Pondering Posting Practices on Social Media

Your face could be in a photo gracing the page of someone's Facebook timeline right now and you don't even know it.  Depending upon the number of "Likes" or comments on the photo, your face could be a part of a popular item.  You could have social media celebrity status.

Think about it.  You attended an event where taking photos or video was allowed.  The person standing next to you, let's say on your right-hand side, is using their smartphone to take video of the happenings.  You're dancing or singing or clapping, or maybe even yawning if the event is boring.  The person turns to their left, still recording with their phone, and whatever you're doing at that very moment is being documented.  If he or she is a social media buff with an account and lots and lots of followers on YouTube, you will be in a video that becomes popular.

Verizon DJ booth at SunFest
(Yes, I asked if I could take his photo and use.)

Last month I attended SunFest in West Palm Beach, Fla., an annual celebration featuring national recording artists, a juried art show and lots of food.  Verizon had a DJ booth where contestants danced, and the audience favorite won a new smartphone.  My friend, Kyoto, had the guts to compete.  I knew I had to document this for her using my iPhone.  She along with five other contestants danced to a mix of songs and they were eliminated by round. 

Kyoto survived two rounds, and was eliminated. The final two contestants were a male, who looked to be in his late 20s and a young lady about 14 or 15-years-old.  The last song they battled to was "You Can't Touch This" by M.C. Hammer. Yes, old school music is essential in any dance-off. At this point, I was done recording, but turned the video option on my phone back on because the dude's dancing was hilarious. He truly thought he was dancing, while it just looked like he was trying to catch a beat.  He was the audience favorite and won a Verizon smartphone, I think due to sheer effort.

I was tempted to upload the short, 19-second video of the guy “dancing” on social media. But, I'm not his friend.  I don't know him at all.  So I'd be strictly laughing at him, not with him.  And, sharing the video clip would make others laugh at him, too. 

I decided not to share, even though he was in public and knew being recorded was a possibility, and someone else in the audience was most likely recording him at the same time. I think my choice not to post was a combination of what I learned in my ethics class in grad school, and my grandmother’s advice in the back my mind, “Baby, what goes around, comes around.” Maybe one day if someone I don’t know takes a goofy photo of me, they’ll decide not to post it.  Or, at least I’ll hopefully never know the photo exists.

Nowadays, it seems John and Jane Doe watching more than "Big Brother."  Does that mean we should walk around in fear of being someone's latest social media post?  No.  Does that mean you should be aware if you do anything remotely weird, crazy or are simply within range of someone’s smartphone or tablet PC, a photo or video with you in it can be shared with all inhabitants of earth who are plugged-in?  Yes.

Shopping With Dr. Oz in Mind

Yesterday I went with my mom to a health food market to find parsley tea because "it helps reduce inflammation," she tells me.

How does she know this? Well, Dr. Oz of course.  My mom, Sandra, along with millions of other Americans, watches "The Dr. Oz Show," the award-winning TV program of cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz.  Oz is also the director of New York-Presbyterian Hospital's Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program, a best-selling author and vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University, a few of his many accomplishments.  On TV, he offers advice on everything from remedies for ailments to the types of foods that will slim your bottom.

When we found the aisle with herbal teas and asked the saleswoman to point out the parsley tea, she walked over to where it's kept, and the spot on the shelf was empty.

"Did Dr. Oz recommend this?" she said peering at us above her eye glasses.

"Yes!" my mom enthusiastically answered.

"Well, that's why we're out of it, for now," she said.

The expression on my mom's face kind of reminded me of mine when I buy raffle tickets at an event and later find out during the drawing that I missed the grand prize by only one number. Rats!

The saleswoman appeared to be a Dr. Oz skeptic as she encouraged my mom to use common sense when purchasing his recommendations.

While the saleswoman was talking, if a bubble could have appeared on the side of my mom's head with one of her thoughts, like in comic strips, it would have read, "You probably follow Dr. Oz's recommendations, too."

And that's just what my mom said to me as we left the aisle.  Yes, I know her well.

We wound up perusing another aisle with dried fruit and the tart dried cherries jumped out at me.  Why?  Two days prior I watched "The Dr. Oz Show" with my mom.  He took the cameras into his home to reveal his health secrets.  I remembered he said tart dried cherries are a good nighttime snack because it contains melatonin.

Wow.  I don't know Dr. Oz personally, but I don't think he's into mind control.  What then makes viewers retain his suggestions?  He appears to be that really, really sincere physician who genuinely cares about your well-being.  He's an affable, family man and seems to practice what he preaches.

In a time when there's rising costs in health care and health insurance, increased rates of diabetes and breast cancer cases and other diet related diseases, it's great many Americans are becoming proactive in maintaining good health.  Even if it makes Dr. Oz recommended items fly off the shelves.

My mom doesn't fill her kitchen cabinets with everything mentioned on the show, and does use common sense when purchasing.  She's a smart cookie, surviving a more than 30-year career in the U.S. Postal Service.  She actually keeps a notebook full of useful information learned from the show, and is able to discuss with her own doctor.  So the fact Dr. Oz is in a sense empowering or at least sharing information viewers might not have known, is a good thing.

Yes, my mom is a determined woman, so she'll go to another store to find the parsley tea.  I think I'll give the tart cherries a try.