Confessions of a Social Media Junkie

If you had talked to me 10+ years ago, I never ever would have imagined the world of social media as it is. I never would have imagined being as immersed in it the way I am. I blog. I tweet. I'm on Facebook. I probably spend far more time online than I should really admit. I have to admit I'm more than a bit addicted to it all. I get antsy if I don't have access to blogging and I feel the compulsive need to read everything and catch up if I separated from my precious online connection. Hell, 10 years ago I wouldn't have called myself a writer and now I find myself so addicted to writing that I can't imagine going more than a couple of days without writing.

The question posed on Day 16 of Calliope's blogging summer camp is...

"How many friends of yours blog/tweet/actively facebook? Has social media helped or hurt your friendships?"

Honestly, since I don't differentiate between friends I've made online and friends I've met in my everyday life, I would have to to say that a majority of my friends are involved in social media. Now, if you talk about the people I physically interact with on a daily basis, I would guess it's a much smaller percentage.  But, I feel that social media has overall helped my friendships. I have friends who don't blog who read my blog regularly and it has allowed them to get to know me a lot better.  And, my involvement with social media and all forms of online interaction has brought a bunch of people to my life, people I probably wouldn't have met otherwise, and these are people whose friendship I treasure. I've also reconnected with friends from my past, people I lost touch with when we moved on to college or moved on due to our significant others. Some of these people from my past will probably pass in and out again but I've become closer to a large number of them and feel we'll stay good friends.

Sure, I waste some time with the apps and games available on facebook. I've spent more time than I care to admit playing Farmville...placing little fake animals on little fake farms...but I never let those games or apps keep me away from the things that really matter,

If you're reading this, you are already involved at least a little with social media. My only question is just how involved are you? Do you tweet, blog, or facebook? Do you do all three?

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