Being Social
Last week I told you to get off social media. Two weeks in and I am still doing good. I finished my third book and have started another. I have enjoyed watching a few different series with my family, as in, we really were watching, no mindless scrolling and barely paying attention, well at least for me.
The downside of leaving social media is losing one aspect of your “social” life. I don’t think there is a majority of real quality socialization on the various platforms, but I won’t deny that you might miss some things. For instance, I have a variety of library director friends that, without Facebook, I will seldom hear from, also friends that live far away, etc. If we are honest with ourselves the interaction cannot be called socializing; I liked your post, or I reacted with a sad face, or worse yet I just scrolled on. How often do we actually converse back and forth, with messaging, yep, but I have given those people my cell number, so far that number is a whopping 3.
Being social is not what it used to be, social media is not all to blame. COVID and social distancing has also wreaked havoc on how we interact with each other. My husband used to meet every Wednesday night with his pack, I did puzzles with my parents every Wednesday night, and we ate dinner almost every Friday night with our group of friends. All that has stopped. At the library we offered 14 programs in January, all in person, yep, that has also stopped or at the least has been modified. The fact that I even use the term “in person,” hints at the current situation we are in.
Board games, coloring pages, children’s computers, activity kits, MOCO Warriors (cancer support group) and the community puzzle have been discontinued indefinitely. We have discontinued our computer classes, but we have a technology page on our website that gives links to the actual material we use to teach our classes. Our book club is offered onsite (masks required) and through Zoom. Adult crafts, story time and Saturday children activities (STEAM, LEGOs and story time) have been virtual, but are gradually transitioning over.
Story time changed first. We introduced the idea of Book a Bubble (masks required for adults), a set time you could come in and have story time with Brittany, this could be an individual family or a group of individuals that are regularly exposed to each other; friends, family, etc. Then we started offering story time on the lawn. The 28th of October and November 4th will be the last 2 dates available for outdoor story time, weather permitting. Starting on November 18th we will be conducting 2 story time events in the community room, on Wednesdays; one at 10am and the next at 10:30am. Sign up will be required, as we will be limiting the amount of participants to 15, including the adults, again, masks will be required. Saturday activities will transition over to this same format starting in December.
Adult crafts will start our transition this month. After our normal presentation video of our craft on Facebook, you will now have two options to participate. Up to this time, we would give the first 15 people, that responded in the comments, craft kits. This option will still be available with a twist. Now you will be able to respond that you want, let’s say, 5 kits for 5 adults. You will then schedule a time (during regular business hours or the one designated after hour date) to come with people you are regularly exposed to and have your own craft event. Kind of like the book a bubble, but the video on Facebook will be your guide.
What I have realized, is that programming is not so much about the event, but the socialization, or the escape from home. Let’s face it, if you have ever attended craft night, the best part is the interactions with everyone else there, friends you came with or even the new people you meet. The world of COVID is not the best time to meet new people, but our tiny circles that we are maintain for our own sanity will suffice, for now.
So, yes, I get it, anything social seems precious now, but we still need to approach the world with caution and consideration for others, stay off the “social” media and enjoy whatever circle you can. I know my parents miss me doing the puzzle with them, but maybe I can schedule a craft event for us; dad, mom and I with the whole community room to ourselves. Mom would love the pumpkin craft we have, we will see how dad feels.
Upcoming Events: 10/21 Story Time on Facebook at 10am