In Sundays re-blog of Tweet by tweet: A father shares his grief as son dies the father of the dying son said of his experience during this time with social media; “It was overwhelming, heartwarming, comforting…”

I too have been overwhelmed and comforted by the heart-warming friendship and support offered on social media. Without it, many days, I would probably just sit alone and cry.

The article also commented on sharing so publicly;

Social media has changed the nature of even our most intimate conversations. McMaster University communications professor Alex Sevigny says this is a return to oral culture. Tragedies such as a car accident or a sudden death “weren’t so private in the past,” he says.

“In an oral culture or in a village, if someone was hurt, everyone would know quickly … people would extend support … and I think what we’re seeing is a return to that idea.”

He calls it the “global town square.”

Since I began using social media on  daily basis I have been accused of sharing too much, both on my blog, and on Facebook. Like what Alex Sevigny says, I too have regularly said I believed social media is little different to living in a small country town, where everyone knows everyone else’s ‘business’, and some people knock on the door and come in, while others just watch from the sidelines.

When I lived in a small country community, generally speaking, the people who were most likely to speak unkindly of someone, were those who never knocked on that person’s door. I have found this to be the same for social media. The ones who have criticised me in ways that are often hurtful rather than constructive, are never the ones who visit me.

The point I started out trying to make, is that being a part of social media is just like living in a ‘global’ small country town or as Alex calls it, a ‘global town square’, and can provide people with dementia wonderful global communities that have the potential to also provide really safe online support groups and chat rooms for us. Thanks to everyone who reads this for being part of my global village.