People just LOVE to hate on social media. Meanwhile, everyone seems to be using it even as they protest mightily that THEY want nothing to do with it. Me? I adore it.
Facebook is today’s Town Crier. I need to be on social media if only to follow our local “neighborhood talk” pages. How else am I going to know how the roads are after any kind of storm? Rain, wind, sleet or snow? Someone on the local “Talk” page will have the low down on what is passable and what is not.
It is also crucial for knowing who lost or found a dog (as an aside the lost dog in my small town is almost always a Great Pyrenees and it’s probably not lost, it’s following whatever livestock it guards that DID wander off). There are an awful lot of “who’s goat is this in my yard?” posts in our local Talk pages. Someone’s cows are pretty much always out. We also have a roaming peacock. People have mostly simmered down about that. It’s just kind of expected to find a random peacock in your yard now.
We cannot forget “who received my FedEx package?” “Amazon just delivered my package to the wrong porch, does this porch they photographed as proof of my delivery look familiar to anyone?”
“Why are all the police wherever the police currently are?” (To be fair, I want to know too).
Loud
We are in the prime of “was that a gunshot or fireworks?” season right now. “What was that loud noise?” “Did anyone else hear a loud noise?” The BOOM is probably the hail cannon from the nearby orchards, Linda.
A helicopter flew over our county and a dozen photos of it had been posted within an hour. The helicopter is either the arsenal up north, the DEA or tree trimming above electrical lines. Any of these make a great story so take your pick.
Someone will post an urgent plea about an “abandoned” fawn that isn’t. They will be convinced that Bambi was left by the wood line and needs to be rescued. (It does not. Leave it). There will also be much debate between pro-raccoon (or groundhog) or anti-raccoon (or groundhog) factions. One votes for therapy and adoption, the other for … sending them to live further out in the country (wink wink). Possibly God’s country.
There is at least one post weekly asking who is walking door-to-door selling without a permit? In 2026 with online shopping, no reputable business is going door-to-door so questioning this is valid.
There is always the obligatory “does anyone know this person? They pulled into my driveway to turn around! Post.” See also: they are walking along the road and this is generally very suspicious in the country. Comments on these type of posts usually feature a lot of reminders that rural dwellers seem to really support the right to bear arms so you’d be wise to just keep on moving.
An almost daily post inquires if anyone else’s internet is out, is anyone else’s water brown, or who is the best appliance repair, HVAC technician or nail tech in town.
A business very few people remembered to actually patronize will go out of business and everyone will be shocked and bereft. Never mind that they haven’t stopped in since 1992. They were going next week. Definitely.
Commenters will then begin to debate, hotly, whether our little village with a population of roughly 12 persons can attract a tenant for the empty retail space near the Dollar General with something cool such as a Chik-Fil-Let, Chipotle, or Trader Joe’s. That is so silly. Based on past practice, we all know they are almost certainly building another Dollar General near the Dollar General.
