The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck
Social media presents the biggest and easiest way to stay connected with other people, whether they are friends, acquaintances, family, colleagues, or others. Of all the social media options, Facebook is the number one choice today. On a monthly basis, approximately 1.44 billion people use Facebook, with an average of 936 million daily users.
Facebook users enjoy sharing tidbits about their lives, reconnecting with long lost friends, reading about the latest trends, posting pictures, playing games, and so much more. The amount of information shared is a personal decision. For some, they use Facebook as a mini diary, complete with daily entries of their day. Others seldom post anything, choosing to browse occasionally to find out what their friends are up to. Users may use Facebook to help organize events and important moments of their lives. Still others post information on Facebook so that news reaches a big audience at one time. Facebook users often learn a lot about their friends from various postings.
With hundreds of millions of daily users comes a host of different opinions as to how much and what kind of information users should share. Some of the things that annoy or bore users include the following: selfies, political rants, long posts about mundane activities, religious professions, cryptic messages, excessive pictures of kids, business promotions, bragging, drinking photos, vacation photos, sports rants, photos of pets, and more. Some people believe that users shouldn’t broadcast sensitive subjects such as serious medical issues and family disagreements. Still others become annoyed with the same type of photos. Take for instance fitness fanatics who post countless photos of their bike races, marathons, triathlons, and other events. There are even those who find it annoying that some users only post positive events. Those annoyed claim that Facebook paints an unrealistic picture of a person’s life because life is not perfect. However, if people posted about all aspects of their lives, that would become annoying to someone as well.
Facebook postings tell a lot about a person’s character. Postings may reveal excitement, frustration, fear, humor, boredom, and more. Those Facebook users who stay true to themselves do not let naysayers bother them. After all, for the most part, the people on any Facebook user’s page have accepted friend requests or requested to be friends in the first place. They have chosen to be a part of a certain Facebook user’s life. So, whether you are the queen of selfies, a fitness junkie, a Democrat/Republican, or an Ohio State fan, what and how much you post on Facebook is truly up to you.
Jill Starbuck has 20+ years of experience as a business writer, editor, and market research analyst. She is a certified health coach through the Integrative Institute of Nutrition and a certified running coach through the Road Runners Club of America. She is also the co-owner of a running business. She can be reached at jillstarbuck@hotmail.com.
