The social media conundrum

This time last year, I did not have a Facebook. I had email. That was it. Oh, and I had a phone with disabled internet because my dad was against smartphones.

A year later, if you kindly fast-forward through my life, I am now on a multitude of social media websites.

1.  Wordpress - another blog. 
2. Audioboo - an audio recording sharing network.
3. Soundcloud - another audio recording sharing network.
4. Youtube - a video sharing network.
5. Don't forget Twitter! 
6. I actually have a Facebook now.
7. I have a gmail, a comcast, and a school email.
8. Not to mention two separate bloggers and a pinterest, just for fun. 
9. I have an iPhone.

You know what I've realized about social media? Only some people understand its centrality to the rest of the world. Only some people care if they are put on it. Only some people hesitate before allowing me to post their name, faces, and information to the world wide web.

That's huge! Why don't people care anymore?

And that's the social media conundrum: a numbness to all things interwebs.

I'm not saying social media is a bad thing. I've just learned, since becoming a journalism student, how serious the internet can be. Maybe people try not to care about the seriousness of the internet because it equals impending doom or something. I don't know.

As a journalist, though, I am intrigued by the turn of events. People used to try to avoid giving their credit card numbers over the phone. Today, they plug them in to the same web browser page that is connected to Twitter, Blogger, and Boston Globe. Interesting.