My Name Is Joe...

I've developed an addiction.

I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. Nor do I gamble, and I am married- with children- so there's NO chance of me being a sex addict ("More's the pity" I hear my Beloved mutter). I've never had what you call an addictive personality (unless one counts an ongoing love affair with chocolate products).

Nonetheless, I have picked up a bad habit.

I seem to be slightly obsessed with social media.

Not that I'm on it 24/7 (maybe 2/7 is closer to the mark) but there's something about it that draws me in on an almost-daily-basis.

I'm not the only one. You only have to check out the collection of cartoons cropping up- on the internet of course- to see much of the modern world is similarly occupied. I'm sure, if I Googled it, there'd be support groups for it.

Some of my friends seem to live online...at the very least their lives are being narrated in a suite of tweets or a posse of posts. One friend got to the point where she would actually speak in status updates. Joe Bloggs thinks that's taking things a little too far!

I am also fascinated by the fascination with the number of 'friends' or followers one has. I mean, who in the real world can honestly say just how many friends they have on any given day? Simply consider BFFs, workmates, schoolfriends, various other associates, siblings, spouses and offspring (just for the record, I have 33 'first cousins' alone, and very quickly lose count after that)... Yet we're keen to keep an eye on the number of friends on Facebook, Inc. and the like. Heaven help us if we're unfriended for any reason. (Here's where I say, by some strange quirk, my tally changes depending on the device I'm using, so I tend to stick with the one where I have the most.) (See, only slightly obsessed!)

But yes, I confess to logging on to look at what others have got to say, how others are spending their day, and occasionally come up with suitably witty or thought-provoking comments of my own, in 140 characters or less (insert appropriate emoticon here).

In a world where so much is seen, not necessarily heard, one wants to be seen to be having as much fun as everybody else; hopefully the grass isn't greener on the other side of the screen.

Conversely, if things are a little rough in the real world, it's nice to escape to a virtual reality where one can hang with friends, blast those bubbles, or build a 'ville with no ill will.

So I admit my addiction, minor it may be, and happily click away each day, albeit at the expense of my study or the housework at times. (Seriously, who wouldn't rather surf the 'net than sort socks - we all know how much fun that can be, right?!)

Yes here I state that I am just a little OC with my PC.

And you know what? I "Like" it!

Now, I was going to write some more, but someone's just commented on my profile pic...

Jx

©2012