your credit card information online, someone might steal it. You may find yourself online when you should be doing other things like exercising. Sometimes people say rude things online. What I Don't Like -Sites that make you watch a video to get to the content & sites that automatically play a video aloud -Viruses & people trying to entice you to click on links to viruses (why would anyone do this??) -Posts about what you're eating with a photo of the food--I usually find those a little gross (but I like recipes & the amazing breakfasts Maren Anita posts on Fashion Meets Art each day!) |
| | A worst case scenario: Stolen identity One day I got a notice via email that I'd been tagged in a photo. I have my Facebook account set up so that I approve tags before they appear on my wall. So I trotted over the FB to take a look. There I saw Before & After photos of someone tagged with my name who definitely was not me! A whole pile of other people were tagged too, and my guess is they weren't that person either :-). The Before photo was of an overweight woman; the After was of an emaciated girl (after supposedly using a weight-loss product that had helped her lose 100 lbs). The comments were funny: one guy said that the woman looked better in the Before photo & I agree! Another comment said that the women in the photos showed no resemblance to each other--also true! Anyway, I unfriended "Charlotte Russe" (can you blame me for having accepted her friend request in the first place?) & reported the post as spam. I didn't allow the tag on my wall, and that's why I can't access it now to show you the photos. Nothing bad has happened since then. |
 My Twitter account | You wake up one morning & see you've tweeted 5,000 tweets (tiny in Twitter world). What in the world was all that chatter about? |
I know there are more reasons why people don't interact online. For many people they're just too busy in other aspects of their life. For me, online interaction has enriched my life.
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I'll follow you back & likely interact with you. I wish you great success as you pursue your dreams!
What are your reasons for getting involved or steering clear online?
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