Staying Connected

Living in the 21^st century, there certainly isn’t a lack of technology.  With this technology, there are a million and one ways to stay connected with friends and family.  Once upon a time, the only ways to communicate were face to face conversation or hand written letters.  Distance made true conversations difficult, and letter delivery was never guaranteed.  Society has made huge strides since then and we now carry instant conversations in our pockets, have immediate delivery confirmation of e-mails, and a slew of social networking options. 

As easy as it seems to stay connected these days, it is nearly impossible to stay on top of every social network out there.  I only keep a few pages running, but there are hundreds of sites out there.  Some of these include Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Myspace, Google+, Ravelry and Cafemom.  The first five sites I listed are general networking sites, sites that have no set topic or focus.  The other two are more specific, Ravelry is for yarn crafts, and Cafemom is a site dedicated to parenthood.  If you look hard enough, you can find a social networking site dedicated to any and all interests. 

Every so often I go through all the sites I am part of and close accounts I don’t use, such as my twitter and myspace pages.  How people keep up with all these sites baffles me.  I have a hard enough time staying on top of the few I have, I can’t imagine having more!  Well, I do plan on starting another blog and eventually I will have a website and facebook page for my business.  I find it is easier to keep up on pages that are for work rather than pleasure and the blogs are here to help out y’all, or at least that is my hope. 

I find myself thinking about what I will do when my children get older.  Will I let them join social networking sites, or even use the internet for personal reasons?  I honestly believe that I will not allow personal internet use for my children.  I am trying to live a simpler life, and I want to help instill that in my children.  We need to spend more time outdoors and less time in front of a screen.   I certainly won’t keep my children from Skype dates with Daddy, but there is no reason they need to sit in front of a screen all day.  I am also a firm believer in the importance of a hand written letter, and I plan on making sure my children have wonderful penmanship.  That is another problem this technological age has brought.  Handwriting and become more and more illegible over time and I personally don’t like it. 

So, have you gone Social Network Crazy, or do you have a small collection of sites that are easy to manage?  What is your favorite site?  Least favorite?  Why are you on each site?  Ask yourself these questions, and then go through a purge the sites you no longer want/need to be a part of.