The world of Social Media

OK, so I caved and binge-watched all the episodes of that romance scam. Then, I started to do some research. OH MY GOSH --- you would not believe it, but the amount of money involved in romance scams is HUGE!!!! I believe this statistic is worldwide to the tune of $1.3 billion (involving 70,000 people). That was in 2022, and the numbers are probably much higher. And that is of the people who came forward. How many others did not? 

This is just for romance scams, not any of the other types of fraud. It is big business for the scammers! 

However, there are red flags, and you should be watching for them if you're on a dating site. Just Google Romance Scams and loads of information will come up! It's rampant. 

So why do you think people fall for this? We used to have solid communities - whether that was a church, neighborhood, work, or whatever. We had people we could talk to if we needed help. That sense of community has eroded over the years, and it seems there are no longer borders in the social media world. People are happy to hide behind a screen or turn to a screen to get their entertainment, their advice (giving and getting), and their bullying; their world is on a screen. 

Wait a minute! That's just asking for trouble. I don't have time to go into all the details today, but did you know that social media is becoming a huge problem - hatred, lies, bullying, fraud, misdirection, and in the world of politics -- it's becoming a big issue. Politicians worldwide are using social media to get elected in ways we are unaware of. I'm reading a book about the Philippines right now. Scary stuff!

I was never a big poster on Facebook and Instagram (the only two platforms I have accounts on), and lately (probably the last two years, I RARELY post anything! Yes, my life information is on this blog, but that is "less" obvious than putting it on Facebook. 

I take the stance that no one needs to know that I ate hotdogs for lunch unless they want to come to my blog to read about it. To put it out there for the masses? I'm not into that anymore. What's the point?

Yet, I like the good side of Facebook and Instagram. I like the ability to stay in touch with people without it being a big deal, but the bad side of these platforms is taking over! And people have become addicted to them. How many LIKES did I get? Who cares!!!!

I've noticed lately that the number of people who attempt to friend me is insane, even without much traffic on my pages. I get loads of friend requests, and you no longer know which ones are legitimate, as many of the requests are from hijacked accounts. I delete on a regular basis, and I need to do a thorough cleanse one day. 

So yes, it's a crazy world out there, and I'm an intelligent adult, but I can still become a victim, as we've seen smart people become victims of scams. What about the elderly? What about those in vulnerable states of mind? It's terrible, and we need to start checking on people—IN PERSON—to ensure they are OK. We must put ourselves on our parents' bank accounts (as a trusted person) to prevent money from being scammed out of their accounts. 

Social media can be fun, but be careful!!!! Even in the gentle world of quilting, the amount of crap that I see from quilters is - well, it's embarrassing. Everyone wants to sell me something, or friends want to tag me so they get the chance to win something that they will likely never use. I ignore all that - so PLEASE NEVER tag me for that. 

I guess I would be remiss if I didn't post something about the eclipse. Honestly, I couldn't really care less about it. So the moon covers the sun—big deal! I took a picture of the sun early in the morning—here's my "eclipse day" photo. 

My sun "eclipse day" photo at 9:20 AM

It was pretty cloudy here, so I wasn't expecting to see anything anyway, and I certainly did not buy glasses to watch it. I went out for my walk shortly after 2 PM, and there was total cloud coverage. As I was nearing home, the clouds did part, and yes - you could see a partial eclipse happening. What was hilarious was when I arrived home, my neighbors, who do not speak much English, were outside in their driveway. They came running towards me, shouting - "we have glasses!" and indicating for me to look at the sun. So I got a quick glance at the sun - that was enough for me, and I'll probably remember that story much more than I would remember some more elaborate escapade. 

What I found fascinating was the darkness. It was almost like twilight, and you could tell something was shading the sun. Yet there were still shadows, unlike if the sun was obscured by clouds. 

The twilight zone

Then it got very dark in the house, so dark that the streetlights came on, but only for a few seconds. That was sometime shortly after 3 PM. 

The streetlights came on briefly

If watching the eclipse brought you closer to a neighbor, or a friend - then that's OK. I wasn't too worried about it - I had work to do. I don't care that this is the only total eclipse that'll happen in my lifetime. There are many things that I won't get to see or do in my lifetime -- I don't think I'm a different person today because I didn't watch it like most other people. 

That's the other thing we must stop, and social media is a HUGE culprit. It's called FOMO -- the fear of missing out. Social media (and media) hype about anything makes people feel they should be doing that as well, even if they don't want to. You should have this toy or do this thing because everyone else is doing it. I'm sorry -- I'm not a sheep! I'll do what I want and buy what I want -- not because someone else has it!!

Oh my—I almost sound bitter this morning. Nope, I'm not bitter; I'm just sad that so many people live their lives FOR social media and not for themselves!

I won't mention social media again today! 

I made good progress on my Heartfelt Sampler. I think I have enough squares cut to finish off the borders, and the center part is together! Yeah!!!!

Squares for Heartfelt Sampler

Remember my winnings with the Roll Up the Rim? I thought I'd better cash them in since there was an expiry date. I had to take the little guy for a vet appointment, so on the way home, I stopped in. I managed to get a large London Fog tea and one of the specialty cookies for my free coffee and donut. Thank you, Tim's. I had a pleasant time in the gazebo, relaxing with the girls and the boy while I enjoyed my afternoon snack!!

My Tim's winnings

Here's something else we don't do often enough: We don't thank people enough or provide positive feedback. The service at this Tim's used to be good, but then it got new management, and it was HORRIBLE—so horrible that we no longer went there. The lines were long, they mixed up orders, etc. The management/staff has changed yet again, and the service is AMAZING. And I told the very friendly ladies who served me that! They felt good, and so did I!!

Someone has contacted me about the code for the Sirius radio, and I'd like you to send me an email (elainetheriault@gmail.com) so I can forward the code to you. I thought about using it, but I know I never will, so someone else might as well use it!!!

I have a dentist appointment this morning, and afterward, I'll be downstairs working! I have stuff to finish for classes and some tidying up as I need room to work. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!