An interactive screen in every hand, a way to connect with the world through the internet and also make new friends, stay in touch with old ones, speak your mind and react at the touch of a few buttons. Social Media has altered how we interact with the world around us. We prefer touching a screen to actually touching a person. Networking sites, chat platforms and photo sharing apps have made it convenient for anyone to convey their feelings to anyone anywhere in the world. But this freedom and convenience has also led us to becomeloners in a crowd.
Users are now islands, speaking their mind without having to risk owning up to their statements. Personal connections, face to face interactions, intimacy have made way for quirky photo messages, smileys and emoticons. Humans are by nature, social beings, we love company. We have instincts to read visual cues, emotional cues and other sensory cues to understand and react, to what the other person is feeling. But as Social Media beings, we choose to ignore these cues and simply react in the quickest, most plastic way possible, all in the name of ease, privacy and space. But to shun Social Media is not the solution, the right way is to take a step back and look within; toward the relationships we have built and the ones we have damaged. To set aside the screen and touch the next person’s hand and speak, by looking into the eyes. Laughing out loud so the person can hear, rather than LOLing on the screen. We do not message our pets on our mobile phones, we touch them, we caress them, hug them, play with them and it makes us feel alive. A crying baby does not need a smiley from Mom, it needs a caring touch, her soothing voice and her presence to feel comforted.
Deep down, we are all children, we love to be like kids on our little screens, we joke, we post silly images and we play games on Social Media. While, we are all busy converting strangers into friends, we seldom realize our friends are becoming strangers. It is said, there is energy flowing in all of us, energy that can be transferred through the senses. No wonder, a hug from a loved one makes us feel secure, gives us strength. The shake of a hand makes us feel confident. It is this connect, we need to rediscover. Let Social Media be the device we use to connect in person, react in person, feel in person, like we were meant to do.
