Cars and Social Media



Social Media is ubiquitous. We are surrounded by it and usually immersed in it. For all its uses, there has been a lot of talks about how it harmful it is to one’s peace of mind, health and relationships. Much has been written to control or detox oneself for social media addiction. As a voracious social media consumer, it often occurs to me, am I slipping the slope? 
So, here is my two penny’s worth of thoughts on Social Media. After much thought the simile, I can find for Social Media is the other major convenience, namely, a Car. Yes! Social Media is like a car! It is just a tool; not good or bad in itself. As long as one uses a car to get from point A to B, maintains it well, takes care of its insurance and gets rid of it when it has lived its life, a car is a great convenience. More importantly, when acquiring a car, one goes into great detail regarding the technical specifications and matches it to one’s need. Some drive nearly a hundred kilometres a day and for others, it may clock just about ten. But on the other hand, a car can bring a lot of trouble and heartburn, if one does not take care of it, or enviously compares with others. Similarly, for Social Media as well. It is a very convenient way to connect and enhance one’s life. But Social Media requires maintenance and upkeep just like a car. The maintenance for social media is to bridge the gap between virtual and actual world by doing activities independent of the social media. Like one requires to quit the car and do some running or jogging regularly to keep fit. Also, like a car is an investment in money, social media is an investment of time. Hence, the output should be accounted for once in a while. Due diligence should be exercised before installing an app and connecting with rank strangers. And as one forsakes the car to run or jog, one should eschew social media for a while every day. What one does with that time then can be fed into the social media making it a worthwhile and motivating exercise. Merely forwarding stuff is like hitching rides on others cars! Have a safe drive on the internet superhighway with your favourite social media tools!

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Comments

Mrigank said…
Good comparison...
Sarah said…
Couldn’t agree more with your Views.
These days social media has become an addiction
and whether to put it to good use or no depends on our usage completely.
You had me chuckling there! But so true. In a way, SM tends to bring out the worst in people too often.
Vashi said…
I couldn’t help but agree to all your comparisons here; though the thought is pretty new for me; your words resonate the ironical and deftly so! This is what it is and we have come to be.
Anonymous said…
Couldn’t agee more! Such a nice post. #sandalreads
Preeti said…
What a comparison. It was amusing when you started with the statement that SM is like a car... but as you went on explaining it... I was just saying Yes and Yes to all. Great!
#readbypreetispanorama for #MyFriendAlexa
Unknown said…
On the money article. We must not let the social media affect our family time. Like u said use it and throw it, don't get used up.
ED said…
Very apt comparison.
Yes we need to work on us rather than depending on SM.
A 50-50 division of time for both ( life and SM )will be perfect.

Good one.
Pallavi said…
Interesting observation. Social media is indeed just a tool. Not good not bad. Just there.
Shanky said…
A car journey has a start and a finish, but a SM may just go on and on, a car is in ur control but a SM message has no control of the owner. I disagree.
Interesting post. It's a rare comparison though. You can control both cars and social media indeed. Its all upon you. If social media gets a scam then cars also have accidents, and for both you will be responsible.
Arushi Seth said…
Loved your comparison!! Social media is undoubtedly an addiction and it depends on us how we use it. Very interesting post
Simrit Bedi said…
Loved reading your post and agree with you completely.. It really depends on how much how much time we spend on social media !
Alpana said…
Thats an interesting comparison I never thought of. Social media is addictive but its in our hand how much to get habitual of it. It is one of the effective mediums to stay connected topple, find new people but we should not get carried away with it.
Narinder Bhatia said…
very well written :) and your simile (car) struck the right chord with me. Everything needs maintenance and so does our consumption of social media. We need to be cautious about our usage of social media for the simple reason that it asks for the investment of out most crucial resource i.e. time. Managing the online - offline balance should be our key priority. Thanks for providing insight into the topic.
This is really a well written post, I so agree with it. Social media just eats up most of my time too and I try to avoid it as much as possible.
Ritu said…
That is an interesting analogy. Come to think of it, social media and a car do have similarities. A major difference though. A car does not control you. Social media, on the other hand, is an endless pit.
Interesting! Loved the way you thought about comparing the car with social media....and yes...the reasons mentioned are very valid.
Kavita said…
I absolutely agree with your thoughts and what a lovely way to put your thoughts across. Loved reading this.