How Social Media Changed the Everyday Mom

GALTime.com

By Maria Sinclair for GalTime.com

How Social Media Changed the Everyday Mom
How Social Media Changed the Everyday Mom

My 11-year-old daughter came to me one day and said..."Mom, what did people do before Facebook & Twitter"? My initial response was a quick laugh.

Then I started thinking about it.What did we do before social media??

I started thinking about it....before Facebook & Twitter, I was on MySpace. I remember going to Classmates.com back in 2004-2005 when my friends and I were planning a 10 year high school reunion. But what did we do before that??

It was like trying to find out 'What Came First... The Chicken or the Egg?'

I remember reading a few blogs here and there back in early 2000. I was also a reader of a few money saving forums around that time-frame. In the late 90's, it was all about chat rooms and the late 80's-90's, a simple e-mail....

Once I thought about its genesis, I started thinking about how much social media HAS changed us. We use it as a tool.

-To Connect
Keeping in touch with friends & family. Finding others with our same likes or dislikes. Have a favorite TV Show?? Now you connect with the actor or your favorite musician! Your child's school is probably on Facebook. What time is the Fall Festival again??

-Education
How can I get my child on a regular sleep schedule? What's your recommendation for a certain product? How can I trim my family's budget?

-Form of Release
Ever tweeted to a company about your likes or dislikes? When you had poor customer service and wanted to rant about it? We blog....so naturally we have built up emotions that blogging allows us to release -- anger or any form of emotion. Irate with a family member? Just tweet about it and you'll feel better! :)

-Careers
Naturally, social Media is great for marketers, advertisers, business owners, etc. Many moms have dived into blogging... created their own companies built around social media whether it's writing a book, starting a PR Firm, or making their dream of being a well-known pastry chef a reality.

-News
I still watch local/national news programming. But if there is an earthquake or tornado somewhere, we probably see it on the web first. If stocks are plummeting, someone on CNN or Fox is already tweeting about it. Going to freeze tonight? Someone on Twitter/Facebook already posted tomorrow's local forecast.

What did we do before social media? What if it went away? What is the next big thing in social media and will it be a fad?

Just remember...the idea of the Internet was once thought of as a fad.

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Do High-Tech Parents Know Too Much About Their Kids?
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I Know What You Did Last Night Mom... It's On Facebook!