Establishing equality, social media discourse: how social media platforms can be used to better a person's life.

Hello again, dear reader. In yesterday's discussion we pontificated on the importance of making friends in establishing long lasting and life-affirming connections with other people as not only a way of finding and cementing one's true identity but also for both the, psychological and physical benefits. That friendship and human connections has to offer. For today's discussion, however, I thought we would pontificate on how social media and all its various platforms such as Facebook and twitter can be used to help you dear reader and those individuals in your life to become better people. We are constantly hearing about social media's impact on society and the world and how it is becoming pervasive and overwhelming and being used for things like bullying and perpetuating stereotypes and unrealistic body images, etc. but people forget that social media in all its various forms is a technological privilege, not necessarily a right. And as with all privileges, it should be used wisely. I hope today's discussion will help you dear reader, to see for yourself how social media can be used to help people become what they truly are and live life to its full potential. It is also important to remember, as I was recently told by a very good friend. "You are only as pretty on instagram as you are in real life." To which I retorted sarcastically (only if you don't have the skills of a supermodel makeup artist with an airbrush and Photoshop)


I truly think that blogging about my life experiences and knowledge experience, engaging with the community, meeting people in a Social Media setting can help someone focus and make them a better person, if they are willing to take the time to learn to use social media and all its various outlets in a wise and profound way....
1. Express yourself:
I’m not a great writer (at least I don't think I am), but maintaining a blog has helped me hone my writing skills.  More importantly I have honed the skill of self expression.  This has only helped to cultivate rich relationships in my life. And dear reader, writing, just maybe, the catalyst you need to express yourself as well. Not only has writing about me to hone my skills of self-expression but it has also helped me expand my knowledge of literature and allowed me to meet and interact with some very interesting people.
2. Be transparent
I’ve been 100% honest with everything I post on this blog, good bad or indifferent.  I’ve embraced the Social Media tenant of transparency, and have found liberation in transparency.  This transparency has led to some of my most gut wrenching blog posts while I was unemployed. I’ve found that being transparent has been fully liberating in my personal life as well.  I’ve been able to shed any bombast, or inclination to mislead about my place in this world. It is what it is; and it’s all out there in the Social Media ecosystem whether is be Twitter, Facebook, or this blog.
3. Share ideas and tell stories
I blogging has reiterated that sharing ideas through stories is a better way to communicate life lessons and ideas. I have learned as a writer and blogger that a lecture would fall on deaf ears, but a story with a life lesson intertwined would resonate.  I’ve only learned this via blogging. You can’t just shout your opinion; you need to give context, perspective and share. As I have just stated your reader is important to give context to whatever you are posting regardless of the platform whether it is twitter or Facebook or any other social media platform you choose. All too often people on social media platforms simply rant and rave about something. They either like or don't like but don't give any context as to why something is good or bad. It is posts like this that give social media a bad reputation. People often have the perception that the only reason to use social media other than to keep in touch with long-lost family and friends is to have explosive virtual temper tantrums, because the world or universe is not working the way a given person believes it should so they rant and rave but don't really offer any solutions. As a ranting and raving itself is an acceptable solution to a problem.
4. Acknowledge those you love and admire
Blogging and writing and telling stories has provided me with a platform to “shout from the rooftop” how much I love and admire certain people in my life. Again, going back to self-expression aspect writing and blogging has allowed me to share my feelings in viewpoints on certain issues or circumstances. With those in my life without the uncomfortable and awkward conversations because blogging and posting and writing sort of puts a buffer between myself and the people I wish to communicate with that allows time to process. Emotional responses, which isn't always the case with a face-to-face confrontation, this is why conversations don't always been so well people often react. Not to what is being said, but what they "feel" you have said, and rather than process. Your argument for its merits, they respond on an emotional level, which then generates the conversation and personal growth into an argument that can damage a relationship. So in some cases, writing and blogging can create a tighter bond with the people in my life.
5. Introspection
Engaging in social media (if nothing else), helps us really think about who we are, what we represent,  what we’re passionate about, and what makes us get up in the morning. For me it’s my family, friends telling stories and sharing a love of literature. I’ve been able to leverage tools like writing stories literary reviews and this blog to find that passion. I knew I was interested in writing and telling stories, but once fully engaged in social media (more specifically blogging) I was able to examine what I wanted from live, and truly throw my hat in the ring.

I think at this point dear reader it is important to note that all the opinions expressed here are mine and are, not designed to reflect poorly or negatively on social media. Its companies, platforms or subsidiaries or those individuals that use the various social media platforms available on a regular basis, I am simply trying to make a point that as I stated previously. Social media is an electronic privilege and should not be directly blamed for the cause of any negativity inside. Social media is only as good or bad as the people that use and interact with it. So it is important to remember what blogs and social media posts say about society, rather than the technology itself.

As always, the reader, thanks for listening, and there will be more to come soon.