Life without social media

It is refreshing to read that some millennials are living without social media* I have always wondered why many adults, young and old, are proud to have hundreds of Facebook friends.  I emphasized ‘adults’ as many schoolgirls have been abused by their online friends and we feel that it is because they are still young and gullible and did not realize the dangers of befriending people online. But adults should know better.

What a person says about himself /herself – take it with a big pinch of salt. I had a friend who said if her 10-year-old son strayed off during our holiday trip, she would not go after him. Yet, during the trip, she was always running after her son, leaving me to follow behind!

To know what a person is like we need to see the person and while talking, note his/her body language.  Nonverbal language generally tells more accurately than what a person says about himself/herself.  As for Facebook friends, many are lying – about their gender, age, occupation..etc.  

“There is more to life than Facebook” said one of the millennials featured in the newspaper report*.  How true.

  • Sunday Times, Pg. C3, 17 July.