Five Problems with Social Media

This month I have a goal to blog every day about a specific topic.  

So here we go.

Most of us have an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.  I opened my Facebook account when my oldest nephew and niece were in college so I could keep up on what was happening in their lives.  It was fun and now well it is nice and it has been a very helpful tool as I am planning my high school reunion with some fabulous classmates.  

Problem #1 - Addiction:  Once Smartphones became widely available did you notice how dumb we became (ok maybe it is just me).  I would carry my phone all the time in case I received a text or a phone call.  Than with a Smartphone if I was waiting for something or someone or worse yet bored; I would just check my Facebook and maybe even share where I was (Four Square).  I had to earn some badges and be a leader among my friends for that week.
So one thing I have done is that I don't have Messenger on my phone.  Why?  I want to be in the moment with whomever I am at that particular time.  I want to give them my attention and be respectful of their time.  
While I no longer have a Four Square account I occasionally check in on FB but only after I have left the place I check in.

Problem #2 - Post without a Thought:  Notice how sometimes you will see a friend who posts inappropriate comments or post that are just TMI?  Would we really say that to a room full of strangers?  I think not.  With that said I have posted things and even blogged and thought what was I thinking  I also have commented to posts out of frustration or just silliness and sometimes it is no big deal and other times I think - What were you thinking?

Problem #3 - Making ourselves vulnerable to burglars or stalkers or worse.  I will not tag pictures of friends because maybe they don't want the picture to be seen because they don't like it or whatever.  I also do not post my friends kids names on my posts or comments.  I refer to them by their initials or first name initial.  I am shocked when I see parents who post the picture of their kids and you can see the school name etc and it is open for the public to see.  
I know and here I said in #1 how I would post where I was what I was doing etc.  

Problem #4 - Anyone can find you.  I was contacted at work a while back by the Department of Justice.  I was nervous as to why the DOJ would be looking for me so I told them I was working and needed to end a call and I would be right back.  The agent found me via Linkedin.  He wanted to know if I could be a witness for a hearing on a case he had worked on.  This made me realize that if an agent could find me - who else can find me?  So I have tried to make my profiles as private as possible.  However, once you put something out on the Internet it's out there.

Problem #5 - Disagreements.  It is so hard to communicate with individuals sometimes by e-mail so it only gets worse by social media.  We tweet rather than call and announce our news to our family and friends.  While we think we are making sure everyone knows; sometimes individuals would prefer a personal call or completely misunderstand the post.

Don't get me wrong I like social media it helps me keep in touch with family and friends throughout the world.  Yet I wonder - what is out there about me that I don't know.