Words

Words can have many meanings. More meanings are added to words as time goes by. That is how language evolves. We can't control it. Words get used in new contexts. As new phrases get adopted by more people, they eventually become commonplace. However, it is often one person that is the creator of a new slant on a common word. This slant can be conniving and somewhat misleading. Many words used for new purposes are rather ill suited to these new applications. Some words are now portraying something rather different to what they implied before. Words are concepts. Concepts are distorted though the misuse of words. The meaning of words are altered to suit a person's, a company's agenda.

Let's look at a few terms and show my perspective on them.

Friends.

I have 506 friends says my social media account. Five hundred and six people have been classed as friends. A friend is someone you see regularly, communicate with daily, weekly, or at least on their birthdays. Maybe our friends could be ranked. Some could be called something else. Someone I said hello to once at a party. A sishotap - 'friend'. The top tier would indeed be still called friends, maybe five or six rather than 506. The rest sishotaps, colleagues, tribal members, or throng builders etc. You know what a friend really is. A real friend is cherished. Friendships that count are proper unions between people, and they can be a highlight of life.

Sharing.

Sharing is splitting, dividing and kindness. So how does one share a picture? Maybe you have it for 6 months and I the other. Or cut it in two? We use sharing as a way of saying showing and allowing others to see what we have to display. I really don't like this defacement of this word. It is twisting reality even though we have a saying "A problem shared is a problem halved". To share now has an equivalence of 'to broadcast'. I suppose if what you are distributing is of help to others then you are sharing knowledge, at a push. This new form of sharing is invading other people's time and space, albeit people that have gladly signed up to get the latest low down from you. I cringe when I hear people mither over whether they ought to allow someone or other to be privy to their goings on. With whom should I permit to 'share' my thoughts, images, and other bile?

Social media.

Hanging out near the shops with mates, social. Socialites parading around, mingling, and conversing at a party, sociable. Popping around your friend's house, social visit. Telling everyone on an internet page that you have just acquired a new dress, personal media. We have mass media, newspapers, TV etc. Generally, a bunch - not usually one person, involved in producing something for all to see. Is social media largely individual media - personal media? If it is better thought of as personal rather than social, do we view it differently? Yes, you can make use of these internet companies for arranging social encounters, but what are the most prevalent posts?

Connecting people.

Here is one of the least contentious concepts. We use the world wide web to find, to locate and to unite. Searching for someone online is far less arduous that phoning people, looking up souls in telephone directories and scouring the local library for data. In many cases finding people was near impossible before the world wide web was born. We will assume that those that are found, want to be found and the reunion of long-lost relatives brings joy and relief. It is harder to hide now. However, clubs, societies, common causes can now involve people right across the globe rather than just those in the same town.

Followers.

The child follows wherever the parent goes. We form a line and follow the leader. Where is the following in signing up to be regularly fed someone's musings? Musings in all their detail, often unnecessary irrelevant detail. Do you become a disciple, buying what they do or purchasing what they pretend to use? Do you concur forever more with their worldly wisdom? Do you stop following if a set number begin to disapprove of what they have to say? How much faith do you need? I am sure it is all entertainment and a marvellous way to keep being distracted. Besides I can't deny that there is some beautiful comedic content put out amongst the noise.

I would never condone hacking but if some bright spark broke into the computer systems and simply changed 'followers' to 'stalkers' it would be a little amusing. There are some more benign options. It could be altered to 'listeners' or alarmingly 'devotees'. You can't really call them monitors although it can be a bit of monitoring and making sure you are not saying things out of line. Viewers fits fairly well too.

Influencer.

A social media influencer, changing the habits and views of suckers and parasites. Influential people have been around for a long time. Legendary singers and song writers became influential via other influential people that went before them. Beacons, pioneers, and greatness have inspired many to follow a similar path. Marie curie faced gender discrimination yet prevailed. Other women saw her as an example and got greater confidence in pursuing a similar calling in science.

Sheep congregate, people congregate. As the notoriety of an individual increases so does the validity of their worth. Have you been sucked in? Have you been sold? Have you parted with your cash in a game of collusion? We need to fit in, we can't always carry off an unfashionable choice. How do you go about influencing yourself? Making your own mind up by deciding what is right for you? Dare to be at one with yourself, not in a mindfulness, meditative way, but exploring yourself with the aid of others rather than solely by what others suggest. Balance and moderation on your terms.

Most influencers want power. They want to be the one to choose what they think is right or is the best. They attempt to cajole and persuade others to agree and follow suit. A successful influencer lives in heaven on earth - or at least makes it seem so. You too can be like them if only you subscribe to their ways of doing things. Unfortunately, this heaven is a pyramid, a Ponzi scheme with only a few at the top. You have no chance, despite what you may think. Like a religion it gives you hope though and there is no harm in trying. Or is there? Self-harming. Suicides. Depression. Anxiety. Disappointment at the very least. In a socialist world there are leaders who tell the lowly what to do. The leaders and a few around them live in wonderful palaces, eat the finest banquets, and have the best cars / personal jets. It is all for the good of the people. Allegedly. Have I spotted a parallel or is it just coincidence that 'social' is used in both domains to mis-portray? Social media, socialism.

I admit to stretching and manhandling words in ways of my choice. I try to excuse the behaviour by saying that it is done as a method to explain something, not to rebrand or swindle.