#FakeCaring

Aight. Y'all made me do it. I can't take it anymore. I can't take people fake caring about issues anymore.

Fake caring is when you tweet or share a tidbit of news and consider yourself an activist for your part in the upcoming revolution.

Lemme just break it down for you:

• Tweeting about something doesn't raise your social consciousness. 
• Making a hashtag doesn't mean you are making a change. 
• Sharing an article on your Facebook wall doesn't mean you are an intellectual.

In this culture of social media, 24-hour scrolling news, and 'just read the headline not the article' philosophers, people have gotten lazy. People aren't actually going out and fighting for a cause, they are sitting on their couch and retweeting their support. 

What if Malcolm X didn't fight for the people, he just tweeted #byanymeansnecessary? What if Huey P. Newton didn't found the Black Panther Party but just retweeted an article about poor Black kids in Oakland? What if instead of voting drives during Freedom Summer, everyone just wore a T-shirt saying Vote or Die? None of those would have been effective. 

I understand the power of social media as evidenced by the uprisings in Egypt & Ukraine. But that wouldn't have worked in the good ol USA; in between the tweets about revolution would have been social commentary about the latest Real Housewives Reunion brawl. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't care about issues. Racism is prevalent; social injustices exist everywhere; the cycle of poverty still grips families for generations.  And the list goes on. But stop TWEETING about it and get off your ass and DO something. 

#therevolutionwillnotbehashtagged

Humble Brag

Humble Brag

adjective

1. When you, usually conciously, try to get away with bragging about yourself by couching it in a phony show of humility.

2. A form of self-promotion where the promoter brags about himself in the context of a humble statement.

I've been noticing a lot of this on social media lately.  You know, when someone boasts an achievement while couching it in a statement to show their humility.  For example, "On my date with the doctor last night, he whisked me to St. Tropez...but I drank wine coolers in the private jet cuz I''m just a regular girl." Woof!  Yall know you have at least one friend who can't seem to go a day without a humble brag.  (And yes, these are the same people who contribute to Social Media Envy.)  Lemme drop some knowledge on you: a truly humble person doesn't need to brag about their accomplishments on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else.  Let your achievements speak for themselves...The Lord will take care of the rest.     

Envy

Do you ever find yourself having social media envy? You look at Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and see your friends living these fabulous lives & for a moment you get jealous. You see your married friends popping out beautiful babies; your single friends being fabulous in exotic locations and for a second you're envious. But you have to remember, people are only putting their best foot forward on social media. Nobody puts their fight with their husband or 4 hour naps on social media. 

I've found myself on both sides of Social Media Envy. Yes, I live a fabulous life...but not as much as y'all think. Most days, I just live a quiet life in my Harlem brownstone trying to get my DVR to 0%. Let y'all tell it, I'm out every night. 

Just remember, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  After all, The Lord dedicated a whole commandment to this. (Exodus 20:17)

Hidden

If you've noticed that I haven't liked your photo or commented on your status in a while, there's a reason: you've been hidden from my timeline...and essentially my life. The good news is, I like you enough not to defriend you, the bad news is you annoy me to the point of not wanting to 'see' you daily on social media.

Actually, it's your fault. You probably share every funny picture you see on the Internet, post pictures of every meal, and commentate every reality TV show you watch. We all know social media is about connecting with people on a different level and in a different space, but you're using it wrong. Trust me, I'm speaking for your 765 Facebook friends when I tell you STOP, you're annoying!

It's all about meme meme meme

Unless you've been missing from social networks for the last few months, you've been inundated on FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram with memes.  What is a meme you say?  Well, a meme is defined as an image or video that is passed electronically from one internet user to another.  My definition of a meme is a picture with annoying text written over it (see above).  Are some of them funny? Yeah.  But are they mostly annoying?  Hell yeah.  The most annoying thing about memes is they are mass-produced and copied over and over and over again.  What is the purpose of being on social networks if all you're going to do is reproduce other people's ideas?

Me, I like to be an original.  My own thoughts, my own ideas...other people's recipes.  Hell, that's why I started this blog.  The internet has become our virtual footprint.  I, for one, want my footprint to be my original work.

Facebook Stalking

Aight, so we've all done it.  Whether you're bored or on a mission, every now & then you get a lil caught up in Facebook stalking.  You click on 1 profile or 1 album too many then all of a sudden you realize three hours have past.

See, there are a lot of different people you can stalk on Facebook:

• The Ex - You always wanna check up on the one that got away to make sure that he's no longer happy cuz he's not with you.
• The Ex's Current Girl - Well, you gotta check her out to see if she's cuter than you...she's probably not.
• Your Crush - How else will you know what his favorite movies/food/TV shows/friends/Bible verses/restaurants are?
• The Cool Kid - You know this person; the one who vacations in Europe every 2 months and parties in VIP with Jay-Z.

In our social media heavy world, it's way to easy to stalk people with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, hell Google!  So what can we learn from this: A-don't put your whole life on social media and B-whatever you do,  don't get caught.

Who do you Facebook stalk?

The S word

No not THAT 'S' word.
















Single.
THAT 'S' word.

Despite how cool Beyonce made it look, being single isn't always fun.  (I've been single so long, people don't even ask me when I'm getting married and having babies.)  Let's face it, the dating world is rough, especially for Black women.  Besides the fact that we are the 'least likely to be married, you'd have better luck being a lesbian' demographic, if you discount the Black men in jail, married, or gay, that leaves approximately 5 eligible Black men left in the WORLD.  And trust me, these 5 dudes know us Black women are clamoring to get to them.  They are in nooo rush to put a ring on it.

Besides trying to find these eligible men, it's hard to figure these men out.  As if trying to find your own place in this world isn't hard enough, trying to figure out how you relate to other people, especially men, can be downright confusing and time-consuming.  Who's got time to date and figure out 'the game' that men play?? Not me.
   
But, you know what, I'm totally fine with being single. You know who's not okay with me being single...Facebook.  No less than 90% of my Facebook friends are married, engaged or pregnant with their 5th child.  Everyday I log on to Facebook to see another ultrasound or engagement ring and am reminded of my empty womb and naked finger.      

Alas Facebook, I'm trying.  Cut me a lil slack...it's hard out here.