I’m guilty. I’ve been known to send an email, or chat on Twitter before picking up the phone, or making the in-person meeting. Simplest terms - social networking is convenient.
No, I didn’t say lazy (you do know that other countries consider us lazy and fat, right? Off topic, but it’s true). Social networking is con·ven·ient(Adjective1. Fiting in well with a person’s needs, activities, and plans. 2. Involving little trouble or effort).
We live in a society where convenience of new and evolving technology surrounds everything we do from the moment we wake-up to the second we turn out the lights.
Time is of the essence. I’m a master multi-tasker…I can have multiple IM conversations, pay bills, make a status update, check email, search for vacation destinations, find the perfect song to fit the mood, cook dinner with one hand, vacuum, etc. I’m joking about the last two, but social networking makes our lives easier.
Sure, we can do things easier, faster and still have leftover time in the day to play Farmville (note: I do NOT play Mafia Wars, Farmville, Cafe, etc.). But with all this “stuff” going on no one has ever said….CAUTION: this may cause depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, nervousness, paranoia, etc.
UGH.
Cristin Norine from Portland is exploring living the non-social life with social media. You may have heard of it - The Public Isolation Project. She’s going to an extreme with zero human contact for 30-days. Cristin is just about done with her project. I’ve been following her blog posts and I can honestly say, I’m concerned for my own state of mind.
I talked about conversation and engagement overload by referring social media to a junk food. It’s addicting and it’s true. There’s something inside each of us that craves some sort of mental and/or physical desire that can reach an addicting level.
We need to be on the look out for the social networking hazards. It IS and can be dangerous levels of non-engagement. Know your limits. Take breaks from your smartphone and computer - every single day. Your friends and family will thank you.
Good luck Cristin Norine. She’s going to need some serious counseling.
