Very interesting post my fellow old-timer.
Not being that addicted to social media but then I`m mostly on this site for a couple of hours a day .
That reminds me that I, too, had been grabbed some 15 years ago by this site (and my handle Fatfreek 2005 reflects that), I and a multitude of others -- Blondie, Minimus, Leolia, Terry, etc. Just look at the quantity of their postings here. Multiply each posting by X minutes, depending on the complexity of the topic, and you have a peek at the social media dilemma in its very minuscule embodiment.
It didn't take me long to realize that I, also, was being addicted by a force that wasn't necessarily evil, no single entity, no spirit being was behind it -- but the result was that my time was being consumed -- no, IS BEING CONSUMED at this very moment by creating this very posting.
This forum is merely a mild form of the addiction that I was witnessing as Facebook was launching. Ergo, I have never joined Facebook and the other major players
Example: My dear wife, now mostly an invalid, was being visited regularly by her loving nieces, and as they sat there in our living room trying to comfort her could not take their eyes off their phones in their lap for more than 30 seconds. Absolutely no evil intent on their part but my wife commented on their behavior when they left, and she was right, and it kinda broke my heart that she could feel the unintentional estrangement that was happening.
I also see it when my 58-year-old son comes over for movie night and his phone lights up non-stop during this movie and his attention is subtracted by this inanimate object in his lap.
However, I don't view any of the social media avenues as inherently wicked, as I don't view fatty foods and sugar as grossly bad for us. I view them all as two-edged swords that must be handled with care.
