The Challenges of Social Media for the nonGen Y

The world has come a long way (or arguably from a social point of view, deteriorated badly...). My 86 year old father in law does his shares on line, my 77 year old mother has conquered email and half of her I-Phone. My husband, I and two young adult children have four I-phones, 5 computers and one I-pad. A low count but we stilll like to talk at dinner. After a year of being a writer- actually nearly two (OMG) I have a web site and an E-Blog I manage, am on twitter, google+, facebook, Goodreads and a number of groups with each.
But is this easy? Are we enjoying this? What happened to all the free time that etchnology was goign to provide???
As I've mostly had to learn as I went (occasional panic calls to the tech savvie young adults in the house), here are some observations and tips for the new author/ recently widowed/divorced person not on much social media who thinks this might be a way to get published or find friends 9I'm not talking about dating sites here, which I know about only via friends but could be the subject of a blog all on their own! Read a funny account of speed dating/dinner for eight and use of questionnaires in The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. You can do some of the questions on www.therosieproject.com.au for a giggle).
So here goes in no particular order:
1. It helps to be able to spell and work a computer. If you aren't inituitive you're in for a tought time. Find a gen Y (pay them feed them, hell, strap 'em down) or better still a toyboy for help and relief when you want to throw the computer across the room.
2. Start small. Don't do all these things at once. Maybe not all. Pick which one works for you before exhausting yourself. I resisted Facebook for a long time and in many ways its now my favourite (with serious qualifications).
3. Do not think this will save you time. It is time consuming and addictive even if you're aren't enjoying it. Do regular reassessments of mental health!
4. These people are not your friends (well some maybe but if you haven't met them you do not know them)! People with 2000 followers have a habit of berating you for not being sympathetic when- they broke up with their boyfriend of three days (or three years but who would know?), their cat dies, their mother hates them etc etc. Some of these are genuine horrible things to happen, but a lot of people don't know what to say to their real friends in crisis, let alone someone they ahve as a name and nothing more. This is not personal. We're all human and living in our own stresses and crisises and it can be great to reach out to someone (and visa versa) but don't fret when they don't!
5. Run down of pros and cons:
web site: (www.simonesinna.com) get it set up (pay someone) and its easy and in your control. Just discovered (free) guuagues on google you can add to see how many hits you get
twitter: mmmmm. Not my thing. Gen Y I think. If you want to get info on books and you have a lot of writers following you, obviously this works, but I suspect its much better for young things keeping in touch with trends rather than a sellign machine
google+not sure why it hasn't taken off more (soemtimes there are tech problems), quite like the picture base and links and feedback personally and links to the EBlog
Facebook as long as you rememebr the world can see it and remember who real friends are I think it has a llot going for it. More relaxed and less pushy and annoying than twitter
Goodreads (there are others like Manic Readers but Goodreads seems to be the best to me) good set up, good links, great if you like reading!

Not exhaustive and of course only my opinion...thanks to the kind people who ahven't been tooo cross at me when I have got things wrong. But do limit your time and have a real life as well!!! Sometimes its nicer to look at the lighthouse than be in it juggling the lights.....