From friend of NBP, Erin Young.
Do you use social media wisely?
As a trainer and educator, the rich offering from the social ecology of my cyber friends and social networks is something I value greatly. Human experiences, curated as they may be, flow by like a river in my Facebook feed. Some of them are potent, powerful and strike a deep cord. Some of them link me to information, experiences, images or people, and fertilise my life! Some make me laugh. Others I allow to drift down the stream; observed, released, never to be seen again.
I delight in the nuanced magical worlds we share, energetically fed by others who equally delight in them.
I rejoice in expanding my social connections by following ‘friend suggestions’ based on our mutual friends and locality. And even more when I meet my lovely cyber friends in person!
I am excited to come across a new group or page that allows me to have conversations that matter to me.
I am touched when friends read and engage with my posts and sharings.
Social media platforms are but a mirror of life. And in it we see a reflection of the world we create around ourselves. No one person’s Facebook experience is the same. And we all have the CHOICE to make it what we want and need it to be – of course within the bounds and structures of the back-end programming – which is much like non-cyber life as well.
With social media, we all have the opportunity to practice healthy boundaries, as well as expand our realities, in this kaleidoscope of life by means of a screen. And we can teach our children this too, for they need to learn it somewhere. From someone. Let it be from you.
Our world is moving quickly these days. Perhaps this platform perpetuates that pace. Or perhaps it is but a necessary medium to help us navigate our way through that. Regardless, we all need the time and space to integrate and consolidate our individual experiences in relation to the collective.
I suggest finding ways to establish healthy boundaries with social media. Find the rhythms that work for you and for those around you. Engage intentionally. Stay focused. Know how you’re contributing to your life’s purpose by liking, posting, commenting, or sharing.
Contribute to the lives of others in your network by engaging. See yourself in the networked intelligence of the here-and-now, and utilise your full power to use this tool in ways that ultimately bring you joy.
If a platform doesn’t bring you joy, don’t take it personally or make it personal to others. Different strokes for different folks. Journey on, and connect however you can and wish to. I continue on with using Facebook at a pace my life can digest – sometimes more, sometimes less. Regardless, I still enjoy showing up there: seeing people in their stuff and them seeing me in mine.
Blessings for your journeys down the social media river this week, my friends. May it be refreshing and invigorating.
Erin.
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