Has social media ruined the idea of reunions? I would say yes and no. While social media has made us more social at the same time it has removed the physical aspect of being social.
Online applications like Facebook, Twitter, Skype and even YouTube have provided us with the ability of being able to look into each other’s lives, viewing our families, relationship status, and pictures. The days of formal letters are all but over. I’m still shocked to this day that I get junk mail in the USPS, with everyone having an active Email account of some form that they check regularly. I think it is only a matter of time before wedding invitations come in an electronic format, and who knows maybe one day all initiations will be interactive! After all we are living in a digital age where most gatherings are set up via digital social media.
We get all sorts of Evites, Facebook events, mass Emails, Constant Contact messages to a client list or even a quickie text message from your iPhone to a group of friends to tell them about something. It is all so crazy how in a short span of time the world has embraced the digital age.
With all these resources, I found myself at my 10year high school reunion. I was disappointed that most from my graduating class chose not to attend. Granted, there are always personal issues. I found the most common excuse that everyone fell back on was, “I have Facebook, I know what everyone is up to! I stay in contact with whomever I want to. Why would I go?” This logic in some ways makes a lot of sense. They kept the world afar while still keeping close to the people they really wanted to talk to. For the people they were not so close to, they had available to them some form of social media that allowed them to make contact if needed.
While some events require witnesses, their physical presence may no longer be needed. Post cards, used to say, “Wish you were here” now with social media you can relive the events virtually with posted pictures, videos and updates. By the way, when is the last time you ever got a post card?
