I grew up in the early 2000’s decade, I mean, I was the graduating class of 2000. We had beepers back then. I thought I was super cool because I called my beeper a “pager”, because you could leave a voice-mail on mine instead of just entering a number, and my pager was tiny. One of the students had asked me what a pager/beeper was — I felt like sitting in my car and sobbing uncontrollably during lunch.
My first “smartphone” was in 2010, it was a touch-screen, and I lived on it. I could live without any other materialistic thing except for the smartphone. Can we go back to the days of the dumbphone instead?
Recently, I had learned how to crochet this year, and I realized that I could sell my items on Facebook. I mean, everyone else was asking for money for their useless junks on Facebook selling groups, why not me too? And that’s how I started becoming one of those people that I always found so annoying on social media.
I created a Facebook page, a WordPress blog, and opened up an Etsy shop. (What is wrong with me, people?) This stuff is addicting! I mean, I have not moved from my computer screen since I’ve woke up this morning. I keep on checking to see if I’ve got any new likes or comments, and trying in vain to get social media attention for my sites — a site that is dedicated to crocheting. I feel like one of the Golden Girls, only my ovaries are still in business and cheesecake isn’t on the daily dinner menu.
The crazy part is the people who I have been harassing to like my page, and the ones that have actually liked my page, like Marine veterans and infantrymen. Seriously, all you LuLaRoe and Scentsy ladies couldn’t click the like button, but a bunch of grunts who have no idea what crocheting even is liked my page instead!?
Welcome to the Millennial Era of entrepreneurs on social media. Blame it on Mark Zuckerberg.
MySpace discovered Adele. YouTube gave us the Biebs, and now everyone with a smartphone can be a business owner as long as you have a service to render or something to sell. The energy that goes into it is overwhelming, especially if you’re a legit small “business” and are not doing some pyramid scheme — no, I don’t want to buy your makeup that cost $25 for mascara, or your coffee that cost more than Starbucks!
It’s also a very scary world now that everything is done electronically. In the good old days of the 1990’s, you’d have to actually rob someone to get their identity. Now, all you need is an internet signal. It’s depressing, actually. You wake up one day to realize that your life-savings have been withdrawn by some guy in his underwear sitting at home. Yet, how can we “unplug”, it’s nearly impossible. It’s like Trump bringing back jobs for coal miners — who buys coal anymore in the developed world?
Crocheting was supposed to be something for me to focus on when I’m stressed out, and to unplug myself from social media and my phone; yet, like everything else in today’s modern world, it has turned into another social media addiction. I envy those that refuse to assimilate, those that kept their “dumbphones”. Yes, they are still around, and it’s not some old guy or gal either; very rarely, you’ll see a young guy or girl walking around to pull out a flip-phone to call someone, not because she’s checking her Facebook. They do exist, but they are starting to fall into the myths of unicorns.