My Facebook, Twitter, and other social media opinions and arguments -- which others may disagree with.
1. When I was a child growing up summers in Maine -- in an unheated cabin with no TV or telephone -- I spent 11 hours a day outside in a canoe and rowboat, sawing wood, hiking, picking berries, and otherwise communing with nature. On rainy days I read books. This site reminds me of that boyhood. Children today spend 11 hours a day, every day, staring at electronic screens and "socializing" via button pushes. I have long been of the opinion that social media, enabled by smart phones, is destroying our society, culture, nation, planet and the mental health of our children. Serious academic studies are now confirming this. Therefore, I have a strong aversion to social media.
2. The median age of the members here, according to our age poll, is probably in the mid to late 50's. Consequently, I suspect many here may share my geezer aversion to social media even if they don't choose to speak up.
3. This site is steeped in nature, water, wood, smoke, canvas, paint, bushcraft, and the old ways. I would not enjoy seeing a restored Chestnut Prospector plastered with Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga decals, no matter how popular they are. Similarly, I would not enjoy opening a thread here and staring at a page of nine comments plastered with 18 Facebook and Twitter decals.
4. People who are fans and heavy users of Facebook and Twitter can, I'm confident, somehow communicate their thoughts about subject matter on this forum onto those platforms without the need for big enabling buttons under everyone's avatar. I'd prefer a return to the home location of the poster put in that space under the avatar, which I find to be useful information about the person.
