I don’t think our hesitancy to grow with social media is a lack of energy or an aging thing. I think it’s more about intellectual maturity. Social media has gotten way more complicated to navigate, time-consuming, and in many cases, it’s become a cesspool of hate and misinformation, and often a dangerous place to play. Maturity (which can come early for some and unfortunately never for others) allows us to see these faults, walk away, and seek enjoyment from (like you said) reading a book, taking a walk, or chatting with friends. “Grownups” don’t need the inane BS of social media to prosper. We need things to challenge us intellectually--newsletters are a good option! I enjoyed reading your post, and I love the illustration--so delicate!
My thoughts exactly - and I'm also (just, still) in my 30s. Social media *is* toxic, most of it, so I'm still pondering whether it's such a bad thing to fall behind or not...
I never understood why my parents always struggled with technology, and now that I am in my early 40's, I find that creep of fear AND despondency towards tech. Social media exhausts me and so I limit myself to twitter and instagram, but even they seem like too much of an effort these days... there are other things I would much rather be doing. Great post Shubnum, thank you for writing what is probably in most of our "oldster's" heads.
I don’t think our hesitancy to grow with social media is a lack of energy or an aging thing. I think it’s more about intellectual maturity. Social media has gotten way more complicated to navigate, time-consuming, and in many cases, it’s become a cesspool of hate and misinformation, and often a dangerous place to play. Maturity (which can come early for some and unfortunately never for others) allows us to see these faults, walk away, and seek enjoyment from (like you said) reading a book, taking a walk, or chatting with friends. “Grownups” don’t need the inane BS of social media to prosper. We need things to challenge us intellectually--newsletters are a good option! I enjoyed reading your post, and I love the illustration--so delicate!
My thoughts exactly - and I'm also (just, still) in my 30s. Social media *is* toxic, most of it, so I'm still pondering whether it's such a bad thing to fall behind or not...
This touches a nerve.
I never understood why my parents always struggled with technology, and now that I am in my early 40's, I find that creep of fear AND despondency towards tech. Social media exhausts me and so I limit myself to twitter and instagram, but even they seem like too much of an effort these days... there are other things I would much rather be doing. Great post Shubnum, thank you for writing what is probably in most of our "oldster's" heads.
These same questions have been on my mind lately. I’m both scared and relieved to withdraw a little bit from the frenzy of keeping up.