Social media's primary motivation is recognition, the cry of here, I am. See me. We are searching for understanding in the form of a larger network, because what is the point in churning out updates daily if not to attract and captivate an audience? Sharing our work and thoughts, connecting with people, opening up our metaphorical internet doors into our homes, these are valid reasons to check twitter. But more often, we share to share. Liking becomes less about what we like and more about the cultural recognition it gives us.
Meaning is often based on cultural context, so it becomes difficult to play the game of what would our ancestors have done? Yet, what would they have seen in social media, in the internet in general? The age that we live in allows for greater communication than ever before. We are able to affect change, to widen our reach, and in powerful ways, influence our cities and the world. Networking makes connection comfortable and easy. Yet, in constantly connecting, we are losing our ability to communicate without the web to clamor behind us.
The primary function social media gives us a way to say, look what I'm doing, regardless of whether we are doing it or not.
My friend Alex and I were laughing about instagrams (ours, specifically) and the behind the scenes prep that goes into a seemingly uncomplicated and straight-forward image . . . from location scouting, prop styling, editing, etc. I'm not saying that these are bad things, just that our realities are skewed. It's not just about sharing our breakfast anymore — now our breakfast has to be beautiful. Which is fine. Art becoming greater in the scheme of our daily lives isn't something I oppose, but why do we do it? Is this all one huge game of follow the leader? I don't have answers, just questions. What would it look like to go off social media? What would it look like to communicate solely via letters? What's the function of blogs these days? Do we need this network? What is the point of it all? It fascinates me in a sobering way that we even have to ask ourselves these questions.
Society has evolved to a pinnacle where the thought of not having an online presence and not sharing our work puts us in league with the dinosaurs.
I understand the appeal, perhaps too well! But it saddens me to think of the opportunities I've missed because I've been plugged into this changing, growing, controlling network. I saw a haunting photo series done on individuals looking at their computer monitors and thought, that's me. I wake up to the phone, check my email hourly. I take snapshots. My camera roll is full of coffee. I can talk to people without talking to them! Everything is an instagram opportunity. I should tweet that. Did someone comment on my blog? The irony is I'm plugging away at this post on my site.
Do you know what's sad? I've lost the ability to sit in silence. It's difficult for me to be still. I'm rediscovering how to read without interruption. I'm trying to simplify my thinking into one line, not twenty different avenues all begging for my attention at once. I removed notifications from my phone awhile ago, but I sit and suddenly I'm checking my phone simply to check it. Is it that I, or we, don't remember how to even exist without constantly reviewing the never-ending stream of forever updating information? As I write this, I have about twenty tabs open.
We're spending more time cultivating our online personas than our character and personality in real life.
I woke up the other day and resisted the urge to check my phone. As I put my coffee in the keurig (yet one more example of our fast-food culture), I had a sudden thought, strange only so far as it was frighteningly obvious. Ten years ago, this would not be part of my normal routine. Take 2004. Instagram was nonexistent and iPhones were a thing of the future. Facebook had come out only recently and blogging was starting to gain traction. Smart phones existed, but compared to our phones today, we would have called them illiterate. Yes, we had the internet, the next thing was coming, but everything was relatively quiet.
I romanticize the past, but there's a marked difference in how we operate as a people with the increase of technology and the ease of networking. Please don't thing I'm proclaiming a cry of abandonment of social media. I've said before, I enjoy instagram. Yes, somedays (too many), I buy into the allure that is pinterest (darn you, dark chocolate flourless cake), and my business would not be where it is today without the help of social media. But I don't want to mindlessly ingest and consume without question. What does the role of social media play in our lives and how will it continue to evolve as we as a people and society grow and change?
The thought of Google Glass terrifies me, and the promise of always being connected sounds like a nightmare.
Contrary to the trends of 2014, I feel most fulfilled when I am less connected. The more I am in the "real" world (how clarifying we have to make that distinction), the more inspired, well-rounded, and content I am. The less connected I am on social media, the more connected I am in real life. I think it's dangerous when we enter into social networking as a natural occurrence of daily life, and don't recognize the dichotomy between what is shared and what exists. The argument could be made that social media is part of ordinary routines, but that's the gist of this post. We're at a place when sharing is synonymous with existing, and to go without sharing is a kiss of death, or really a refusal to cry, look at me. See me.
What would happen if the internet went quiet and we all just lived our lives?
This is something I wonder about when my phone is dead.
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