Over the past weekend (7/8/9th July) (( In case you are reading this in the future!)), I have been taking a self-imposed break from the majority of my social interacting. That me be a slight mistruth, as my wife was the protagonist for the ban – but seeing as it was our first wedding anniversary, I dully done the right thing and gave in to her request.
It may well have been required anyway – human interaction and face to face time is something seldom seen as you wander aimlessly through carbon copy cities where everyone is glued to either their smartphones or earphones, or just sometimes glue sniffing (I stuck a black marker pen up my nose when I was around about ten, half-fainted and tripped over my bike – I also ended up with an ink spot under my right nostril that resembled half a Hitler mustache - not a good look!). And recently, not just due to my phone’s inability to undertake the most routine task without having a vibrating fit & turning itself off for a well-earned kip, I have been shamed with my excessive usage of social networks by people I really should have been having a conversation with at the time.
For many couples, at home or out and about, it is not uncommon at all to see both people tweeting, texting and basically just ignoring one another. And now, especially with the rise of the 140 character generation, it is even more ludicrous that this same couple may well be conversing or bonding over something with a complete stranger. But – therein also lies the beauty of the thing – the ability to find someone on the same wavelength, supporting the same team, reading the same book or having just watched the same film or television show and talking about it. The worrying aspect is that many people lose their own identity for a new online persona, which can mean not only be diluting relationships in real life – but you can end up being a droid from one of these metropolitan base units I was talking about earlier.
So what problems can an unhealthy obsession with constantly checking and refreshing your feeds bring about? Well apart from the aforementioned – studies show that social media is a major distraction during working hours and education classes, and trying to keep a constant handle on your online network well have a detrimental effect on your performance. Try telling me that on transfer deadline day though!
Another thing you need to take into consideration is the real life effect something you say, or show online could have on the person at the other side of the computer screen. Psychological effects on youngsters especially caused by the overuse of this social medium, has been shown to increase rates in anxiety and been linked to cases of depression. So next time you are about to tell a fenian/hun/fat person etc, to die or do something equally ridiculous – take a step back and think about what you will gain, and how you will make that other person feel. It might be a throwaway comment in your book, but these thoughts and words have the ability to lodge themselves deep in the psyche.
So coming back to my weekend, I was able to interact personally with family and friends without discussing or mundanely checking in where I was, and I felt better for it. Having a real conversation not just with your wife, but with neighbours, waiters and other forms of customer-based providers takes us back to a time when the art of conversation of banter was king! The monotonous usage of automated tellers, barriers and self-checkouts is further diluting real-time interaction as well, people feel safer and can relate to a situation more if they are faced with human interface – you can already see attitudes and personas becoming more robotic & bereft of any positive emotion.
In conclusion – take a break, read a book (It was actually the basic interaction methods of the late 80′s/early 90′s featured in Paul Larkin’s recent book “Poles ‘N’ Goals and Hesselink” which helped highlight the recent transformation), go for a walk, talk to someone, use the basket queue – however slow the old biddy is taking in front of you to locate her Clubcard! Don’t overdose online, as you may end up abusing the actual splendour and intricacies within & not reap its many benefits.
I now look forward to receiving your comments via post, telegram, or in person. Alternatively you can respond below.
Mark