Not sure what I was thinking exactly, but yeah, I just joined both Twitter and TikTok. I actually joined Twitter in 2010. Being the new shiney bright object (at least to me) and thinking I would be all over it as a new way to market the family business. The way I perceived social media then was it seemed like if you threw-up as much content as possible, you would be everywhere and become a celebrity. Ha! I quickly realized I didn’t have much to say that would be even moderately interesting. I also learned that everyone was dumping content with my same expectations too. I also eventually grasped that the Facebook and Youtube channel I was already using had more potential value, especially with my limited skill set. I posted maybe 6 times and those were all in the first several weeks. At least I could say I was on Twitter when asked and appear savvy. Years later, I was cleaning up unused apps on my phone and deleted it. I didn’t use it and it took up valuable screen space. Fast forward to 2016-2020. All the rhetoric was undeniable and exhausting, but occasionally oddly compelling. When the social media companies decided to ban what they felt inappropriate, I wondered who exactly made that decision and what was it based on. I didn’t particularly like the feeds that were constantly regurgitated on the news but I can switch it off right? Fast forward again to 2022. Elon Musk decided to purchase twitter. Curiosity stuck again so I reactivated my account. It isn’t so much that I am a Elon fanboy, but do respect his unflinching drive and and his fearless approach to life and am curious to see how he moderates dialogue and different opinions. In addition to following him, I also follow local (SLC, Ut) stuff and irreverent comments in response to postings by our dominate local religion. This started during Banner of Heaven and I haven’t been able to stop. Funny or terribly rude, you decide, but it is great sport to watch—depending on your prerogative of course.

TikTok. This time it was morbid curiosity more than chasing enlightenment. My interest peaked during the previous administration when it was cited as anti-american because it was based in China. I thought the initial pandemic posts were funny and clever, and I didn’t see the harm. Eventually, Facebook and Twitter started banning what seemed like all things republican, returning the favor I suppose of republicans going on the warpath after TikTok. I admit the stupid and dangerous challenges promoted on TikTok makes me wonder what value it really has. Easy enough to find out—So I joined. I’m not sure who or what I follow. I just opened the app and started filling in the blanks. The teasers now appear on my phone with “My dog left so I can go home now” or “I obviously don’t have a type” which shows a girl with an avocado themed shirt lipsyncing something about international flags that flash on the screen. Pretty harmless…and mindless, but I guess that’s where we are nowadays. I guess they are based on popularity because their randomness is amazing. Prior to downloading the app, I attended a real estate class that stressed how important it is to market your business on it or perish! Personal posts are one thing but professional marketing on TikTok is totally different and regular posters can smell newbies and their attempt to fit in. I find it hard to believe that posting on TikTok will entice someone to list their house with me—so I watch—and learn.

Age is irrelevant in many endeavors, but the energy and commitment it takes to participate, navigate and communicate at this level on these platforms kicks me to the curb. I like social media, I really do, in moderate doses and have no problem navigating it on a fairly regular basis. The challenge for me is to commit the time required to propagate and digest the level of content the average person consumes. It is mind-numbing. The latest stats I read states the attention span of the average person is now 8.2 seconds. I remember when it was 10 seconds and thought that was crazy. Perhaps it stems from the early days, when the content wasn’t near as creative or imaginative and the viewer learned to move on quickly or be bored to tears. I wonder if this type of prolonged mental engagement will help prevent dementia. Time will tell. Or it won’t matter and I’ll just be entertained by all the crazy people.

Sometimes I wish for simpler times, whatever that means. Pre-internet news generally came from one of two local newspapers and one of three news channels. There is so much information now, that the constant assault on my senses can be overwhelming so signing on to Twitter and TikTok doesn’t show the greatest logic I admit. I’m doing it partly because I acknowledge having confirmation bias. Knowing that has helped/forced me to try to better comprehend opposing viewpoints, rather than shutting them out completely. The other feed I got but didn’t mention is Reddit. My youngest suggested it and offered five different feeds to follow regarding national news. r/cnn, r.conspiracytheories, r/highstrangeness, r/politico, r/worldnews. The reason was five different viewpoints on the same topic. There of course is the ultimate tool that each of us has—the ability to turn-off the noise, or at the very least, turn the channel.