Have you heard the story about how at one of the first movies ever, the sight of a train on screen moving towards the viewer was so vivid and unfamiliar that the crowd ran out in a panic?
That story is probably an urban legend. But I think it’s also a pretty good metaphor of how we respond to new technologies. We recognize their power and feel a bit of fear, but often, that fear is over something totally different than the actual threat.
I think we’re roughly around that same stage with social media.
Most of us can probably name all the ways social media threatens to make our world a worse place. But very rarely do I hear of ways people are counteracting those concerns other than staying off of it all together. The abstinence approach can be a fine personal habit, but the reality is that social media is here to stay, and it’s also valuable and important to figure out how to live with it.
Here are a few tips:
📲Partake mindfully. To assume social media is all bad is way too reductionistic, but it’s important to have the consciousness of when you’re not getting what you really want from it.
📲Share your work/follow your faves on multiple platforms so you aren’t dependent on a single entity.
📲Use your own site to showcase your work, and don’t rely on a social network as a portfolio.
📲Connect with people via an email newsletter and return the favor by signing up for others.
📲Consider social media literacy an increasing prerequisite for being an effective public servant.