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SOCIAL MEDIA + YOU & ME: A LOOK ON OUR CURRENT SOCIAL MEDIA USE

June 11, 2020 by Little Miss Honey

With the pandemic and being quarantined at home, we all find consolation in using our social media to its full potential. We use our phones even more. Many are reaching out digitally more constantly to our friends, colleagues and long-lost childhood peers. Several people would post inspirational quotes to share positivity to our family & friends. A few more would show off our new culinary skills or our latest fitness regimen. Some even started on a new online business.

It wasn’t long ago when social media didn’t even exist in our lives (Hello fellow Xennials!). Now, having a Facebook account is tantamount to an identification or proof that you are still existing. Social Media indeed has its advantages if used in a positive and effective way. We can inspire people, have a greater reach on people, promote our brand, find successful business, find love (ya, that can happen too!) bridge distances and learn from others. However, like most things if used excessively or in a malicious way, it may have its cons and harmful effects.

Social media in general sadly seem to be getting more toxic and dangerous increasingly. Expressing personal sentiments can backlash at you if voice out opinions that is opposed to the ideals of some people. People are getting too sensitive that you rather keep to yourself to avoid adding more chaos to a chaotic world. Then there are dangers in sharing to the public: threats to the safety of my family and my own, manipulative & crazy people that would take advantage of your openness to the public, the opportunistic hackers (yes, my website got hacked and it caused me a lot of money), the recent Facebook cloning scam and the possible accusation that you are an attention-seeker for putting yourself out there.

SOCIAL MEDIA & THE PAST

My first experience with Social Media is with Friendster. Remember Friendster? It was a very cutesy social media platform where you have your friends very similar to Facebook but in a more colourful & slam book-type of template. It has a special corner for your friends to create a touching testimonials of what an amazing person you are. It also has a feature for you to know who is checking out your profile which is a sad news for silent stalking friends, haha. I was later introduced by my cousin in Canada to Facebook which I didn’t particularly like before. I hated the serious blue and white bland template. I hated the whole poking-me, sending like virtual gifts and virtual kiss features. My personal life during those times were also not in its best shape yet and I was dealing major undertakings & transitions in my life that I lost my desire to maintain any social media account. So 2007, I deleted all my social media accounts. I never missed it. But then those times, the world was not revolving around social media as compared as today.

I went back social media via Multiply after my pilgrimage trip in Sydney, Australia as a way to get in touch with the girls I travelled with during the trip. It was also where I started my blogging. Multiply allows a template similar to blogging platform to create articles with pictures. Then after attending my friend’s wedding in California, USA, I was encourage to get back in Facebook so we can share photos of our time in US, play online games together and keep in touch with friends scattered across the globe. I activated my Facebook account again and never looked back. I eventually joined Twitter and Instagram (My sister forced me. I just thought it was a filter app). I also moved my blog from Blogspot to eventually WordPress with my personal URL.

Social Media can be fun and entertaining. It can be addicting. It can be comforting and inspiring. But nowadays, we have became too attached with social media at it has replaced our real lives (IRL) to the gloss & one-sided view of social media.

I have to tell my close friends that not all in Social Media are real. Most of the time it is a filtered curated version of real life “

We have lost touch to what is more real, what is essential and time has been robbed from us as we mindlessly scroll up & up for more content & update on lives of people we barely even talk to in real life. As social media is talking over our lives, our time and unconsciously controlling us rather than the way around, this is a good time to step back and assess how we can use social media effectively and mindfully.

As I reflect on the several social media accounts that I have, I decided how I will use each account for what purpose, who are my friends or ‘audiences’, how I will control my privacy & the content I put and how I can use it effectively without it controlling my life.

FACEBOOK:

Most of my family & friends are in my Facebook friend list. However, like most Facebook friend list these days, there are many very distant relatives (that you have to politely accept), old schoolmates and workmates you barely talked to and some people who added you to take a peek on your private life like a seasoned investigator. Decluttering Facebook friend list can be painstaking task to do and the option to unfriend can be interpreted as a vengeful personal attack to the person being unfriended or blocked. The timeline of Facebook is like smorgasbord of so much information, endless quotes & memes and daily updates of things going on in other people life. Facebook has wonderful option to filter who you prefer to follow and you can unfollow the posts of those that bring negativity to your feed without them knowing & risk of bruising their ego if you unfriend or block them.

My uses for Facebook:

catch-up with with genuine friends and family
photo-album for memories, travel and kid’s milestones (I like their memories feature. I love looking back at the old photos of the kids)

I have my separate Little Miss Honey Blog Facebook Page which I post my new blog post links and sometimes, I share some of my Instagram post.

TWITTER:

I hardly open my Twitter account these days. I even set it now to private and stopped linking my blog to my twitter. I hardly have any real-life friends in Twitter. I just follow very few people that post funny tweets like Pakalu Papito & Senyora or informative tweets like The Nerdy Derma & Fitz Villafuerte. Twitter is an excellent way to get quick information on any controversial issues or news, though be wary of fake news. It is the best place to vent out and say anything because nobody really cares what you tweet unless you are really famous. It is fun to check the funny threads and go to a hashtag on a silly topic you are currently interested & see hilarious comments. I also found that the customer services in most brands are very receptive at Twitter. I would get answers from bank, BPI when I have issues with my ATM card & they solved it. I also would get fast answer from my website hosting, GoDaddy at Twitter.

My uses for Twitter:

for ~~ranting~~ venting and post silly tweets without judgment
to check on the latest news and current issues
source of random entertainment

INSTAGRAM

Apart from my Facebook Page for Little Miss Honey, my Instagram account is a subset of my Blog. It is a venue to market my blog under the business account. I would collaborate with other brands and earn from my Instagram. I do have a some friends & families in Instagram but most of them are my virtual friends, blogger friends I met online & in events and followers of my blog/instagram. My Instagram is highly curated which is my venue to create a space of aesthetic inspiration while showcasing some tidbits of content of my blog. You can find me active sometimes on my Instagram stories.

My use for Instagram:

space to market my blog
venue to collaborate with like-minded brands, bloggers/influencers, individuals
source of inspiration of my favourite celebrities & people

LINKEDIN

I create a Linkedin just in case I will need it eventually. It still needs to be updated. I hardly post anything there or follow a lot of people. I would occasionally peep in Linkedin and find noteworthy articles to read. I would also accepts to those people who wants to connect.

My use for Linkedin

For job-seeking opportunities
Portal for career profile

Other Social Media:

I stopped using Snapchat except only if I want to use their filter but I never post there at all. I go to Pinterest for ideas & inspiration. I can be extremely useful for me, though I stopped creating boards. I dont have and will never create an account in TikTok.

I take careful measures to safeguard my privacy in social media even with my public blog. I kept out anything that would risk the safety of my family. I lessen my social media consumption and I avoid the habit of oversharing. Somethings are best kept to one’s self nowadays. I prefer my social media to be devoid of any negativity except in Twitter when I want an occasional outlet for disappointments & frustrations sans cursing, of course.

I even decided to create schedules when I can open my social media accounts to control how I spend time on my phone. I am trying to practice the habit of no cellphone 1 hour before bedtime. I would put my cellphone far from my bed & would switch to airplane mode. This is to lessen the exposure to electromagnetic frequencies emitted from cellular devices as well as to control the mindless scrolling in social media that can disrupt sleep patterns & waste our precious time.

How about you? How do you use your social media? Are you happy with your relationship with social media? Do you find yourself spending more time in social media than being present in your daily activities & with your loved-ones? This time is a great way to reflect on our social media use. It is good to check on how we can utilise social media for our own benefit instead of being controlled by the endless notifications, update and mindless scrolling.

THINGS THAT INSPIRED ME THIS WEEK

February 15, 2015 by Little Miss Honey 1,122 Comments

My week started with me having a red eye. I brushed it off as one of those days when my eyes get irritated with my contact lens. On Tuesday, I wore my spectacles to work instead of my contacts but my eye condition was still getting worst. It was getting redder and redder by the minute and also very painful. I have to finish work a bit earlier to head to the nearest hospital emergency room for an eye doctor to examine my eyes through a slit lamp. I would never go to the accident & emergency department if I wasn’t really suffering. The cost of consultation in the accident & emergency department is quite pricey than that a regular doctor’s consultation.

Source

When the ophthalmologist examined me, she diagnosed my condition as Conjunctivitis. Yes, a sore eyes or a pink-eye. I might have gotten it from one of my patients. I had several patients who had it that morning. It made me think back hard. Which one of them? Did I miss one step of the 7 hand washing techniques? The doctor gave me 7 days of rest and said that I shouldn’t expose myself to other people to avoid contaminating them.

7 days? I think of my box of papers at work that I still have to go through. I think of my baby at home that will be exposed to me. I think of my colleagues at work being one-manpower short. But God has a way of speaking to me through the circumstances in my life. At my busy times, sometimes He says “Slow down”. This time, He says, “Stop!” ( Red ~~eyes~~ lights means stop, right?). Last week was a very busy week for me and God has given me a pause sign.

So this week, to deal with my cabin fever and the limited exposure to my son to avoid him from getting infected, I was able to clean our room. It was a nice feeling to finally arranged it and clean every nooks & corners. The hubby appreciated it a lot. I was also able to do a bit of introspection and retrospection. There should always be a time for us to step back and meditate & contemplate about our life, our plans, ourselves.

This week, I learned something new. My hubby taught me how to open a hard-boiled egg easily and sweat-free. It is amazing! Drop me a line in the comment box, if you want to know too.

Valentines Day fell on this week. Valentines date plans were postponed due to the red-eyes situation. We will be moving it a bit later next week. But one great thing that happened on Valentines Day is that my blog’s Facebook Page hit a milestone. It has reached 500 Likes! As of today, Little Miss Honey Facebook Page now have 501 subscribers. Thank you very much, everyone! It is very heart-warming. Can we go 1000? Hehe…

Credit: aplaceforart.tumblr.com

Great things ahead for Little Miss Honey blog and I am excited! I am cooking up something new for my blog. Since this is a year for a change like I said before, yes, there will some changes for Little Miss Honey blog but lovely changes, I promise. Please, watch out for that.

While I am recovering from my eye infection, here are a round-up of links I found online that inspired me this week that you might enjoy too:

Been making a batch of these for Naj and he loves it!

These kitchen ideas will help me save time from food preparation when we are busy

I need to get better acquainted with my Sony Nex camera so I can take better pictures for my blog

Ahhh, a father’s love and sacrifices are precious, don’t you think? This video made me cry.

What to do when you are not living the life your soul intended

I love this 1st birthday idea of Ms. Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio for his son. I might try this for Naj when he turns 2.

I miss ballet. I love ballet. And yes, men can do and rock ballet too like this guy.

Some tips for those who wants to start blogging. I wish I read this before I started.

For those bake. Does your oven have the Celsius or Fahrenheit temperature?

This is so cute!! Kids seriously thinking they are animals too.

Some current blog trends

DIY Family Valentines Date: Movie Night!

Why we should STOP thinking that Fifty Shades of Grey is a romantic movie

How was your Valentines Day celebration? Wishing you all the love and sweetness. Please pray that this eye infection will get better soon. Bye for now.

5 THINGS WE SHOULDN’T POST ON FACEBOOK

October 18, 2013 by Little Miss Honey 3,986 Comments

We live in the Facebook generation. We are all intellectual properties of Mr. Zuckerberg. Haha! Not a day goes by when we have to do our usual (if possible) hourly check of our Facebook feeds. Some assume if you don’t have a Facebook account, you might be lost in the wilderness. It seems we do more of our talking online rather than offline This freedom of sharing our thoughts and life online and expressing our voice out into the world wide web may be liberating and fun but should be done with caution. Yes, Facebook allows us to be more ‘talkative’ and ‘expressive’ without the intimidating factor of a visible audience. We can be the ‘carefree gal’, ‘ the angst-driven chica’, or the ‘wild chick’ when we sat in front of our computers or typing away on our mobile smart phone, not giving much thought of the phrases and words we put out on the public websphere.

We have to remember that we are all public online personalities whether we like it or not if we have signed up for Facebook and other social media networking sites. We must put a bit of brake fluid on our eager typing fingers when updating our status or posting personal pictures. Here are five things you shouldn’t post on Facebook: ( I am sure there are more than five but let me stop at five for now)

1. YOUR FIGHTS WITH YOUR LOVED-ONES

There those moment when you are extremely pissed at your partner and you think that your only friend is Facebook. So you type in mean things or nasty words to a no-namer on your status update with an invisible arrow pointing obviously to your romantic partner. Coincidentally just after you change your relationship status to it’s complicated or single. (Which is revert back to , ‘in a relationship‘ after 2-3 days. How typical!) Your temporary outburst maybe a way to get your partner’s attention or to release out your cannot-be-contained anger. But I tell you, dearies, these tactics doesn’t work. This will not change your man nor will it be beneficial to your relationship. Keep your fights to yourselves. Nobody is interested. If there is, those will be the bored gossipers happy for your misery. Rather than spilling your current fights online, confide with a trusted friend or a wise family member. You know that these people will have your best interest at heart. Keep other people from meddling into your life. That is why most celebrities tend to deny their current boyfriend/girlfriend and give the media a sheepish “we are just friend’ statement because of that reason.

2. YOUR LOVER’S MISTRESS

I know of people who retaliate by posting their husband’s or boyfriend’s mistress/fling on Facebook in order to disgrace the third party. It is very tacky and uncool to do that. It is not a practice of an elegant woman. I feel for you that your partner have strayed and crushed your heart & ego so striking fast by warning netizens of the mistress’ swarmy hands off other possible prey by destroying her online. This encourage cyberbullying which is very rampant nowadays and I am totally against of. We all don’t want to be cheated on but this is not how to go about it. First of all, this is not only the mistress fault but your partner’s as well. You must also look closely that maybe you do have some shortcomings of your own. The best way to go about this situation is logical-thinking. Take a few steps back and assess the situation. If the situation requires you to give up an unsalvageable situation, step away, you are far too amazing to beg and take in all that emotional abuse. We all deserve to be respected and cherish, ladies.

3. YOUR DEPRESSED STATE

Like when we are angry, Facebook can be also our only friend on days when we feel so blue and depressed. How nice to type away all the depressing thoughts & feelings every hour for the whole world to see. Not! Though this may be a form of self-expression and release of tension but Facebook is not our psychiatrist. Your 300+ friends have access to your sad emotional state. And maybe one of your courageous friend might be forced to suggest to you to take some anti depressives & a trip to the shrink to stop your whining. Talk to a friend instead or a counsellor. Yes, Facebook is for self-expression but we rather see positive status updates on our wall feed than strings of gloomy narcissistic woes. It is best to keep Facebook a happy place to come and visit. Continuing on this bad habit may lead to people unfriending you instead.

4. RACISM/BIGOTRY

We all heard about the that racism comment of Miss Devina to our very own Miss World 2013, Megan Young. Its very sad that racism is still evident today. We should respect each other despite difference in ethnicity, race, gender, sexual preference, socioeconomic standing and disabilities. We should never make fun or give careless comments that would resemble bigotry. Learn from the mistake of an employee of a big grocery chain who made a racist comment on her personal Facebook account about Malay weddings. She was then fired from her job for posting the offensive comment. We should practice tact and pause before posting things that might offend other people. I believe that we all can live harmoniously regardless of our differences and we should be accepting & open to learn more of other people’s culture & belief.

5. YOUR WORK STUFF

You should practice extreme caution when discussing about important work stuff on your Facebook account especially in spilling confidential informations that the public shouldn’t have access to. Never ever say anything negative about your company or your workmates. I heard a story back in the Philippines when a certain employee lashed out and complained about his senior and describe him in nasty words which brought an ugly lawsuit for libel. Sad! If you can’t resist, post instead positive things about your workplace but also be sincere.

There yo have it guys, 5 things you shouldn’t post on Facebook. Drop me a line if you other things you think that should be included on the list.

Remember, think before you post. Bye!

taken from www.themetapicture.com