It’s hard to step back and think about what social media I use most often.   I’ve been using social media for over a decade.  It started long ago with something called IRC then ICQ.  Now it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pintrest, Snapchat… you get the picture.  These days I am not just using social media to chat with a friend.  I also need to be social media savvy for work.  So which one do I use the most often?

Probably Facebook.  I hate to say it, but I am just like a billion other people in the world.  I remember when Facebook was starting.  I had a friend who was attending Harvard at the time and wanted to send me an invite to join.  I said “Nah, it sounds lame”  (This is why I am not rich and famous, I don’t know a good thing when I see it).  But a few years later, a cousin who I am close to begged me to join so we could better stay in touch.  Thanks Kat.  And thus a monster was born.  I was already working in TV News at this point.  Unlike when I left the business, using social media in news was NOT a thing.  As the concept of social media grew, my career adapted with it.  Facebook was at the forefront of that growth followed by Twitter.  My last station also posted on Instagram, Pintrest and yes, Snapchat.  We were literally putting news out on every platform possible.  Our newsroom motto was “digital first”.

Between my job and the growing number of family and friends using Facebook… it quickly became my “go to” social media.  Now I can see cute puppy pictures, catch up on world news, see what my Gram is up too and even watch current events as they are happening… all on Facebook.  I noticed the other day, it told me what the weather was in my town.  Today I updated Facebook Messenger .  Not only can I talk to people on Facebook, I can text phone number, and now I can even see me call log.  All from on Facebook app.

The worst part by far, are the moments (no, not the Facebook app) that I am surfing Facebook without a purpose.  Just because my smartphone is in my hand and I feel the need to be glued to it.

It’s hard to ponder what the future holds for social media, because it’s already grown leaps and bounds from the IRC and ICQ days (both are still around).