In Defence of Social Media

Social media has taken a lot of flack in the last little while.  Data miners use social media to the detriment of ourselves.  Hackers figure out how to steal our personal banking information.  Foreign governments use it to influence elections.  There are predators out there and it can be dangerous.  If you send a naked picture of yourself to a romantic partner, and then you break up, it is a no brainer that the picture will show up on social media.  Everything we do on social media needs to be under the assumption that it could be used against us.  That is just reality.  Despite all the warnings, we still use social media.  I use my fitness tracker to track my steps.  I know it is just an app, but I am under the assumption that if anyone really wanted to know, they could.  Fortunately for me, everything I do on social media is pretty mundane so I can't imagine anyone being bored enough to care. 

Something happened a couple of weeks ago that made me restore my faith in humanity and social media at the same time. 

Face it, we are have multiple quirks.  Everyone has unique things that make us happy.  Some of my quirks interfere with my life, others don't really have an impact on me or anyone around me.  One of my quirks is that I don't like competing tastes in my mouth.  So, if I am eating a meal, I eat all my protein first, all of my vegetables next but separately, etc.  It doesn't cause me much stress in my life unless I am eating a Coffee Crisp bar.  I separate and each layer separately.  I have been known to eat all the topping on a pizza first, then the sauce, then the loose layer of the crust, and then the final crust.  My partner thinks it is disgusting but I only do it in front of him.  Other than that, it doesn't impact my life too terribly.  Cereal can be kind of tricky, but I manage. 

So, I have a friend with a quirk.  It is not so much a quirk, but a hobby.  Definitely a quirky hobby.  He has a passion for anthems.  He was recently interviewed on a podcast and indicated he was a faithful watcher of the Olympics, because of the anthems.  When the cold war ended, there was a number of countries emerging and disappearing so the state of anthems was changing quite a bit.  He started researching and found there wasn't a lot of information on anthems online (Who would have thought?) so he started his own website devoted to anthems.  Those of us who are close to him don't understand his devotion but it is one of his quirks so we don't question it.  However, none of us are particularly interested when the anthem of Croatia changes one world. 

Anyway, as it happens, there was an elderly man in England who shared my friend's same love of anthems and had accumulated quite a collection on anthem paraphernalia.  (Yes, apparently that is a thing.)  When the gentleman passed, the son faced the dilemma of what to do with collection that was very important to his father but essentially useless.  I have lost two parents and I know that struggle.  Again, we all have our quirks and that includes our parents.  What do we do with their stuff that was important to them but not to anyone else. 

Well, it just so happens, this was a very good son who wanted to honour his father's hobby.  He went on his own research and found my friend's website.  He messaged my friend and my friend gave him his mailing address. 

A week or so my friend got a package.  The first of 3.  Inside a treasure trove of all things anthem.  My friend estimated he would get a year's worth of enjoyment going through all of this.  \

Something about this just made me feel joyful.  What a great son.  How amazing for my friend to be able to connect with someone half way around the world for something positive.  It just makes me feel good about the world. 

It turns out there is joy in the world.  Sometimes it takes a lot of perseverence to find it, but it is out there.  Whenever you are down, challenge yourself to look for joy.  I have a small confession.  Since my friend's gift, whenever I need a little pickup, I pick a random country and then I search UTube for it.  And, then I smile. 

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