Welcome to my garden fence ...
Although this space is limited in some aspects – for example, we can’t lend sugar over this virtual garden fence - we can lend advice, links, share photos and find out about each other’s health; in this space we have different capabilities.
Before the technological age took us away from our small communities we had much more communication with other people – from our family to our friends and even strangers,
This garden fence can also help us to indulge in the great British obsession of talking about the weather ... or least knowing what the weather is like in each “garden” that we inhabit or visit.
We need this garden fence to keep in touch with each other. This has become our social lifeline and to some people it is essential to their psychological and social well-being. It is an important and valuable therapeutic activity to link us to each other. Without the contact that we gain from using our internet and text “garden fences” we could become isolated and totally lose our sense of belonging to any type of community.
Facebook, as a primary social networking site, is akin to the old village-green. Here is the place that we have those casual conversations and we can do a quick catch up on what’s going on with each other on our way to another place. Like the pubs and cafes in soap-operas Facebook is the place where we get up-to-date on gossip.
Gossip is not a bad thing - it is healthy for us to share. In this modern technological way we can become firmly joined to our new and virtual village; this contact restores our sense of community and gives us that vital connection to others. It can help to relieve the pressures of life and the sense of isolation. In the 21st century our lives are moving as fast as the technology that we use and therefore we can become socially isolated as we strive to exist in an increasingly fragmented society.
The use of texts and the social-networking sites have extended the contact from the garden fence to the worldwide village-green.
2 comments:
Nice post Marj! I enjoyed reading your thoughts. I Think I have more friends than I would have since I do use Facebook. I love to go meet people in person after I determine they have an online personality that is compatible with mine. What's more, I truly enjoy sharing Art, such as writing, here on the Internet. You portray a good metaphor! What about boundaries? It took me some years to learn those online and how to keep them healthy.
Cheers,
Peedee
I have decided to enforce my boundaries very strictly, in the same way I like to keep my personal space personal.
If I feel someone is overstepping the boundaries, and a joke is no longer a joke, then I will approach them and talk about it. If this does not resolve the situation to my comfort and satisfaction then I will cease communications with them online. We really have to set up our own online protocol and enforce it.
When are you coming to visit :-)
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