Friday Fun: What Are Your Favorite Things About Social Media?

Like everything else, the advent of social media has pros and cons. We complain about the bad stuff way more than we talk about the good. We can certainly mimic the Democrats and babble about “misinformation.” My friend talks about how her 16-year-old son stares at a screen all day. But probably logging more screen time ourselves than we care to admit, we all have those favorite things that appear on our social media feeds that, truthfully, we would miss if suddenly they were gone. So, inspired by a tweet by RedState’s own Susie Moore, here are a few of mine.

Susie tweeted that the things that make her follow other X users are “Making me laugh, making me think, making me smile.” As far as X goes, I agree. Social media is, after all, about getting other peoples’ attention. Those three things will do it. But then I started thinking about other social media, Facebook and maybe Instagram. Things that definitely get my attention: people who I agree with. I won’t lie; most of my Facebook friends are conservative, so I tend to agree with them. Let’s face it: It’s nice to be among like-minded people, no matter how you do it. Then, there are the people I disagree with. If we are honest, we all have those people we disagree with on our feed. They are annoying and uninformed; why don’t we just get rid of them? Because, for some reason, we like their particular brand of annoyance. We just can’t quit ’em, so we keep following them. On the bright side, hopefully, we won’t have to see their ridiculous Kamala Harris posts for much longer.

Then, there are those posts that might best be described as “life posts.” Those things you read and think, “Yeah, I’m down with that.” A few gems from my feed: A group calling themselves “Stevie Nicks Officials” posted a quote supposedly said by Nicks, “Don’t be a lady, be a legend.” I’m not sure if she really said it, but it does sound Stevie-ish, and I liked it. Then there is the one with Donald Duck, taco in one hand, a beer in the other. The caption, “Tacos alone won’t fill the emptiness in your soul, you’ll also need beer.” Yeah, I can get behind that, too.  

Of course, there are the videos. For some, it might be the puppy videos. As a dog lover, I can get into a good puppy video; they are just so funny. For others, maybe it’s dumb criminals or “Jackass” type stunts. That’s the beauty of social media; God bless America. I know it’s girly, but wedding dress videos are fun. C’mon ladies, if we had it to do over again, would we wear the same dress or something different? But the “What the hell are they thinking?” videos are just as fun, if not more. Many of them prompt the question: Where is the ceremony being held — at Walmart at 2 a.m.?

We all have that list of movies that, if they are on, we will watch them. And if there are clips of them on social media, we’ll watch those, too. One of those on my will-watch list is “The Devil Wears Prada.” Meryl Streep and her portrayal as everyone’s impossible boss, Miranda Priestly, is the best, and the journey of earnest would-be journalist Andy Sachs, just trying to get her foot in the door. I have dodged many a stink-eye from my husband trying to get me out the door to go somewhere so I could watch a clip of that movie. Classic TV clips from “Friends” may remind us of when we were young, single, broke, and our friends were our extended family. I even get clips from “M.A.S.H.” that remind me that they don’t make TV shows like that anymore. Last but not least, for me, anything “Halloween-y.” I love Halloween!

For all of its ills, social media has become invaluable to stay in touch with family and friends and even find long-lost family and friends. The best things about it really are those things that make you laugh, make you smile, and make you think.