Since we already know that change is the one true constant, I thought I would address a part of change that affects us all. When I was a child rotary phones were the standard and people still sent and received telegrams. I have watched communication technology change and grow from that old rotary phone to push button phones, cordless phones, cable TV and the rise of the computer. I have a daughter that was born into a household with a Commodore 64 computer and dot matrix printer. Since those days I take for granted the technology I use today, but there is a piece that although I resisted at first I have come to accept and use regularly.

   Social media has grown exponentially in the last two decades. The youth of the world were the first to embrace it as a way to give themselves a voice and to be heard at an age when it seems no one is listening. That explosion in social media sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Instagram, have enabled people of all ages to engage and connect with a larger world than I could as a teenager. Today a chance picture or video can launch someone into a semblance of celebrity status unknown just 20 years ago.

   As an adult over 50 years old the one thing that I have noticed is how generational the acceptance of social media has become. My parents are still alive and have seen a far more substantial change in technology than I have, yet like others of their generation they seem reluctant to embrace the idea of social media. Their complaint seems to be the idea that they would be opening their lives to scrutiny that makes them uncomfortable. They do not seem to grasp that people can only have the access they allow and then only to the information that they permit to be viewed or shared. The younger generation does not seem to have accumulated the baggage that the older generations have, so they have a limited concept of privacy.

   Facebook seems to still be the platform of choice, at least for the people that I am in contact with on a daily basis. I use it, although in the early days of its explosion on the social media scene I took on the same mantra that my elders espoused. However, I have come to appreciate the use of social media for many purposes. For me the most valuable part of social media is the ability to reconnect and stay connected to people that I had lost contact with and to people that I otherwise would never have an opportunity to interact with.

   Having worked in military intelligence I understand the value of maintaining a low profile and closely guarding your privacy. Just like in face-to-face encounters on-line communication should be carefully controlled and one should not share everything about themselves at any time on social media sites.Common sense should dictate what we use social media for and anyone you communicate with that you just met on the web should be treated the same way as someone you just met on the street. There is no need to immediately let someone into your inner circle and until you know more about them and have vetted them they should be held at arms length. All that being said I would encourage you to join a social media site. You would be surprised at the people you can reconnect with and make new connections with. It is a valuable tool when used properly and can open up a whole new world for you. I will be cruising around social media, trading stories, pictures and updates with a very cordial group of old and new friends. join us, you will be pleasantly surprised as I am, everyday as I start over, over 50.