Finding A Student Who Wasn’t Lost: Social Media To The Rescue?
When it comes to social media, an issue that many of us struggle with is, how much is too much? Is it ok to be connected 100% of the time? Tweeting our every move and keeping tabs on everyone who was once even a minimal influence in our lives? While many struggle to conjure an answer to this question, the issue became a headline recently.
A little background: Jacob Boehm, a 22-year-old student was traveling around Malaysia on his own after finishing up a group tour. He constantly updated his social networks to communicate with his family and friends and to keep them updated on his adventure. Then suddenly, one day, he stopped. There was no reason as to why, but he stopped using his social networks. His parents panicked, and rightfully so. They contacted Jacobs friends who all reached out to their social networks to help #findjacob. Turns out, Jacob was never lost. He went wandering in a national park and did not have cell service.
News reports have been reporting this story as a social media miracle, in which Facebook and Twitter band together to find this lost boy. Even though he was never lost.
The question that this article brings up is how connected is too connected. Yes, it is amazing that so many people pulled together to help “find” Jacob. The power of social media is undeniable. But my question is, should it have been so alarming that he was not updating his status? Granted, he was in a foreign country, but shouldn’t the boy have had the chance to wander, uninhibited by feeling the need to live Tweet the event? It’s totally understandable that his parents enlisted the help of his friends, but the fact that the issue even got that far is the part that I focus on. The fact that Jacob had to feel that connected in order to make everyone else in his life feel at ease makes me uncomfortable.
Obviously I’m a huge fan of social media. Otherwise I wouldn’t write about it every week. But I think it’s important to realize the balance between being connected and going out and living life. What do you guys think? How do you strike the balance between your online lives and your social media lives?
Other Must-Read Headlines this week:
Measurement: Nielsen Studies Address Connection Between Online Buzz and TV
At last week’s Social Media Insider Summit, Nielsen spoke about measuring social media and sentiment, with some interesting outcomes.
Influencers: Twitter’s Co-Founders Unveil Their First New Project
Could the next big social network have been announced this week? Ev Williams and Biz Stone announced their next venture, called Lift.
Partnerships: Alliance Benefits Funny Or Die and Klout Users, Social Media Influencers, and Advertisers
A new partnership between Funny or Die and Klout sprouted up this week, which will hopefully benefit a plethora of brands.
Tools and Technology: Google+: 10 things it does better
At this point, many people are wondering if there is anything that Google+ can do better than Facebook.
Fun Stuff: Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO: Twitter Reacts
As most of you have already heard, Steve Jobs has resigned as the CEO of Apple. And as similar with other monumental events recently, society took to Twitter to share their reactions.
