This week in class we focused a lot on the history and evolution of social media over time. It's crazy how much things have changed in just my lifetime! I was born in the 1991. I can remember a time where no one in my family had a cell phone. I can remember when my dad had a clunky computer with a tiny screen that only worked with floppy disks. Then I remember when I was 11 and my parents saved up their money to purchase a computer for the family. It was Santa's gift to all of us that year. Then I remember a few years after that when we got AOL on the computer. At the time I remember not really understanding the point of Internet or the web. A few years after that my family moved and AOL Instant Messenger became my favorite after school pastime. I was always chatting away to my friends and thinking of clever "away messages". That was my beginning to social media. I told told my first big crush I liked him over AIM. After middle school ended I created a MySpace account to stay connected with my friends. That lasted about a year or two. In between that time I got my own first cell phone. It was a tiny little blue flip phone. I remember texting my friends while I was standing next to them, just because I could text them. Towards the end of High School I signed up for Facebook and that was a great way to keep track of friends after I graduated and moved to Hawaii. Around that same time I bought myself my first iPhone. I was the first person in my family to get a smartphone. Needless to say shortly after that we ended up with 4 other smartphones in the family. With my smart phone in Hawaii I learned I could take some pretty great pictures of my beautiful new home. Instagram was the obvious best way to share those pictures with my famil and friends. I also found Skype the best cure for missing home and I still video call home to my family almost every Sunday afternoon. Eventually I got a snapchat, I even got asked to a Fall Ball via snap chat once.
Then I went on a mission.
Silence.
Emails once a week, with very limited time. 2 video calls. 1 phone call. That's it.
I thought I would miss it more than I did. I really didn't miss it at all.
My mom posted my emails on this blog but I never touched it.
When I got home I was reluctant to jump back into social media. I knew it had pros but felt that the cons may out way the pros. However I leaned that the best way to communicate with friends in Australia and all over the world was through Facebook and Facebook messenger, so I jumped back on that. My mission president reminded us that if President Monson and the other general authorities can manage social media and spread positivity and the gospel so can we. I still love taking pretty pictures. So Instagram came back in as well. I'm still not convinced social media is really healthy for my spirit. I'm trying to work that out and think of ways I can use it for good; not just in my life but also for my friends and followers.
Here is my personal social media history. It's interesting to reflect back on all the experiences in my life that social media facilitated. The good and the bad. I know social media won't stop playing a part in my life and it's proved already that it will continue to adapt and change over time. I'll adapt and change along with it and I know everything will be ok as long as my overall goals don't change: to uplift and inspire myself and others.
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