With the digital tools that have emerged in the last decade, we are more connected than ever before. We can connect practically anywhere, anytime, with just about anyone. It’s easy to keep up with friends, family, and our entire networks through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, and more. We can talk with someone like we’re in the same room via Skype or Google Hangouts. It seems like just about every moment of our lives is documented on social media and shared with someone. And yet it seems like people are struggling with loneliness like never before. It’s normal for all of us to feel lonely from time to time, but when you’re stuck in these feelings of loneliness that’s a serious problem. Chronic loneliness is on the rise. And it’s possible our culture of hyper-connectivity is part of the problem. One study found that people who spent more time on social media actually reported more feelings of loneliness.
You see happy pictures of other people having fun, spending time together, and celebrating success, and you think you’re missing out. You don’t think you have as many friends, you’re not as interesting, or you don’t measure up. But technology isn’t the problem. The problem is related to how we interact with one another and how we invest in relationships.
All the platforms we have for connecting can be useful if we leverage them as a way to support our personal, face-to-face relationships. When social media replaces real-world relationships, there is cause for concern. When it’s about gathering likes and follows, it reveals an emptiness. When social media is an attempt to fill a void, it’s detrimental to a person’s well-being.
- David Geurin #FutureDriven