Social Media: the New Morning Paper
I honestly don’t remember either of my parents sitting down at the kitchen table in the morning to read the daily newspaper. Maybe I never saw it because they were both teachers and we were all out of the house early. Never a morning person, I woke up with just enough time to get myself dressed and out the door, I definitely wasn’t paying attention to what mom and dad were doing. I do remember fighting my grandfather for the Sunday funnies. But even he wasn’t sitting at the table perusing the daily paper a la every 70s and 80s TV sitcom.
I know it had to be a thing because it’s pretty widespread in movies, TV shows, even books. And I wonder if people still do that. Or if they reach for their phone or computer to check the daily headlines and news to know. I’ve never been a newspaper fan, but I definitely reach for my phone every morning to check in on Facebook and Instagram. And even though I don’t catch flack from my family for it, I know a lot of people who do. I have to wonder if they would catch the same crap if they were reaching for a newspaper. Or the remote to turn on the TV news. Is it the phone aspect of it? Or the social media aspect that riles people up?
I really don’t like watching or listening to the news. For one, it’s depressing. It’s also on way too early in the morning for me. And I can pretty much get the daily rundown from Facebook. If it’s important in the news, someone will post about it. If it’s really important, everyone will post about it. And the number of sources people share on the socials is much higher than I would get from a single news source. But I gotta admit, I’m not usually logging in to catch up on world news. I’m logging in to catch up with friends and what’s happening in their world.
Now, don’t get me wrong, world events are important. But we’ve become such a “small world” in the past decade that sometimes that information is really overwhelming. And the small world aspect I’d rather focus on is what my friends are family are doing. Where are they traveling to? Are they even traveling at all? First day of school pix? Yep, totally there for that. A friend’s family member passed away? I want to be there for them however I can, even if it’s just commenting on their post with words of comfort and support. Can’t do that on a newspaper obit. Damn, most of the time obituaries are completely ignored anyway, so social media seems to have brought people closer together for support than the newspaper ever could. Local sports team doing well? Yep, I’ll know about that, too. Local sports team totally sucks this year? I’ll know about that even faster. Comics? Memes. Editorials? Yeah, I’ll know everyone’s opinion or everything. Yard sales? Covered. Local events? Definitely. Plus reviews of the latest movies, TV shows, music, and books. Social media has it all! So, why are we disparaging people who reach for Facebook but not the local news? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question.
It’s no secret I’m addicted to romance novels. And reading in general. And social media provides something else a newspaper never could…. Connections. I’ve written about the groups I’ve found several times. And I keep coming back to them because they’re key in my life right now. I find it beautifully amazing that many of the book groups I’m in cover several elements of the traditional newspaper, and then stretch way beyond the boundaries of a traditional local rag. They build community through events and information that’s truly relevant to me. They bring together people who have common interests but would otherwise never interact (mostly due to distance, not interest). They provide support when things happen- both good and bad. When I pick up my phone or open my laptop in the morning (or afternoon, evening, at 2am…) the first thing I do is check in with the groups and group chats. And I honestly have no intention of changing that.
So if you’re reading this, and you found this through social media somehow (email, FB, IG, TT, etc), I absolutely love it! Thank you for connecting with me, and being part of the local news network. And if someone’s giving you ish for reading this on your phone, ignore them. Or share this with them. Maybe then they’ll understand the true sense of connection and why social media really is just as valid as the newspaper or TV/radio news they’re addicted to.
