social (dis)connect

As one thinks about the big idea of social wellness, it’s tough to know how to grade yourself on overall social wellness. One could easily look at the way they spend their time and what relationships they have invested in recently, and if a majority of the effort was spent on social media, they might think they have passed the test with flying colors. But really, the questions to ask are very specific, and the answers might surprise you.

The National Wellness Institute encourages people to ask themselves three simple questions examining their overall social health. First, ask yourself if this endeavor helps you achieve your full potential. Secondly, ask yourself if it recognizes and addresses the whole person. And third, does this interaction affirm and mobilize your positive qualities and strengths?

Sadly, a lot of people are misguided in what it means to be connected socially, and use various online social media forums to fill that gap in their lives. There are so many different online social forums, with so many unique opportunities to connect with others over user-generated content. Let’s take a look at all of them.

Facebook

Facebook is by and large one of the most well-known social media sites. With over one billion users worldwide, it’s an easy way to get updates on friends, see photos, and send/receive personal messages. While there are a lot of Facebook members, and it makes it easy to connect with a lot of people and also share information about your life.

Twitter

Twitter is considered the ‘text messaging system of the Internet’ that enables registered users to send and read short 140-character text messages called ‘tweets.’ In 2013, Twitter was one of the ten most-visited websites and continues to grow.

Instagram

Instagram is on online photo and video sharing social networking service that allows users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them and share on a variety of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has quickly gained popularity and currently has over 100 million active members.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual discovery social site that people use as a tool to collect ideas for their different projects and interests. People can create and share collections (called ‘boards’) of visual bookmarks (called ‘pins’) that they use to do things like plan trips and projects, organize events or save articles and recipes.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service mainly used for professional networking. Users can form interest groups, join in discussion groups that are moderated by group managers, endorse each other’s skills and search for jobs.

Snapchat

Snapchat is a photo messaging app that allows users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings and send to a controlled list of recipients. The sent photos and videos are known as ‘snaps.’ Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their snaps (average ranges is one to ten seconds), after which they will be hidden from the recipients’ device and deleted from Snapchat’s servers. The app’s main demographic is users between 13 and 23 years of age.

All of the unique and amazing opportunities that these social media sites offer are just that—amazing and unique. They keep life fun and interesting, and can be a great source of daily entertainment and personal connection. They can also be a great way to look for jobs, plan projects and in general connect with others in a public or semi-private forum. But in order to be a well-rounded, whole person, one must maintain face-to-face relationships and expand horizons in person.

In fact, one of the main tenets of social wellness is that a truly socially healthy person takes time to contribute to one’s environment and community and emphasizes the interdependence between others and nature. The end result is a person making willful choices to enhance personal relationships, important friendships, and build a better living space and community.

At this point you may be asking how to do that locally, here in Saline County this summer. And the answer is very simple: there are many, many local opportunities to plug in, network, get involved and enjoy the community. There are a lot of social opportunities here just through the Benton and Bryant Chambers of Commerce, local parks, event centers, churches and property owners associations.

For kids, there are opportunities to participate in summer Boy and Girl Scout activities, Vacation Bible School and other educational enrichment opportunities. For teens there are many ways to volunteer and make summertime an opportunity to give back to the community, as well and interact socially through summer employment.

So what are you waiting for to connect socially in person? All it takes is making the decision to step away from social media and step in to the local community. Amazing opportunities abound!