The social media pressure

A bit of good humor is always fine with me.

On my second quiz I got better results. But...

Yes, I am following tweets.

Yes, I am following it too...

...but with not much conviction. Something is not making sense to me. My question: if iversity platform was 100% satisfatory would we still be uploading stuff to and creating interactions on Twitter and Facebook?! I still hope that something is being done here. This is clearly a problem that needs a solution. 

After giving this some thought during last weekend it was not my intention to upload anything to Twitter or Facebook. My idea was to stick to iversity platform. After all it's the official platform, it was created to give support to the course. I haven't shared my works on Facebook yet,  I haven't engage a lot of discussions there either. But it seems there's a pressure from the instructors for us to go social (media). If we don't...well, we might fear missing something!

FOMO: is an acronym for the social disorder Fear Of Missing Out. FOMO is a label for the sadness one feels when knowing he/she is missing a good time with loved ones, the worry one feels that memories are being made that he/she will not have, or the anxiety one feels when deciding between multiple equally fun-sounding events.

As I stroll the iversity platform I see that all students enrolled on the plataform but not all are using Facebook or Twitter. Many said they don't have accounts there. Ok, not a big deal. It's easy to get accounts. But why should a student get a Twitter or Facebook account when enrolling a course, even if it's a MOOC? This is what does not make any sense to me. I really wasn't expecting to have to use Facebook or Twitter more than I already do. 

"It is not our fault that you live in social media era."

No, in fact it's not Design 101 fault that we're living on "Face to Face era". The era where no one talks to no anyone anymore. 

Source:??

It's true. I use Facebook everyday. I have a good reason to use it. That does not mean I like to use it or that I am a Facebook enthusiast. I live in the social media era. So what? Last Staurday we discussed about timeless design  and how things co-exist in time, old and new ones. I am a blogger since maybe 2004. I joined a lot of networks over the years. I still prefer the blog environment to any of it, Facebook and Twitter included.Yeah, yeah, it's nice that people from continents apart can be in touch so effortlessly. But it would be nicer if we could have done it on iversity platform. My opinion. At least it would be something knew. For me now it feels like a burden.

Don't get me wrong. As I said, I use Facebook. I don’t want to cut off with Facebook just yet and I am not saying you not to use it either. It's the  age of information - it has been for quite a while - and online tools all right. An example: if a business isn't making use of internet and these tools it's probably wasting money. But I have to ask: what's this thing about social media? Do we have to be on Facebook or Twitter to be respected as persons, eager learners or whatever?!! Social media is also about over exposure of our private lives, ephemeral conversations, stupid updates and banalization of opinion. And, why should I provide my contents to Facebook? Is it in my interest or is it in the network's interest that I upload stuff there and get my friends to do the same? Are you familiar with this quote: "If you’re not paying for it, you are the product." This means something like get what you get and don't even think to complain about it. And what kind of freedom do I get in Facebook? Have you read the Terms of service?! And Twitter? 140 characters per message? Maybe it has become so mecanic that people don't stop to think about it anymore. People share, comment, post, pin, tweet, like as there was no better thing to do. Facebooking or tweeting is keeping people’s eyes glued to their screens and phones. They are more and more disconnected from reality. If you're not on social media then you must be dead. In fact maybe a portion of you is already dead and you just don't know. 

Social media has offered me opportunities and experiences that I consider positive. I am not saying social media is the devil. In fact social media creates an environment similar to the one where my parents grew up. They were born in a small rural village where everyone knew each other. Families knew each other, neighbours knew each other. They would salute on the street, meet on the stores, on the fields. All met on Sunday, at local church, on festivals and ceremonies. That was a community. But this kind of community was a small one. Everyone knew each other for real. They knew each other well enough to become friends or to hate each other! With social media it's a different story. You get the feeling of being social without having to go out and socialize. You don't build a relationship but you get friends or so you think, how can that be?!("Friend:  a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate.)  I What I am just saying is that I am not pleased that I am being pushed to use it more just because I am on Design 101. In fact I was expecting that Design 101 would keep me away from Facebook! I am saying don't give up on iversity platform. It's time to call in the person who designed the platform and put some pressure on good design. Houston, we have a problem. Fix it or we want our money back.

"If you are curious about traditional design, you can skip the social media layer. If you are curious about contemporary design, social media is part of the equation." Source: Myself, Monday quiz

Finally, I don't agree to this point of view. Or at least the way this sentence was used. I can study social media but I don't need to be a user of social media to study it. Before being a designer one has to learn how to be one. I wasn't born a designer, in fact I will never be one but I can study Design. So I believe I can study things even if I am not using it.