6 Things We Love to Do When Social Media is Down

By . in Social Media. Updated on .

For many people, social media is heavily integrated into their daily schedule. It seems impossible to go a day without checking our social media accounts, and while we wouldn’t voluntary do so, there are times when the social network site may experience some downtime.

“Blasphemy!”

Okay, calm your horses. It’s no big deal. A little downtime won’t hurt. There will be fewer pings from our phones, fewer pictures to go through or statuses to like. It’s not like it’s the end of the world. Is it?

Unless you are a hit with actual downtime of your favorite social media sites, you probably would laugh at this like it was no big deal. You may even deny the existence of the 6 stages of withdrawal one would experience when their favorite social media sites go down. But mark my words, if you spend as much time on these networks like I think you do, this is probably what your meltdown looks like, starting with…

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Stage 1: Denial – “This Can’t Be Happening”

facebook-down

(Image source: Mashable)

Hmm… something went wrong, huh? No matter, let’s hit refresh. Hmm… it’s not working. Let’s refresh again. There must be some mistake. Again, with the refresh; okay, breathe, it’s a temporary setback, a glitch. Let’s check the connection, see if it is up and running. Or it could be the browser acting up, let’s try another browser.

Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.

Well, err, maybe it’s the router, let’s turn everything off then on, multiple times. Oh, let’s not forget the wires: unplug, plug it in, restart, refresh.

Oh my god, this is for real, nothing is working. The site is down. Cue panic mode!

Stage 2: Solidarity – “I’m not the only one!”

Okay, let’s not panic yet. Take deep calm breaths, let’s check out other social network sites to see if we’re the only ones facing this bleak moment in Internet history. What’s that top trending hashtag of the day. OMG, #facebookdown.

This really is happening, now. Everyone is affected. What else is there for me to do?

Stage 3: Confusion – “Why must this happen sobs”

Complain/cry collectively. ‘Cause that’s what we all do. And we’ll do it on good ol’ reliable Twitter. Unless (God forbid) Twitter is down too. Gasp! Oh noes, where do we go to vent our lamentable circumstances and hashtag it with #firstworldproblems?

Oh Instagram is working? Yes! We can selfie our faces of despair with the error message, to mark this as a dark day in history.

Let’s get this up on Instagram, it’s a quick fix. Maybe it can even help us outlast the downtime, unless…

instagram-down

(Image source: Mashable)

OH WOE IS US.

Stage 4: Sarcasm – “LOL U mad Bro?”

Well, some of us can handle social media downtimes better than others, using the power of SARCASM and by storming another popular social media network, temporarily. Cue all the memes and tweets about reverting back to the Stone Ages and going outside to enjoy real life.

gotmeme

While we are on the subject, if you are part of your brand’s social media team make sure to capitalize on the situation. Because nothing sells better than making fun of social media’s downtime, amirite? Bonus points if you get more followers for your spot-on humor.

Stage 5: Desperation – “Click on all the things!”

We are done wailing. We are done trying to laugh along with everyone else. But we are not quite ready to continue being a productive member of the workforce yet. It’s been 5 whole minutes, that’s enough time for the techies to get the site back up, right?

Let’s try our luck.

facebook-down

Nope.

At this point, the withdrawal signs are showing, you are at the brink of calling 911 because it’s a crime for this to keep continuing. But then…

Even the police want no part of this. So what’s a social media addict to do?

Stage 6: Acceptance – “Okay, back to work”

We have come to accept the fact that the site is never going back up at this moment. As this point of realization, perhaps a little work won’t hurt. Besides, your hands are getting jittery and your mind needs to be engaged.

Before you know it, you have managed to clear your inbox, complete your reports, clean your workspace, talk to your colleagues face-to-face, and get some natural D from your stroll outside the office.

Maybe, this downtime isn’t such a bad thing after all. Maybe this is proof that we are strong enough to not consistently check our Facebook news feed. Maybe that tweet can wait, and that selfie doesn’t need taking. Maybe now, we can focus on that startup, invent or discover something new, or even take over the world!

Wait, what’s that sound? Oh, the site is up. Ooo, 4 new notifications. Ooo, new updates. Click, click, click…

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