Is Social Media Addiction Affecting RPoL?
The answer to this, as with so many other "Is <insert latest cause of concern> affecting RPOL?" questions, both simple and complex, at the same time. By that, I mean, in some cases, yes, and in other cases, no. I've been away from RPOL for the last four days...not because of social media, but because work had me so busy that I just plain old didn't even have the energy to look at my games, because I knew I didn't have the energy to respond to them. Social Media Addiction, in my case, is likely increasing my activity on RPOL, because the games I'm in tend to have very active OOC threads where players and GM discuss a lot of things about their every-day life...the game is a framework for us to get together online, but we're still using it as a social interaction.
Other players probably approach their games differently. I'm old enough that I can probably get away with calling it a generational difference, but I actually prefer the fact that interaction here can't be boiled down to simple likes/dislikes or commenting with a gif or meme. There's a place for that, sure...but I only find those satisfying as an icebreaker, leading to a more complete conversation. I know others (a couple of decades younger than me) who base the majority of their social media interaction around them...and if that's your thing, great.
But I, for one, love the fact that there are still places on the internet where you actually have to spell out your thoughts and ideas, rather than spewing pre-packaged blurbs that may or may not really grasp them (and don't get me started on the people who post memes just because they think 'it's funny' or they 'want to stir the pot'...)
So, yeah, it's affecting RPOL. And, at the same time, no, it isn't really having that much of an effect. It all depends on which users you look at.