Social Media Has Given People a False Sense of Being in Touch

          After losing one my closest friends recently I have realized that sometimes we think that we are in touch with our friends through social media, we become confident in that fact however are we really communicating with loved ones? I say no. We post what is happening in our lives and check out our friends walls from time to time, when  we remember, but we really aren't in touch. We only see the lives that they are putting out there for the "public" to view. We aren't in touch with what is really happening, not really.

     I used to talk to my friend on a regular basis, or we corresponded through snail mail. We talked about what was happening in our lives, our true thoughts and our feelings, not just what we wanted other people to know. We laughed about life, we reminisced about the past, we were in touch with each other.

     Since social media I lost touch with her. We communicated through social media and were somewhat informed on each others lives but we really were not communicating, we were not really in touch. I looked back at our last real communication and it was much longer back than I feel comfortable with. We had the feeling that we were communicating but we really were not in touch.

    This fact caused me to reflect on many of my relationships and how superficial they have become since social media. I know what my friends make for dinner, sometimes their favorite animals or maybe even vacation pictures. But I really don't know what is happening in their lives. I don't hear their voices so in essence am not really in touch.

   Don't get me wrong, I love social media because it has connected me with many people from the past however, how connected are we really? Do we talk?  No, we check out each others walls and that is about all. We don't get together, we don't call each other. We aren't really in touch. This makes me sad.

     I love seeing what people post, I love to see what is going on in their lives and I thoroughly enjoy pictures of their lives but I feel more connected when I hear a voice at the other end of a phone or see a face and talk in person. Social media has given us this false sense that we are in touch but we are just keeping up...sort of...

     My son does not live with me and I miss him terribly. I can't imagine my relationship with him becoming posts on Facebook, pictures and messages. That would be so lonesome and I would miss him so much more than I already do. We do keep in touch through those means but we also talk on the phone and get together...not as much as I would like but as much as we can for now and as much as he probably likes haha.

     I have realized through my friends passing that I have let social media distance me from those I care about and it is time to get back in touch. I plan to call more often and get together with friends when I can. I miss the long talks with my dear friend and I can' never get that back. It makes my heart hurt. I can't change that though but I can move in a different direction by getting back in touch with my friends and family.  Life is way too short to just be friends on a computer screen.  There is nothing better than hearing a voice or getting a hug!