For the most part, I don't do the mainstream social media. Plain and simple. The idea of going on Facebook and posting pictures of myself or others for the world to see or tweeting little comments about myself that no one cares about never really appealed to me. However, recently I decided to actually create a Twitter account. Shocking I know, but I've come to realize how useful it really can be when keeping updated with people, groups, events, or anything else. Or sometimes someone will tweet something funny and I can get a little chuckle out of it. It's the darndest thing! So I mainly use it for the sake of utility, more so than actually socializing with it. Kind of like Youtube. It's technically a form of social media as well, and although I don't know who would be crazy enough to bother "socializing" on Youtube (how about that comments section?), its useful for watching videos.
Maybe one reason why I've never been fond of social media is simply because I'm paranoid? Putting out everything about myself on the internet like that? Yeah, I said I created a Twitter account, but not even that is under my real name, just a username as you see here. Sure the definition of social media is a place to share information and ideas and such, and I gladly do that on the likes of forums, but I don't want the ocean of various individuals on the internet to know my full name.
Perhaps when you meet someone over the internet and you've come to know them long enough to consider them a friend, sure, you can disclose that information to them. But for people to outright go on the likes of Facebook and give out everything about who they are? Seems harmless, but it doesn't take much for someone to put two and two together from your Facebook page and find out exactly where you live or something. Bah, maybe I do have a bad case of paranoia. But either way, as the saying goes: What they don't know won't hurt me.
Overall, You're probably never going to catch me tweet something. But perhaps someday this thing will grow on me and I will. But I probably won't, so get that thought out of your head.
TLDR; I'm paranoid about giving out information about myself on the internet.
Do you use any of the mainstream forms of social media? What are your thoughts on it? Do you use it as simply a utility? Am I paranoid? I know I typed a huge wall of text but I'd really like to discuss it.