As a GenXer, the World Wide Web came to existence during my early adult years and Web 2.0 even later. I came to social media kicking-and-screaming. I had a large circle of friends, and we stayed connected by talking with each other on the phone or planning frequent gatherings at one place or another.
Facebook was my first foray into developing an online presence, at the urging of my sister and close friends. Now it has become the main means of staying current with people I know. As the years progress, as much as I want to, I find it difficult to remove myself from Facebook because it feels like admitting I no longer have any close friendships because I am certain as soon as I leave Facebook I would not hear from any of these people for very long stretches of time, if ever.
On the other hand, had it not been for Facebook and the development of other social media outlets, I believe I would not have discovered many of the organizations working toward positive social change I now follow and support. Organizations such as The Blue Bench, National Center for Transgender Equality, Transgender Law Center, Sleeping Giants, and Lambda Legal among many others. Or social activists like Alicia Garza, Feminista Jones, DeRay Mckesson, and Brittany Packnett among many others.
As I progress through my masters program and eventually enter into a completely new career path, I find social media is going to be a lifeline for me as I navigate the networking opportunities it presents. Similar to me aging out of drinking alcoholic drinks, I am happy to have burned out on the good and bad elements of Facebook so I can approach these other social media outlets with the intent of strictly limiting their use for professional reasons.