30 Day Writing Challenge: Day One

I picked up this 30 Day Writing Challenge on Facebook.  I've been waiting for months for a good reason to restart this blog, and while this might not be the most exciting way to get writing again, it is at least a beginning.

So let's just jump in, shall we?

Day One:  Five Problems with Social Media

1.  Social media can be one huge time suck.  There are myriad benefits of social media, and I am sure I'll detail them later; however, it is remarkably easy to be drawn into a world that takes on greater importance than one's own life.  It's difficult to turn it off and walk away.  I often wonder what I would do with the time I waste on social media.  Knit more?  Read more books?  Write?  Enjoy my family?

2.  I've seen a lot written lately about how social media can contribute to depression because it is so easy for us to compare ourselves to others and leave ourselves lacking.  This is a tendency I already have - the propensity to be self-critical, and social media gives me yet another a mirror to hold in front of myself to criticize my every action.

3.  Social media makes it easier for people to say things to others that they would be unlikely to say in person.  It provides a sort of buffer between real life and fiction; it gives us a wall to hide behind.  I have fallen prey to such digital extroversion myself but have also seen it in others.  It distances us from our words so that we feel it is our right to say anything.

4.  We risk opening our lives to an invasion of privacy that we would otherwise guard against.

5.  It is increasingly well documented that too much screen time can negatively affect us in many ways, including disruptive sleep patterns, contributing to sensory overload, and preventing us from engaging in more mindful activities.  Although social media is certainly not the only culprit, it does provide us with yet another reason to spend time on a screen rather than interacting in our own real lives.