No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on October 8, 2021

I have been on a social media platform since I joined AOL back in 1989.  That would be thirty-two years or more than half my life. 

That’s a lot of years to build up a footprint. 

I have mostly been a blogger all those years.

About fifteen years ago, I joined Tumblr.

I joined Facebook about twelve years ago along with Twitter and Instagram to push both Crazy Eight Press and my own website https://www.nostringsattachedpuppets.com which was not built until about two years ago. It took me ten years to create my website. I am a little embarrassed by that.

There are social media platforms I have tried and discarded. They were not a right fit or I was not comfortable with them. Some still exist and others have vanished from the World Wide Web.

I have been honest about myself and my life out here. There are things I don’t talk about by choice or because we have signed an NDA.

I have talked about my mental health very frankly and plan to continue to do so. Years ago, I was warned that I would be un-hirable if I persisted on talking about my bouts with depression and anxiety and my suicide attempts, I would never be hired in the publishing industry again. We will see if they were right.

I felt it more important to let others know that they are not alone. Others do feel how they feel. I fought my way to where I am now.   It took a lot of work, but I am better than I have been in years. COVID almost knocked me down. I got help and got up again. Something I didn’t do years ago.

I know I have helped people because they have told me so to my face and on-line. I feel that if I can prevent one suicide, worth it. If I can get one person to seek help for their mental issues. It has been worth it. If what I say here gives anyone hope, then I have done well.

I also talk about my family and our adventures along with puppetry and my creative mind and other things I find interesting.

I am not my mental health, however my mental health is part of me.

I have read various articles about Facebook and its other platforms and what we don’t know about what the algorithm is doing to us as a society and to our children.

Social Media is influencing all of us.

We can choose how much and be on the lookout for where it is invading where we don’t want it.

I like that my iPhone asks if I want an app to follow me. I think we should all have that choice.

Remember that what you do on the Internet becomes you.

You build your house there you can let people sit on your porch or shoo them off.

It is your space. Don’t let others including the platforms dictate how you be you.

Remember to take what you see with a grain of salt.

Everyone who declares that they know THE SECRET to living a fabulous life still have their off days. They just don’t share those things that would be negative because that would be ‘off-brand’, a phrase I truly despise. Bad days happen. 

What you see on screen is not reality but only what others care to share with you.

I honestly think that, overall, the Social Media is not a bad thing. How we use it, what we believe from it and how we let it affect us is much more important.

I am grateful for the positive things that have come out of Social Media platforms.

Category: Uncategorized
Tags: