Liking ain't quite Voting...

So I must admit, I am a social network fiend. I love me some Facebook. I am addicted. I check it far more than is healthy and/or reasonable. That said, I think social media is given a bit more credence in society than I think it is due…Let me ‘splain myself.

I enjoy the social media. It’s a great way to keep tabs on those I care about (a group no larger than 25 peeps) and those I kinda like keeping tabs on, but could honestly could do without (the rest of my 200+ "friends" on Facebook).

While I find it pretty cool to see what that guy I used to skip 5^th period Spanish with, has been up to. I think my life would probably go on without knowing how delicious this acquaintance from high school found a VooDoo Donut. 

*Way to state the obvious, VooDoo is delish!

So I was a lil off-put by a story I found in a (usually) reputable stalwart of journalism, Time magazine.

The title of the article was “Meet the 22-year-old who defeated Bank of America’s debit fee.”

On the surface, the preface was cool enough. A gal, PO’d with big banks (whom collected government hand-outs) charging fees for a service that was previously free, decided to say ‘Enough is enough,’ and started a social media campaign against Bank of America’s new debit fee.

The story (which you can read here) goes on to talk about how the gal used social media to coalesce a group and create an online presence to illustrate how the majority feels on the matter.

Now I am no mind reader, so I cannot be certain of the assertion to follow, but…

Clicking ‘Like’ or ‘I agree’ does not a wholehearted act of support make.

While a form of democracy, joining an online movement takes no real effort or thought. If something strikes you at the moment, all you need to do is click a mouse and ‘make a statement.’

I think such gestures are hollow. And rather lame.

Submitted for your approval, the case of JR’s fake engagement. -- 

I once left my (unpasscode protected) cell phone unattended at a bar…my bad.

Someone grabbed my phone and updated my Facebook status to: “I love my Fiancé!”

Now, I am not currently, nor have I ever been engaged. But I thought it was pretty funny, so much so that I even told the gal I was seeing at the time, that she should like the status, just to make it look believable. 

(Oh what an impairment alcohol is…)

After 30 minutes and double-digit “likes” and/or “Congrats, I am so happy for you” comments, I decided I should put an end to the charade. So I commented, ‘Sorry to disappoint…someone grabbed my phone at the bar. I am not engaged. Yet.’

What blew my mind, and has since shattered my confidence in social media as a voice of the people, were the responses that followed my comment noting that I was not engaged.

At least, 10 more comments and 5 additional likes followed as people didn’t read into what they were liking and just clicked a button.  

Sure, I didn’t help matters by taking steps to make the status look legit. But I think this story illustrates a few things.

First, “Liking” a status is not the same as voting or joining a movement.

Second, the ease with which someone can “like” something devalues the strength of that like. Let me illustrate, think of how much more receiving a text means versus simply getting a “Happy Birthday” comment on your wall on Facebook.

My thought process is like this, “Wow, someone took the time to compose and send me a text, and they may have honestly remembered my birthday.” As opposed to, “Welp, they saw the reminder on the Facebook homepage.”

Third, affecting real change takes action.

I am not devaluing the megaphone power of social media and the internet. But at some point, actors must step away from the keyboard and enter the real world.

While the power of the internet to affect the real world is very strong (see online bullying for example) I worry that people mistake liking a charitable organization with actually volunteering for said organization.

Again, here’s another real world example…

Election season is upon us, and while surfing the Seattle Times web site, I came across a pop-up ad that I really was impressed with- “Getting Married is so Gay. It’s About Time. Redhook supports Marriage Equality November 4^th.”

I immediately shared that ad on Facebook and got more likes than usual and even a share. Which is great, as I was able to leverage social media to share a point of view that I agreed with.

However, that ad was in relation to Referendum 74, which is a ballot measure to legalize Gay marriage in Washington State. So although I have shown support for the cause, to make it a reality requires me to step offline and actually vote. Sure, my post on Facebook may influence others to vote…but there are a couple keywords in that last sentence to pay attention to “may influence others”…the only concrete result from my actions on social media would me my voting for that referendum on election day.

All the likes in the world won’t make that referendum law.

And I guess that is the takeaway from this diatribe- Leverage social media and have fun, but don’t forget to take real effective action when necessary.

And be sure to get out and vote on Nov 4^th!

Call it the ‘Facebook’ effect…

A while back I was having a discussion with a friend who had recently joined Facebook.

“I just don’t get it…Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t care if you are brushing your teeth or just got back from the gym.”

Being a Facebook fiend, I replied, “Yeah, you just don’t seem to get it.”

“It’s about keeping in touch. It’s about keeping tabs on people you otherwise would have forgotten about. It’s about being social.” Are just a few of the descriptions as to why folks use Facebook and find it so addicting.

So here I stand, as an admitted Facebook fanatic and staunch defender, saying “I just don’t care anymore.”

Call it what you like, Facebook Fatigue, FBOD or simply a desire to interact with someone (here’s a novel idea) face-to-freaking-face.

I was one of those: JR. is (insert pointless action here)-people. Updating my status via my cell, checking my email for updates. I now see how lame I must have seemed to well, normal people.

But I’ve had enough.

Granted, I have yet to delete my Facebook account, but I have turned-off all notifications from Facebook and don’t plan on logging-in for the foreseeable future.

Have I gone mad? Did someone piss me off? Am I too broke to afford internet?

No, to all of the above. I am just feeling a bit overexposed.

In these days of Twitter, Facebook, IMs, texts and cell phones. The world is never more than a buzz or annoying ringtone away.

I recently saw a PBS documentary “Alone in the Wilderness” about a man who retired to remote Alaska and lived on his own for 30 years.

I was jealous. As I sat on my couch, laptop in perched just below the view of the TV and cell phone resting nearby, I decided that something had to change.

The feeling of being constantly, “On” is draining. Which is not to say that my cell is blowing-up or that my inbox is overflowing, but sometimes being disconnected just sounds nice.

Then I came to a realization, I can turn the shit off.

Which I now do.

Email get checked in the morning as my company blocks personal email access. I check again at lunch because I really have nothing better to do. And I check it for the last time when I get home from work. Anything that comes in after that, can wait til the next day.

My cell phone is turned-off at 8 PM, assuming I am not out and about.

So am I becoming some kind of hermit? Well, by the hyper-connected (unhealthily so) standards of today, yes I am.

Maybe I am a throwback to the good old days…I am not that old, but old enough to remember a time before e-mail, cell phones and even (Gasp) pagers.

Somehow life went on back then.

I think it’s time to simplify. (A sentiment I seem to be repating in this here blog) Take a little time to enjoy the world and people around. Look up from the digitized representations of ‘being social’ and actually say “Hello,” to someone.

I am no technophobe and not even that outgoing. But something tells me that if you get out and enjoy life…the call of the laptop/cell phone may be considerably lessened.