I see it everyday. People getting mad that their significant other "liked" a post on Facebook, texts getting lost in translation, tones of voice are unrecognizable via email and arguments over the Internet. Only this generation has had to deal with this. Never before has there been such a media explosion where we know what happens, the second it happens. We're bombarded to try instagram, snapchat, facebook, voxer and a wide array of social media sites to connect with others in various ways. Guess what? We're not connecting! The more we use these sites, the less we feel the need to see each other and this is stifling possibilities of growing in our relationships. It's a movement that has moved us backwards in so many ways. You text your mom this morning to see how she is so you think there's no need to stop by and actually see her. You "liked" your friends posts at least 3 times this week so, you're a good friend, huh? You snapchatted (Is that even a word? It will be soon.) with your boss about the presentation next week so no need to do anything further because that shows you are hard at work. All of these things are actually making us anti-social.
The paradox of social media sites is that while you may be associating with and seeing what others are doing, you are not there to hear them speak or do anything with them. I see all the time where young ladies are practically begging for a good morning text, just to be validated. While it is nice to receive a text knowing someone is thinking and cares about you, what happened to a phone call or waiting until you get to school for a good morning hug? Or arriving at school to get a 5 page letter someone wrote the night before because there was no texting. I see people quickly becoming bored with each other and how wouldn't you? You talk in person, FB, snapchat, IM, send videos etc. Isn't it just all kind of overwhelming? By time you actually see each other again, there is nothing to talk about. You know everything that happens with each other because of social media and technology. We know every single thing a person does from what they eat at which restaurant, to what time they clocked in for work. We even know the music they were listening to while do it.
Stop it. Take a day, a week, heck if ya can, stay off social media. (I tell you this as I'm writing a blog.) It's consuming our lives. Instead of getting up and reading the paper or watching the news, we can just look it up on our phone but, it doesn't stop there. We scroll, we read, we like, we send, we chat and we "catch up" on what happened while we were sleeping or were away. 2-3 hrs of your life was wasted just because you wanted to see if Cindy Lou and her boyfriend got back together after arguing all week. It's nuts! We are simply wasting too much time and energy on people that don't care about us and to be honest, we don't usually care much about. For what? You can't get that time back with your child. You can't get that dinner back with your significant other. We're wasting hours watching what each other is doing when we could be spending time with each other. Get off the internet and read to your child. Stop playing the game and go on a walk with your spouse. Get back into the real world and make memories. All these hours wasted and we're going to be really sad that life passed us by so quickly and we didn't take the time to give dad a hug goodbye, because we were too busy texting. Don't get me wrong, social media and technology can be great when used in moderation and for certain circumstances. Just don't let it become your life. There's a whole big world out there with friends and family who love you. Get off the couch, go unplug their cord and go live.
OneLove~Ophelia ☆
