This year has seen a lot of bad news concerning Facebook and online privacy. The drum beat of anti-social media has grown louder. You’d think scrolling a newsfeed is like smoking cigarettes. Perish the thoughtcrime!
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about social media versus the blogosphere. To help distinguish them, the term social network is synonymous with social media, whereas I refer to the blogosphere as ‘online networking’. But today I discovered something that clarifies and simplifies this latter term.
Before last night, I’m pretty sure I had never heard of bibliotherapy. I discovered this term in a very interesting article related to anxiety and books at a website I like, goodereader.
Social media was supposed to be awesome. Until it wasn’t. In another recent act of backlash against social media, Glenn Reynolds (a.k.a. Instapundit, Blogfather) deleted his Twitter account and published the story online. (I credit Cal Newportfor the link to the USA Today op-ed.)
One of my favorite blogs is Study Hacks by Cal Newport. After reading his latest post, “On Blogs in the Social Media Age,” I was sparked. He makes an interesting distinction between the blogosphere and social media today.
Some of my thoughts lately have dwelled on Social Media like Facebook. I often re-think my personal use of it, and I also ponder general ideas about the pros and cons of social networks in our culture. These kinds of thoughts are also prevalent in the news and other publications, which fuel my thoughts more.
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of books. It’s sort of becoming a habit. And I think that’s a good thing. I find myself often lying on my bed kicked back with a book in hand, eyes tracing over the words. Even with the kids often grabbing my attention, my brain seems to be on book-lock mode, like a homing missile lasered in on its target. Coffee helps.
