Blog writing and social media

Wow!
I just checked and my blog posting frequency has really dropped off in the past few months.
Part of that is a decision to be less negative and just putting the keyboard aside when I feel the need to rant. Another part is a conscious effort to disconnect from social media a bit more and unfortunately that has also included my blog and some of the other blogs I read.
Now, rather than reading them daily, I seem to read them a few times per week and catch several days at once.

There are an abundance of studies that show how community and personal relationships add years to life and make those years more enjoyable. Social media and technology have had great impacts on the amount of personal relationships we have and it seems that we (at least in the US) are becoming more isolated, more lonely, and more poorly equipped to actually interact with other human beings.

I have to admit that I don't interact with very many people on a regular basis. There are many days when the only person I talk to is Chris. I can't say that I feel lonely or depressed or anything. In fact, I rather enjoy my solitude.
Having said that, I probably should work on building some relationships and surrounding myself with a community of sorts -- even if it's primarily to help others that do feel lonely.

I'm going to continue to work on limiting my social media time. I don't know if social media relationships count for anything towards the community building necessary for long happy lives or not. I do enjoy interacting with people that I only know through social media and sometimes wonder just how well we would get along in real life. I've met a few of those people and it's been pleasant enough that I would like to continue to meet others.
And I'm not quitting social media; just continuing to monitor and reduce my dependency on social media as a substitute for actual face to face relationships with people.

I'm also going to work on finding something positive to share on this blog and try writing more often. I know there aren't many people that continue to read out Out of My Hat, but the blog began as a place for me to just write and share some thoughts and maybe needs to get back to that.

It's the weekend!
Go out and interact with someone!
Build a new relationship or nurture an existing one.
Or...
...if you need it, enjoy some solitude!

John <><