One in five people have reduced their face-to-face contact with someone they know in real life after an online run-in.
Stats are so easy to manipulate. Question: how many people have reduced their face to face contact with someone they know in real life after a face to face run in?
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I’ve met (and reconnected w) some nice folk on social media:
- I’ve reconnected with several from my graduating class on FaceBook (Oak Hills - 1967) including: a girl I dated way back when (1966). They lost their son in the Iraq war. And a classmate who is the sheriff of Clermont County Oh. Another classmate called me last year when he saw on FB that I was ill.
- I’ve met some really nice folk on Sharper Iron. So am thankful for that
Dan Miller and Greg Linscott were the 1st two S/I connections that I met face to face. Dan came to my workplace and had lunch with me and Greg stayed at my house for a couple of days (seemed like a month …. you know the saying “Fish and visitors smell after three days.”) 
Through Tim the Sheriff I found out about this classmate.
Your new picture frightens me …
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
[TylerR]Your new picture frightens me …
Keep up the good work.
Source of mine (I understand that it is a Lemur): (Aaron and Susan helped me figure it out!)
http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-animal-portraits-yago-partal/
I wanted to go with this one but …
Perhaps a little too aggressive!
Don “the Ox goad” man
I used Megamind for more than year. Believe it or not several took offense to it.
Observation: Never saw the movie AND I am not a brainiac AND my skin is not blue.
I thought avatar of Lemur who are known to be solitary but social would convey less “pseudo-” … more sincere … approachable …. even lovable
To reply or not to reply, that is the question.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
I think social media may actually be more in-your-face than interactions IRL. In the past, one could avoid someone others with whom they disagree in a subtle, sort of ‘passive-agressive’ manner. But unfriending, blocking, etc… is more overt than simply avoiding someone.
And in some ways, people are more likely to speak their mind on social media. They link to articles and jokes that reveal what they really think about things, while in a face-to-face conversation, we often avoid revealing a conflicting opinion. So people get upset when they find out a friend is a vegetarian, a conservative, pro-choice, or voted for ‘the other guy’.
All in all, it’s six of one, half dozen of the other. Tech influences how we live and interact, from the printing press to the telephone to the automobile to the internet. I think every generation experiences some trepidation about life and culture changing discoveries. Every scientific discovery causes concern about the nefarious uses of the knowledge gained. E=mc2 anyone?
Maybe I should go back to my old avatar
Discussion