With the advent of social media, a new trend has developed - one I like to call the TMI trend or Too Much Information.
People are Facebooking or Tweeting stuff about their lives that, six years ago, we never would have dreamed we would do, or would want to do. They post about what they eat, exactly what they're doing, even if it's just watching television, and where they are at every moment of the day. They post about frustrations at work, about fights with family or friends, about what their pets are up to.
And the question I am constantly asking is this: does anyone care about this information? And if they don't care, why are they reading it?
As social media sharing gets stronger, it seems as though traditional communication is getting weaker.
Case in point: Two weeks ago, 10 seniors living in St. Mary's Villa were told they were moving out.
They were told at supper, without family around. Some were hard of hearing and had no idea what the kerfuffle around them was about.
One day later, they were told they had over a month to move out.
The next day, that changed to four days - and three of those days would be over a long weekend.
After the long weekend, that changed again - they were given an extension of three more days - until the next Friday. Then the moving trucks showed up on Thursday.
A breakdown in communication led to mass confusion.
The media was given a lot of information as well, which was a little confusing in some ways. And that led to misinformation getting out to the public in some reports.
It was all very confusing, for everyone involved. And I don't think it had to be. Had these seniors been kept in the loop about what was going on from the beginning - that there was a possibility that they would have to move out - it could have saved them a shock. They could have prepared themselves and their families, had an idea of where they would move if they were forced to and what they would do in that event.
But they did not get that time to prepare.
The breakdown in communication is disappointing, especially in an age where online sharing seems to be at its peak.
