Last night's presentations were either exclusively about a social media platform (Facebook, Second Life, the history of social media as a whole) or on technologies as a way of interconnectivity to interact on these aforementioned platforms (through such means as a cell phone - though it went much further where they discussed the impact of cell phones on everyday life). It was interesting hearing my classmates' experiences and it inspired me to make a blog entry to comment on my own personal experience with social media.
My social media experience began with Myspace in 2004. I enjoyed being able to construct my own page (Myspace was a very customizable platform, probably being a major reason why it was so popular at the time) and had joined pretty much because my brother had and his interactions with other people intrigued me. He primarily used it as a source to find music and was on everyday listening to previews of upcoming albums and the like. As soon as I joined, I lost interest in it immediately. I did not want to disclose any information about myself (I was 13 at the time, so that was a good mindset to have in hindsight) and once the novelty of editing an internet page wore off I had no desire to continue running it.
It was a very abrupt and short-lived experience. :p
Fast-forward to March 2007. A friend that I had just been getting really well acquainted with that year (you might have heard of her... Skye Braham :D) asked me to join Facebook because she had just signed up and didn't have many friends on her list yet (she wanted to try out the system with someone; understandable). It was March break at the time so we dawdled around, drawing 'graffiti' on each other's walls (the option was removed a long time ago, but it was possible at one point to draw on a small template rather than just text the person). It was fun, but we didn't really care about it too much. Facebook did not see much activity from me between 2007 - 2009; didn't feel there was much point to, since I saw mostly everyone I was friends with in person everyday. Graduating high school changed that for me. It soon gained a purpose because suddenly everyone was going off in different directions and it became the only way to communicate with most of them. 2009 - 2010 still did not see me using Facebook too much, however, because most friendships had grown distant and I spent most of my free time hanging out with Skye. That time period is still one of my all-time favourites and I wouldn't trade it for the world. When I moved out to Victoria (I had lived in Nova Scotia for five years prior), it became more a necessity to keep in contact with my east coast buddies. I had still never owned a cell phone so the internet/email was the only way to talk to me.
Nowadays, from the later half of 2011 to present day, the experience and usage has again shifted. I was quite literally forced to get a cell phone by my parents in August 2011, who both reasoned that:
1) If there was any emergency, they could inform me immediately;
2) I'm growing up and should have one already because I'll need it for future jobs/whatever;
3) All of my friends have one so I could text them while I'm on the go, wouldn't that be convenient?
I never wanted a cell phone. I found it annoying that other people would disrupt my conversation with them just so that they could check it every time it vibrated (and then give more attention to that conversation rather than with the one they were currently having in person) and anyone who owns one generally grows a dependency to it and brings it everywhere with them (they cannot just remain disconnected). I didn't want to be like that, so I would always refuse (there was also the fact that I'd have to pay for it, which I did not want to do) the pressure in getting one. I still wish I didn't have it but it's been the only way to communicate with certain people because they don't have the time to get online. I mostly use it to occasionally text with Skye. No one ever calls me and I generally do not call anyone either because it would charge them long distance. I sometimes forget it in my room and do not particularly care if I'm parted with it. I do not use any of its functions except for texting; I do not go on the internet or listen to music or play games or any of the other bells and whistles I presume it does. I save that for when I am at home and on the computer. I do not need to be connected to that level everywhere I go.
My Facebook experience did not change too much from the inclusion of the phone - I still only message the same couple of people on Facebook and might post a monumental landmark in my life if anything significant happens. Recently, as Skye is a marketing student, she has been discovering and exploring the powers of social media as an advertising tool for Red Rogues. That has certainly got me inspired and interested, so the shift in personal usage is bound to change again when I have further progressed in writing the novel!
On a random note, I've never played Second Life but it seems like it would be fun to explore and view everyone's creative inputs there. I am a traditional 'gamer' and any MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) I lose interest in relatively quickly, but it would be a fun jaunt to fiddle around with it at some point.
Social media, is it a major part of my life? If Skype counts, the answer is a MAJOR yes, as Skye and I are constantly brainstorming and collaborating our ideas on there. If not, I do believe that I could easily disconnect myself from the Facebook juggernaut. It does not run my life, and it is not a necessity to my well being.
