How “Social” Is Your Social Media Usage?

Let’s explore some ways to put the “social” in social media.

Birthdays

I check for birthdays every morning on Facebook. I have a different birthday greeting for each year so I don’t have to think about what to say. This standard greeting works for most people. I keep my year’s greeting in a document to use for cutting and pasting into Facebook. Here’s two you can use (free on me):

Happy birthday, Greg. Birthdays are opportunities to anticipate new adventures that await us and to place our future in God’s guiding hands.

OR

Happy birthday, Donna! 

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 
— Dr. Seuss (Happy Birthday to You!)

Another option is to share a nice image. I used this one for most everybody in 2015:

Dayspring offers a lot of greeting ecards. They’re great for social media and especially on a mobile device. You could even send them through Instagram.

Other Events

I also respond to graduations, anniversaries, weddings, births and other milestones. I might comment when someone is ill, but generally for illness or a death in the family, I send a physical card. I keep them on hand in our file cabinet. I’m more aware of these important events now than before Facebook came along. (If you haven’t already, I recommend being friends with your MPD partners on social media.)

Games

Unless you’re addicted to computer games, playing social games can be a fun connection with people.  I play Words with Friends with a limited number (8 people). Two are financial partners, two are childhood friends, and one is a cousin. Without the game, I wouldn’t be that connected with most of them. My cousin even uses the game’s chat feature to alert me about my aunt and uncle’s health.

Drop in Next Door

Once in a while, get off your home page and go visit your friends’ places. For both Facebook and Twitter, you may only see a trickle on your news feed of the potential flood of information coming from your friends. Like you, I’m glad that I’m not hit with all of it, of course. However, many times I believe God has prompted me to check so that I’d know some important news about my family, friends, and other Cru staff.

Has social media helped your relationships?

Source: The oil painting is One of Father Arlotto’s Tricks by Baldassare Franceschini (1611 – 1689). This artwork is on display at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy, and is in the public domain in the United States.