Holy Hell...

There has been explosion of Social Media platforms over the past decade.

I have been fortunate enough to watch, and live, this transition in social behavior and norm.  Going (gone?) are the days of painting the town red, walking through Scottsdale in the throws of a liquid full nelson, standing (swaying) in the heart of Old Town trying to decide which Night Club to get thrown out of next.  Lost in the fog of history are the days of driving West to the canals, staring in awe and excitement at the miles-long line of bonfires, hundreds of faces, all laughing, yelling, drinking, dancing, fighting and loving in the glow of burning, piled pallets and headlights.  Popping the truck in 4-wheel and rooster-tailing sideways down the bank to the first clearing, yearning for a new popping, crackling and sizzling pile of soon-to-be charred lumber.

Now it's virtual concerts and promo events (BlizzCon) and Virtual Reality clubbing (SecondLife).  Gone are the shoe boxes of polaroids of drunken gatherings and outings with the crew, traded for personal promotions on Instagram and Pinterest.  Instead of shuffling around a billiards table, surrounded by the sounds of laughter, the Thump Thump of the guest DJs latest mix and clanking of bottles and glasses, howling and laughing at the seemingly perfect Double-Bank, 1-3-8, Corner-side-corner trick-shot game ender, we now flash ignorant non-sensical reflections and comparisons in 128 char-limited condensed ramblings.

We no longer know how to interact with others.  We now stand in random micro-clusters, holding our beloved bright-screened digital leashes, hunched and heads lowered like run down drones in desperate need of recharge, focusing out energies on the rapidly scrolling bits and bytes flashing across our flat-screened worlds.

I no longer use social media.  I've closed my Facebook, Twitter, SecondLife, LinkedIn, Google+ (as best it can be) and other accounts.  The only lone hold out is Instagram, though I only have followers that are in-laws, and it's strictly for sharing random moments I am able to capture that I deem of importance or noteworthy.  Total followers = 9, total images shared = 12

I remember my first online experience with social media.  Yahoo Chatrooms > The Ranch.  I had a great time and met a ton of people.  I also didn't leave my house for more than work or groceries.  More than once I recall groaning as I catch a ray of sunlight through the window, and spending the day cussing myself (and my raw fingertips) for being up all night on "a fucking chatroom".  Even clubbing I found time to sleep (pass out) and make it work in better shape.

I dreaded closing Get BIT and associated accounts.  I had become reliant on the social aspect of the business to feed my inner party child.  It was a life of extreme isolation, that I now sit back and kick myself for wasting (though I'll never call Get BIT a waste!).  Not to mention all the time practically ignoring my Family.

I will not go back to the Social networks.  This blog is the closes I'll come to that again, and I'm grateful I was able to have the memories of life before Social Media became so prevalent as it has made leaving it behind that much easier.  For those of the digital generations who have grown up with their faces plastered to their devices, I can only hope you get to experience all life has to offer, disconnected.

Technology is great, in moderation.  I don't want my life's story held in some server in an unknown locale, and I don't need confirmation of my every action, I don't need hundreds of corporations trolling and storing my data for them to use to sap any more from my ever shrinking wallet.

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, maybe a touch paranoid, I don't care, those labels are not an excuse to invade my private life, nor shame me in to using networks and "conveniences" that I neither want nor have any interest in.  I'll find what I want to buy, and if I don't know it's out there, you're absolutely right I'll never know I needed it... I'm happy with that conclusion and don't want to change.  K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid!)