Is There Life After Retirement?

It all started a few months ago…

I was about to go somewhere cool or do something fun when I noticed a little thought, way in the back of my brain, picturing how I’d post it on Facebook. Another little thought, from a different part of my brain said, “Whoa … that’s weird.” And then both thoughts were gone.  Poof.

But the idea of it kept coming back, as well as the weirdness of it.

Do I REALLY – even if it’s subtle – frame my life in terms of social media?  Does anyone else? And if so, what the heck does that mean??

So I began to notice it more and yes, I kinda do.  And it seems that others (but not all) on my friends list might be doing it as well.  I repeat: NOT ALL. Just some. That subtle little “here’s my life” spokesmodel slant was creeping in to our posts.

Now I’m the first to sing the praises of Facebook regarding my ability to keep in touch with friends and especially with my all-over-the-planet family.  And I’m the first to laugh at how a friend and I tend to FB each other from different rooms in the same location.  And it’s certainly a useful tool to publicize events for my Ed Center and for my Rotary Club.  I love marketing and enjoy the challenge of getting views and likes and — OMG, I’m starting to market myself!

Okay, that’s just strange.

What’s even stranger to me is this:

I NEVER EVEN NOTICED I WAS DOING IT.

Dang.

So I decided to step away from Social Media for a bit.  Not completely, though.  I still play with our Facebook Rotary Club of Lahaina page quite a bit, and with my Lahaina Education Center page a little as well.  I visit groups that I belong to, and use lists a bit.  And I’ll scroll through five or six posts a couple times a day. But frankly, “staying away” hasn’t been that difficult.  Why? Because – and I include myself in this, most definitely – I think we post too much.  If you were here, would we talk every day? Probably not.  So do you need to hear what I am up to, three times a day?  Definitely not.  Frankly, I don’t even care what I’m up to that often!

Oh, I could go off on a number of tangents here, like:

1. Friends list – do you even KNOW all 500 of them?
2. FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out – our unique 21st century fabricated nonesense
3. Oh, never mind #3.  I’ll just post memes about it. (heh heh)

But I think I’ll stop here, and just give you one, no finger pointing, “oh, that makes sense” kind of conclusion–

I think the culprit is the scattershot All Friends or Public approach to posting.  Who in the heck are we addressing, anyway? Often when I post, I’m thinking of a specific person, or a specific group.  So I’m thinking I will explore the idea of more targeted posting. Targeting posts??!!  Oh yikes, marketing strikes again…

I give up.

But before go, I want to ask you one question – have YOU become a sub-conscious self-marketer?  Think about it.

Marti’s all time favorite Facebook meme.

Marti’s second favorite Facebook meme