To Forgotten Friends

[lupestripe]

In the world of social networking, the word 'friend' is often overused. Words like followers or acquaintances often seem more apt although I prefer to think of social networking as a means of keeping in touch with old friends and making new ones. I guess everyone's relationship with such sites varies dependent on their own personal motivations though.

In recent years, many of my friends have drifted away, largely from LJ to Twitter. The world of social networking appears to be a harsh one as if you are not where your peers are, you can quickly become isolated.

As you are no doubt aware, I am on Twitter. Not grudgingly either - I quite like it. Yet there is a further point to be made - how we use social networks. I imagine Twitter works for many people because it's concise and the conversations are almost instantaneous. I imagine these reasons, more than most, are behind the diaspora away from LJ and towards micro blogging (ignoring the Russian situation of course). However I do not have the time to indulge in such conversations - by day I am at work and by night I often need to do other things. Furthermore, I spend my working day sat in front of a computer on IMs and so coming home to something similar often feels like more work.

This means I struggle to engage with former friends who have abandoned traditional blogging for new social networks. Blogging works for me because I can pick it up and put it down as and when I like. Twitter, meanwhile, is far more impatient and I simply do not have the time or energy to devote to it. Sadly this is where everyone appears to be so again this results in a feeling of isolation.

Of course some would question whether people are true friends if social networking is your only contact with them. They may also question why people didn't try and be friends through other means. This is a fair point but with the concerns regarding Google + being aired today, it is clear that this shift from one forum to another is a concern not confined to myself. Added to this the increasing localization of furry groups and it is clear many people have simply drifted away.

Of course I would love to speak to some old friends but the feeling is that I have been forgotten. Furthermore, I get a sense that they are not too bothered speaking anyway. Thankfully I have some excellent friends in my own locality - as well as around the world - and I feel very fortunate. But I would still like to be closer to some who have sadly slipped away.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Comments

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I do use twitter and Facebook for different things, as well as LJ too. I do have a Fetlife account but have never really utilised it. It's just sad that there are so many networks now that the furry community seems to become more disperate. Also, I don't like being shoehorned into using a particular network just because that's where everyone else is. I must admit I yearn for the days when LJ was bristling with life.