Have you ever attended a social media event, only to see that the influencers and attendees prefer to connect online rather than with the human being right in front of them? It’s not just you. Social media has changed the way we interact with one another, and not always for the better.
According to the Global Web Index, we spend an average of two hours a day on social media, and that number is increasing at a rate of two minutes per day. Over the course of a lifetime, that’s over five years spent on social media or 40,000 hours. This highlights how social media has changed the way we live our lives, from the way we get news to the way we interact with loved ones.
However, social media is not all good news. The experience of art and history is being replaced by a digital representation of those things. Social media activism brings awareness to societal issues, but the awareness isn’t translating into real change. We care more about how other people perceive our adventures than having those experiences ourselves. Micro-cheating through social media has jeopardized or ruined many relationships.
The reality is that we are slowly becoming addicted to social media. Many relationships have been sacrificed, and our need to belong and feel positively connected is arguably the number one predictor of health, happiness, well-being, and even longevity. Human connection brings complex value to our lives, and we need to use social media as a support to building real relationships, not as a catalyst to losing them.
To regain control of our lives, we can get aggressive with social media. Turn off notifications, delete social media apps from your phone, educate others, and help our children understand how to manage their usage. Use social media to build relationships but take it offline. Remember, we can disconnect to connect.
In conclusion, social media has complicated our social interactions in many ways. It’s up to us to take control and use social media as a tool to enhance our lives, not replace them.