Social Media

I met up with a friend today. I was telling her that I don't like social media. A few close friends know everything about my life because I share everything with them. I don't hide things. They know me—my ups and downs, my moodiness, why I behave a certain way, and why I do what I do. They know all about my struggles, and I know all about theirs. But I cannot share all the details about my life here. So, my actions oftentimes come across as cold, erratic and crazy. 

I prefer knowing people in person. Hanging out one on one. I sometimes spend time with my cousin and her mom. But there are times when we want to get together just the two of us without her mom. Because the intimate conversation we share is different than the conversation we have when her mom is around. 

There is no way that we can have this sort of connection online. There is much to be said about meeting someone in person and getting to know them. I once tried to connect with someone in the writing world. I "knew" her on twitter, and when I learned that she was going to be at a book show in L.A. I made plans to meet up at the booth where she worked. But that was the end of it. She never put in the effort to meet at another book event. Even our conversations on twitter were shallow. 

I sometimes feel empty when I'm online. It effects my mental health. I want so much more. I want that deep connection. But that deep connection does not exist over a bunch of wires, and electronic gadgets. I prefer spending time in real life. That's why I step away from being on social media. And that's one of the reasons among many that I was contemplating deleting my accounts recently, but I couldn't do it. Something stopped me.  

Here in the U.S, everybody is always busy. Busyness is equivalent to productiveness. It's looked upon with admiration. But in other countries, busyness is not always admired. It's that human connection that's admired above everything else. We all have things to do. We all have work that we need to finish. But if we really wanted to, we would make time for things or people we care about. 

Before driving to Berkeley to visit my niece last weekend, I had a lot to do, and I didn't feel like making such a long drive. She had plenty going on between her studies, internship, charity work, club meeting, and her friends. But we both made time for each other, and ended up having a great time. It is moments like these that I wouldn't trade for anything. 

So, real life vs. social media. Which one do you prefer?