RSS FeedKeep the Social in Social Media
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 10:37AM ;)
As I get further and further engrossed in social media, I find that more of the little parts of my day are being taken up with Twitter updates, LinkedIn invitations, blog reading, Ning-checking, e-mail purging, Facebook friending, and every other sort of phrase that would have sounded strange ten years ago.
What I've discovered is that all of this has eaten into what I used to consider the "gaps" in my day -- my commute, TV commercial breaks, family functions, bathroom trips (sad, I know). What I'm realizing is that those little moments are the ones I'm now missing. Walking through Manhattan during my commute, I used to relish taking in the sights, sounds, and the general people-appreciation that went along with life in New York City. Now, that time is being taken up with podcasts, e-mail checking, texting, etc. In a moment of cognition while walking the streets of New York, I stopped to notice how many people walking by were on their cell phones. It was about half ... half!
Saddest of all, I feel I'm starting to miss out on the super-important parts of my life that, on the surface, may seem routine: my kids, my wife, church, friends -- the real connections that define and nurture me. That's why I'm making a renewed commitment to them, starting now. I see my children growing up so quickly and think, "I can remember when each of them could fit in my one arm." That time is gone ... forever. It only exists in my memories now. I can't risk losing out on present and future memories of my family that I'll carry with me to my grave.
The way I see it, at the end of my days, will I define the worth of my life by the time I spent with my family or by the number of Facebook friends I have?
facebook, mattsnod, social media, twitter in Digital Marketing, General 
Reader Comments (5)
Part of the reason I started a blog and became a Daddy blogger was to use social media tools to help me remember and chronicle the experience. Social media can be used for good in that instance! Great post Matt. Now step away from the iPhone...
Hi Matt,
Since your missing the little idiosyncrasies of the sights & sounds of NYC, then Sofia & I will let you take a day off to be our personal tour guide of the Big Apple when we fly up for vacation the first week in September.
We will allow a 5 minute iPhone/bathroom break every hour on the hour, and I will still be your FaceBook friend.
Your welcome, lol.
Todd
Graet honest, post Matt - likewise, before the advent of social media, there were other tools, 'er distractions, such as the cell phone (got my first one in 1990), then we all got laptops so we we're on the web all night at home after putting in 12 hour days. Point is, there will always be "something" to tear us away from what's truly important. It's all about self-discpline and knowing when to exhale.
Jim
I applaud those who are using social media to chronicle and report on their parenting experience like all of those amazing daddy and mommy bloggers.
Never really bothered with Twitter. Never really bothered with MySpace. The initial Facebook rush has worn off. My freetime is consumed with Flight Control. I don't even read on the toilet anymore.