Social Media: The Unexpected Equalizer

I had a realization the other day - again.

At this point, my life appears to be a never-ending conveyor belt of profound insights that would have been considerably more useful had they arrived approximately thirty to forty years ago.

Why Social Media Might Not Be All Bad

I genuinely had no idea that at the ripe old age of... well, crusty... I would end up with a life that revolves around social media.

Before hiking, I only used it to market my side hustle. It was a tool - a necessary evil.

When that chapter ended, I felt strangely liberated.

Then came hiking.

Yay.

And, eventually... social media.

Yaaa...y?

I think?

I mean, we all know the negatives of social media, so celebrating it feels a little odd - almost wrong.

But hear me out.

My Social Media

I love hiking.

I love taking photos.

I love blogging about my adventures.

I'd still do all three even if nobody ever saw a single post.

Well... mostly.

Let's not pretend a tiny part of my soul doesn't enjoy someone saying, "Wow, that's beautiful."

Knowing I can share those experiences with people who genuinely engage, comment, and seem to care somehow makes the whole thing more enjoyable.

It's like returning from an adventure and finding a group of friends waiting to hear how it went.

Over the past two years, a surprising number of you have decided not to unfollow me.

There are the regular engagers - you know who you are.

One day I'll find a way to thank you for your willingness to put up with me.

How?

No clue.

But I’ve now said it publicly, which in my world means it’s legally binding, so that's something for Future Me to figure out.

The Strange Magic of Online Connections

So when a follower who doesn't regularly engage suddenly appears in the comments, it immediately catches my attention.

Not because I'm meticulously tracking my audience like some kind of social media strategist - quite the opposite.

I can barely remember my two children's names, never mind which name belongs to which child, so keeping tabs on nearly 5,000 followers is well beyond my intellectual pay grade.

But a new face popped up the other day who didn't seem to fit what I assumed was my demographic.

And that was enough to trigger my latest earth-shattering revelation.

Is Social Media the Great Equalizer?

If we were sitting in a coffee shop, there is absolutely no chance this person would wander over and pull up a chair next to me for a chat.

To be fair, if the situation were reversed, I wouldn't either.

Yet social media removes those barriers.

For all its faults - and we know there are plenty - social media creates a space where people can connect based on shared interests rather than age, gender, background, or life stage.

People see the mountain.

The photograph.

The story.

The shared interest.

And somehow that's enough.

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered how many potentially fascinating conversations never happen because we've already decided who belongs at our table?

Social media gets plenty wrong - sometimes spectacularly wrong.

But every now and then it does something remarkable - it introduces people who would probably never have crossed paths otherwise.

People who end up sharing ideas, encouragement, humour, knowledge, and occasionally unsolicited advice about hiking gear.

Maybe the person we'd never approach in a coffee shop is exactly the person we should be talking to - maybe we'd learn something.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and relearn the names of my children before one of them notices.