Social Media and Friendship

Part 1 – What Does Friendship Look Like?
Do you have friends you’ve known since you were little? You can’t remember life without them. 

​Friends are there when you need to talk, share a laugh, or have a slumber party. You’re never alone, when you’ve got a friend.

​One friend or a bunch? At home or in school? It doesn’t matter – life is a whole lot better with friends!

This is what friendship used to look like. When I was a kid in the 60’s, we met people first, in person. We talked on a telephone. We sent letters and  pictures through the mail. It might take a day, even a week, for it to arrive.. Occasionally we had pen pals, people we only met through a letter, rarely in person. It was usually something a teacher set up, and I did it a couple of times with my 2nd graders.

Part 2 – Facebook and a New Kind of Friend
Today we have options I never dreamed of. Now we can email or text words, pictures, and videos in seconds. We can see and talk to friends and family in real time, right now. It’s common to have friends we’ve never met in person, all because of the internet.

I joined Facebook first. I’m not sure when,  but look below. This is the oldest picture I could find. It’s from August  16, 2010. 

Back then my Facebook friends were people I’d met face-to-face. I started with 1 friend and went up to about 150 when I retired from teaching in 2015. 

​The most unusual thing about Facebook was you could friend or be friended by people you didn’t know. Usually they knew someone you did. Now I have  friends in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Maybe someday – I’ll meet someone in Antarctica or South America!

If you want to be friends, I’ll check who you know.  My rule of thumb – 3 friends in common. If you’re a complete stranger, I usually delete your request. I’ll also go to your page to see if you’re a teacher or a writer. I’ll look at your posts too. Good things mean we’re going to be friends.  Bad stuff, we’re not.

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I usually talk to friends through my Facebook page. I only talk on messenger if  I know you personally, or if we’ve already talked on Facebook, and we need to share private information. 

​ Over the years I’ve had a couple people who broke the rules. They wanted to chit-chat, and I don’t have time for that. I asked them to stop. They didn’t so I blocked their account. 

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I now have 1300 friends, exactly. I was curious so I went in and counted who I really know. It took a good 5-10 minutes. I recognized 368. I’ve talked to them personally or across Facebook groups. I’ve taken classes with some, or we’ve critiqued each other’s writing.
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Some are personal friends and relatives. Three have passed, and their accounts were never pulled down. Occasionally their names come up, and I remember them. It’s sad, but sweet. 

About a half dozen sat in my classroom. I always felt it was more important for me to be their teacher, not their friend. Now that I’m retired, I’m so glad they still remember me. A few were my teachers, but most of those 1300 people asked me to be friends. It’s rare for me to ask. I really have enough friends.

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This is the header for my business page. Thanks to writing and self-publishing I’m now a business owner, which is something I never expected. The picture above was the first thing I posted on my business page back on March 22, 2019. I was three months away from publishing my first book – NEIL ARMSTRONG’S WIND TUNNEL DREAM.

My life and friends have changed tremendously, for the better, because of Facebook. I feel blessed by each one of you. Thanks!

Trivia Question – Which came first – Instagram or Twitter?
Part 3 – Next Came Twitter
I joined Twitter in June, 2018 because I hoped it would help people find my website – http://www.rindabeach.com/

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​My first tweet, October 14, 2018, was about my  cruise to Cuba. The link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/take-a-little-cruise-with-me-part-1-ship-shape

​My first tweet, October 14, 2018, was about my  cruise to Cuba. The link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/take-a-little-cruise-with-me-part-1-ship-shape

There are two ways to find  followers. Twitter makes suggestions, or people follow me. Either way, I  research profiles, and I usually pick teachers and writers. We work well together!
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I started my Twitter journey on 0  for everything. Now I have 2897 tweets. I follow 2427 people, and I have 1934 followers. That’s a long way from 0!

​Part 4 – And Instagram Was Last
​When I joined Twitter, I could have joined Instagram, but I didn’t. I think it’s because more writers were on Twitter. I’m not sure why I finally joined Instagram, but I’m glad I did.

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 This is my first Instagram post from January 17, 2019. It was about a dog named Riley. Would you believe she has her own book? That’s because she’s a service dog, and a great listener!
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This is the link to my post about her:
http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/riley-the-retriever-is-a-good-dog-a-therapy-dog

​Instagram has followers, and it works pretty much like Twitter. One click, and you followed someone. You find followers the same way too. Instagram makes suggestions, or people follow you.
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​I still research profiles  before I follow anyone. I discovered something new –  I’m good for librarians and home-schoolers, and they’re good for me too!

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​When I started posting on Instagram, I was at 0  for everything. Now I have 436 posts. I follow 1057 people, and I have 687 followers. I’ve come a long way in one short year!
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With followers on either network, I’ve only run into one person I needed to block. They didn’t follow my rules. I only talk in posts, mine or yours. If you message me and want to chat, I’ll message back, but I’ll ask you to stop. If you don’t, I have to block you.
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It’s been a blessing to meet so many wonderful people on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but you have to be careful. Not everyone is nice –  That’s why I’m glad to follow or friend you!

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