We see this everyday, but in case you’ve been living under a rock since 1993, I’ll give you 3 quick “real life” scenarios:
SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Rachel’s on a first date with Rick. She insists on taking pictures of every course of the meal to post on Instagram.
2. John’s in a crowded food court. He feels awkward so he pulls out his phone to scroll down his newsfeed on Facebook.
3. 14 year old Jason’s been sitting at the family dinner table for 30 minutes. He’s killing it at Candy Crush and hasn’t looked up once.
We’re living in an world of great technological advancement. Technology, gadgets, and fancy applications are available to us that humans would’ve never thought were possible years ago.
Remember using those expensive calling cards for long distance? That was only 15 years ago. Today, we can call Vladislav over in Siberia for free as long as he’s got a little wifi service and Viber.
Though these remarkable advancements offer us great advantages, we’ve actually started to lose some of the most important human qualities we possess.
HUMAN INTERACTION
Direct human interaction is the communication between one individual and another in person. This could be a conversation with a stranger at the grocery store or reminiscing on old times with your best friend at the bar.
The problem doesn’t lie in the fact that we use technology all day for networking, relationships, work, business. etc. (all that stuff is great).
The problem is that a large amount of the population feels uncomfortable in public situations unless they are staring down at their phone.
If you don’t believe me, keep a tally of how many times you do this a day? It’s more than you think.
Well that’s nice, but what can we do about it?
Become more AWARE of what we are doing.
People get so caught up in the social media communities they’re apart of that they lose the human element of real communication.
I will end this blog with 3 questions. When I say you, I’m not referring specifically to you. I just want you to really think about them.
Why are you friends with ____ ________ on Facebook if you wouldn’t say hi to them at Trader Joe’s?
Why are you more concerned about taking a picture of your dessert than eating it?
Why are you more focused on letting friends on social media know what you’re doing….instead of just enjoying that quality time with the people you are with in person?
