by Lauren Heaton
I do not know about you, but I actually boycotted Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook on Nov. 9. I did not want to read about everyone’s sore losing or gloating about the election. Donald Trump is the president-elect and it is time that Americans unite once more. What a better thing to unite us all than social media itself. Here is what could and should be next to fill your social media feed.
- Kim K—We can get back to keeping up with the Kardashians! Oh, wait, we never stopped. Perhaps if our society idolized a different sort of family, or even encouraged people to raise strong families, we would not be in the political place we are today.
- #Turkeylivesmatter—It is that time of year again when the vegans go crazy and everyone suddenly cares that we are eating a big bird that needs protection. I plan to protect my turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes.
- First world problems—From not being able to capture that elusive Pokémon, to your Samsung 7 exploding in your pocket, those #firstworldproblems are real. I encourage you, however, during this holiday season to remember just how #blessed you are.
- Selfies—Similar to the Kardashian family, these never left social media. Maybe now they just won’t be paired with someone’s political rant. One can only hope, right?
- The mannequin challenge—This year’s viral version of the Harlem Shake is every mother of seven’s dream come true. “Everyone in the room hold still for as long as you can; don’t move until I say you can! Ready, set …I’m going to go take a nap.”
- Starbucks’ holiday cup— Starbucks is the perfect example of no such thing as bad publicity for taking all the hate (and free publicity) last year regarding their non-religious red cups. This season, the company is still reaping the smear campaign’s benefits. #Marketinggenius #redcupdrama.
- “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” —Since we still don’t have a sequel to “Frozen,” we will just have to contain ourselves and be excited about the latest Star Wars movie, in theaters Dec. 16.
- The finals freak-out—After you come out of your turkey-coma and face the reality of the end of the semester, you can be sure that social media will begin to be flooded with crunch time stress rants and finals week panic posts. Let the encouraging memes roll; you can do this!
- More politics!—Let’s face it, while the race is over, the political drama and angst that has consumed our social media for the past 18 months is nowhere near being done. The Hillary Clinton supporters will continue to mourn, the Trump supporters will continue to gloat, the people who wished they had a third option will be trying to promote unity with what we’ve got and the Bernie Sanders supporters…. somehow, they’re still here.
Social Media for Good—If none of those are appealing to you, you have the option to fill your social media feed and others with good causes. ‘Tis always a good season to share the love with others and many not-for-profit organizations have social media pages you can follow and personally promote. You can spread the word about the good things happening locally and across our nation and inspire yourself and others to take action. Examples include #ipackedashoebox with Operation Christmas Child or sending Christmas letters to soldiers with @opgratitude #supportourtroups.
