Life amid Covid-19 and other random thoughts

*blows dust off blog*

OMG - I almost didn't even remember how to long in and create a post. My last post was in 2018, a year after the previous ones.  It's clear that with the emergence of social media, blogging went the way of the dinosaur.

Facebook.  Facebook is what killed blogging.  It came on the scene, knocked over MySpace and took off like a rocket.  Soon, myself and all the connections I made through blogging deserted our own little pieces of the interwebz and began building followers and racking up our friend numbers.  I loved it!  I could connect with family members clear across the country, my blogging friends, friends in real life and friends of friends.  I found myself posting multiple times a day and commenting on every post I could.  I posted funny situations, serious thoughts and shared pictures.  I began journaling my life on social media.  Soon, I would have "memories" show up of the things I had posted a year previous and I became content with that form of connection. Years I have spent on Facebook, and then Instagram came and it was another form to connect,  Now we have Twitter, Reddit, Tik Tok, Marco Polo, Snapshat and I'm sure more that I don't even know about. Each have their pro's and con's, and I use most of them on some level.  What I enjoy the most is the connection I have to family members.  These platforms are great for seeing pictures and video's of my kids and grandkids.

So why am I so restless about it all?  Well,  currently life is in a state of  unease and unknown.  We are dealing with a global pandemic - Covid-19  a Corona virus that originated in China and has since spread all over the world with millions infected and dying.  My home state of Utah is doing fairly well with it at the current time, but we are behind others in the onset of infection, so our numbers will likely get worse before we get better.  We are practicing CDC guidelines of  washing hands frequently, not leaving our home except for essential needs, wearing masks when in public and practicing "social distancing" which is no closer than 6 feet to another person not of your household.  To say that this is a disruption in our lives is an understatement.  Restaurants can no longer host people inside, grocery stores have limited hours, essentials have been cleaned out of the shelves as people anticipate the worst, many businesses have suspended their services and sadly many have had to simply close - costing millions their jobs.  The unemployment rate is astounding.  Spending even 15 minutes googling around about this virus and the effects on lives and our economy is enough to cause even the calmest of persons some serious anxiety. 

You would think at a time like this, social media would be my place to turn to.  I could use it as an escape, chat with friends, check in on family, find some humor among this daily bleakness.  And I think for many people, this is exactly the purpose it serves.  For me?  It's not.  Facebook and Instagram's algorithms have made it a barren wasteland of nothing but meme's either funny or intended to be inspirational (I'm just as guilty) but all miss the mark for me. I love seeing pictures of my family and friends, but it seems that those particular social media platforms would rather I not.  I almost have to go searching for them and that's just too time consuming. And before anyone starts to tell me about unfollowing or muting... I know all of this.  It doesn't help.

So, I'm stepping away and going back to a forum that I enjoy.  I like writing out my thoughts and feelings.  Sometimes they are coherent, most times they are random.  But if I'm going to journal my life, I think I prefer this platform.   It's here on my piece of the internet that doesn't belong to Facebook or other social media, only to Google (which is likely just another devil to beholden to).  I no longer have to feel my self-imposed pressure to "like posts" or comment just to let someone know I am validating them.  I'll use text and messenger to stay in contact with friends during this time of isolation. And while I can't even go to church right now, I can share my spiritual thoughts here.  For myself.  For anyone who stumbles upon it.  For my family to see after I'm long gone.

If they want to.