Stephanie Pedersen: Reflections on social media

On Tuesday night, I attended Columbus State University’s Fall Speaker Series that focused on digital and social media in the news and business worlds.

The experts talked about how they use social media for marketing campaigns and to attract users to their website. And while social media is now a major part of our world, I can't help but reflect on what social media is to me personally, because, let's face it, it means something completely different for me professionally.

Socially, I'm still amazed I can reconnect with a friend from elementary school and basically catch up on the last 20 years. I can tell you if they went to college, if they have kids or if they're married.

I'm Facebook friends with at least a handful of my elementary classmates. And I may or may not have spent some time looking for others.

Maybe I'm just nosey, but I think we're lucky to have this tool that reconnects you with people you'd otherwise never think of again.

During Tuesday's discussion, Sherrie Marshall, executive editor of The Telegraph in Macon, asked the audience that was mostly made up of CSU students, what social media apps they use. Snapchat and Instagram were high on the list with Facebook still relevant among the 20-somethings. But Twitter was the least popular among this group.

Facebook still is the No. 1 source in social media to connect people who otherwise wouldn't keep in touch. Just this week the social media website suggested I befriend another elementary classmate because we had friends in common.

How cool is that? I always wondered what happened to her.

But it also gives us an avenue to share what's important to us. Of course, some people share more than they probably should.

One of my friends is a former coworker from college. She's just been through an emotional pregnancy with a lot of questions that were answered in the most beautiful way, and she has a healthy baby boy.

One of my friends is an acquaintance from my high school and college years. He just moved across the country. He instantly fell in love and has never felt more accepted in his life.

One of my friends fed their kid a free cookie at a grocery store this week.

And my daughter posed for a picture with her pumpkin she created on Parenting Day.

All posts you can find on Facebook.

We have this great tool that gives us the ability to connect in so many ways. I know it doesn't replicate or come close to personal interaction. But it's very likely I'll never have another personal interaction with 98 percent of my Facebook friends.

So in a way, it adds connections you'd never keep.

I know some people think it's a giant waste of time. Others take breaks from social media to reconnect to those around them.

And while I've also yearned for a "break" from some outlets, social media keeps me connected in a way nothing else does.

Stephanie Pedersen, senior editor, spedersen@ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Stephanie Pedersen: Reflections on social media ."