You Know What? Social Media Is Just Like TV.

 It's been probably decades since watching TV in the traditional sense- - lying on the couch or bed, flipping channels or tuning in specifically for a program or movie.  So that muscle is gone.  It apparently was replaced by staring at the computer screen.  Now that I have deactivated my social media, I realize they served the same exact, pointless purpose.  

Artificial Community Vs. Real Community

 Social media truly creates an artificial sense of community.  And the absence of social media truly encourages actual community.  I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't experiencing it first hand.  It's amazing how much my life has changed in these whatever number of days it's been (don't know offhand but less than a month.)

Checking In

 Still exploring the tentacles of social media's cancer, yesterday was about 'checking in.'  Why is that something we want to do?  I went to the beauty school where I go to the clinic to get my hair done and the impulse to check in happened. 

Is the impulse to check in to foster the belief that people give a shit where you are and what you're doing?  Is it a backdoor brag about my frugality or the genius implied by making use of this amazing resource?  I mean a cut and color costs $30 and I've never had a bad experience.  No matter how unskilled the student is, the teacher is there to teach or takeover if necessary.  No idea what the cost is in private salons but definitely in the hundreds and when you go every six weeks or so, that adds up.

Or is checking in just to feel connected to others by acknowledging each other's daily activities?  

Coffee, Tea or Me?

 On my second cup of coffee and literally don't know what to do with myself without social media.  There is something about the two hours or so in the morning doing nothing but drinking coffee and staring at this laptop that I crave.  But do I really need it?  It seems somehow necessary but maybe it's time to try do other things while sipping coffee.

Coffee Time Vs. Social Media Time

 Every morning I have two coffees.  The cups is indeterminate because I use a French Press which makes probably two small cups.  Social media time used to coincide with coffee time.  Now I am done with my word games halfway through the first 'cup.'  It's funny how one seemingly small routine change affects everything else.

Interacting With Humans In Person

 I've recently gotten into bike riding.  There is a group that rides an average of 30 miles per ride.  The first ride was 37 miles and I didn't have a road bike, making it tougher.  Needless to say I got a road bike on Facebook Marketplace...  well I'll miss that too I guess, not quite as much as Words With Friends but a close second.

There's a woman in the group who is always the slowest one.  I don't think she ever completed a full ride.  She turns around about half way.  My friend who got me into this group and I have started riding with the slower rider, just for a more relaxed ride at an easy pace.  It's nice.  

This woman constantly talks about her age.  She attributes her inability to do the whole ride or even keep pace for the half she does, to her age.  She always mentions her age to sort of validate her level and maybe she's even looking for an ego boost for doing it at all.  This of course is a conundrum for me.

She is about five years younger than I am.  So there is my usual angst about the age conversation but part of me both wants to let her know that I'm older than her and completing the rides competitively, as inspiration. It would maybe help her get her out of the mindset that her age is the problem.   Part of me doesn't want her to know because, well I don't want anyone to know and because I don't want her to feel bad.  

Obviously all things considered I'm keeping my mouth shut, especially since she talks about the age of the other women in the group and asked me the age of my friend.  I said I didn't know but I do.  It's a slippery slope talking about anyone's age because you just know your age is on the chopping block next. 

How Is Social Media Like The Canal In My Backyard?

We live on a canal and my dog loves to fish. He never catches anything but he stares at them constantly and sometimes jumps in after them. It keeps him entertained. The fish don't seem to interact with each other. They swim through the canal most likely looking for food and/or trying not to become someone else's food.