Albert Einstein once said,
“I fear the day that technology will surpass human interaction. The day this happens is the day the world will have a generation of idiots”.
Perhaps he was right. Perhaps we are the generation of idiots.... I don't mean idiots in the definitive sense because it's not really our fault. I'm more confused as to how we've allowed ourselves to be so greatly influenced by social media. This in turn has led us to become the generation of "idiots" who are scrolling over 9 feet per day across an array of social platforms. We've become the goldfish generation that can't hold a conversation for longer than 8 seconds without becoming distracted. We've become the generation who are now permeated with anxiety due to societal pressures. It's just not right.
It's become the norm that almost everything revolves around social media, whether we want to believe it or not. We unveil our personal news through Facebook to so called ‘friends’ (the majority of whom we don’t even know). We brag about places we’ve been and people we’ve met through Instagram and then consequently measure our self-worth through likes and comments (again, the majority from people whom we don’t even know). Don’t get me wrong, I’ve fallen victim to it myself countless times. We can all relate to the feeling of hitting double digits on Instagram so that the names become redundant. This then becomes obsessive and it becomes a competition, not only with ourselves, but with others to see how many likes we can finish on.
Is this right? In the office, at home, in the pub, in restaurants, coffee shops... everywhere that people are supposed to be social time is instead spent refreshing social. No. That’s most certainly not right.
I’m reading a book at the minute called ‘Focus – The Hidden Driver of Excellence’ by Daniel Goleman (Side Note: I’d really recommend it). If I’m honest it’s what sparked me to finally write this. Goleman discusses how we are losing our ability to hold conversation as we constantly zone in and out whilst we check our social channels. He states that “rapport demands joint attention and mutual focus” and in my opinion, this is becoming increasingly difficult. The reason for this is because more often than not we do it without noticing. Checking our phones has become second nature – almost like breathing. It’s something that really irks me but at the same time I’m being hypocritical as it’s something I've knowingly done myself.
I'm completely in agreement that social media is an incredible thing, there's no denying that and we are all very much aware of its advantages. In fact, I currently work in the social/content space so technically, I couldn’t be without it. Being able to talk to friends all over the world, share memories, and interact with brands is something that inevitably we need to do, but has it become too much?
I think so.. and it's not a coincidence that there has been a surge in teens/adolescents suffering with anxiety or mental health issues. It’s become a competition. It’s an iterative process. I’m no doctor but I’m fairly certain that this non-stop connectivity, constantly trying to be better than others is what causes anxiety. It’s breaking us down, mentally - one by one and there’s studies to show this.
I myself have fallen victim and I’m certain I’m not alone. This non-stop connectivity was affecting my work because I was over-thinking silly, silly things that ultimately had no relevance. It had to stop. Yes, I still use all my social channels on a daily basis and post regularly enough but I have reduced the amount of time refreshing my feeds by a drastic amount. And it’s helped. I feel my work has reached the level I know it can and my creative juices are flowing again.
No, we can’t be without social media in this day and age. Anyone who says differently is evidently lying. What we can do however, is manipulate the way we use it. If we continue to use it the way we are, we are asking for trouble. Our work, mental health and self-esteem will be detrimentally affected.
Our phones and tablets have already affected many, many things. Don’t let them affect our mental health and our relationships with friends and family.