Exploring the sociality of social media

First came humans; and then they made mobiles. Today, mobiles have created a generation of data-charged, conversation-deprived people. The digital heart, beats on social mediums but emotionally, we are gradually growing apart from real-time emotional exchanges and communication.

Penning down these lines on a digital paper, with my smart(er) phone sitting by my side waiting to err my errors and punctuate my focus with the millennial need to divulge in some social presentation of daily routines and commutes; I know I represent a paradox.

If one observed my social media usage, they might conclude that out of the 15 hours that I am up and walking, around 7-8 are spent on digital platforms, especially social media such as Instagram and LinkedIn.

Now I may argue that most of the time I am wandering online, it is for work/ research/ networking or for my company's growth. But what I might conveniently leave aside, are the distractions I knowingly indulge in during the aforementioned ‘working’. And while having too many options to choose from might be the biggest crisis and the most commonly known paradox for my generation, it is true that while exploring this vast, expanding digital ocean, we are today more prone to lose direction and diligence that we began this journey with.

To dig deeper into this thought, I began by scrolling through the names that made up the follower base of my individual profiles on Facebook and Instagram – 3029 in total – and tried to recall the conversations with even a handful of them. To my surprise, overall I was only able to count 30-40 individuals, who were scattered and categorized into professional and personal connections. I then went through the birthday reminders (courtesy Facebook notifications) and noted the names of those who actually mattered. Again, it boiled down to just a few, whom I would willingly call and wish on their birthday. Lastly, I went through my WhatsApp contact list and LinkedIn messages to count those that knocked on my door regularly.

With each segregation, the numbers shrank and what was left were a few names who demanded regular conversations owing to the relationship I shared with them – deeply personal and affectionate. These names included my parents, grandparents, my house helps, my closest friends and of course certain acquaintances that were sacrosanct to my professional development; most of which didn’t contribute to the sociality of my social media.

Pondering over my social currency, after this exercise, I realized that it was made up of more clutter than actual worth. Moreso, I was prompted to ask – where were we spending this currency, and was it actually increasing our worth or just deceiving us of owning a higher expense tab?

It so happened that only recently had I spoken to somebody on the depleting and highly problematic attention deficiency - characteristic of the younger generations - that spoke about our frittered attention span that spreads itself too thin and too fleetingly on a given topic or object of observation.

Today as I was aimlessly scrolling through my Instagram stories, the article came barking at me, raising concerns about my dismantled scrolling – that consumed more but reflected less.

To be honest, a highly coveted degree and a career in Expressive Communications have taught me well to not let hypothesis determine the course of my conclusions. I am privileged enough to reflect on my data usage and expenditure (even though I might need timed prompters that remind me to tune-out of my online sociality) and know enough to verify or research deeper before believing or worshiping any piece of content that social media throws at me.

I must share an anecdote here from my college days:

"During a class on digital culture, my professor, while talking about engagement in the online world, explained how during the popularity of traditional media and communication (think radio, newspaper or television) the content flowed from one producer to n number of consumers. She argued that back then, there was a flow of information from active production to active consumption, allowing people to discuss, think, argue and act upon the information in a variety of ways such as a letter to the editor, dinner table chatter and delayed discussions. The consumption was continuous, verifiable (owing to its single source) and often allowed time for thoughts, queries, and responses to breath before they were redirected to the source.

"But with the 6th gear shift to digital communication, much has been marred, she said, especially communication."

This particular thought stayed with me.

Just think about it, we today live in a brand new world where both ends of the content chain are buzzing with n number of creators and consumers. We are part of a new trend and lingo, we are ‘prosuming’ on social media. But I worry that the glitter of 'prosumtion' is blinding us. Behind the deceptive luster of hyper-productivity lies an acute case of rabid passivity.

Let me elaborate. The noise that social media create deafens viable and valuable conversations that might take place otherwise in less populated and congested content traffic. Such routes of communication exchanges carry filth (trolling), chaos (virality or rabidity) and concussions (fake news), and recent history, unfortunately, is replete with examples that would support this argument.

Attention deficiency is not a cause but a repercussion of social media - where one has too little time to think, reflect and respond adequately. In Economics, one could compare this to a buyer’s market. There are luster and lure in window shopping; wants trump needs and in context, you dig shallow and hop and hop off faster, before you get to call a place home or get localized.

On the other hand, some might argue that being a tourist has its own charm. With limited time, one is bound to wander farther than explore deeper. 

Today the world is shifting on its dais visibly faster. Every day wakes up to its own set of new challenges. Social media, if we narrow it down, provides the world on a platter. India is allowed to have its own #MeToo Campaign and generate awareness around blood donation using Twitter Lite. The sociality that allows these social mediums to boom, blazingly connect and render the world a very accessible place, also allows walls to be brought down. I too am in awe of this facet of social media as it helps me stay connected to loved ones no matter how far the distance.

Yet, social media, which makes up for most of my internet time, is multifaceted and here beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder. Each individual’s usage is so subjective that the way you access social media will be entirely different than of an individual sitting next to you. Two feeds will have no resemblance whatsoever, even if accessed at the same time.

This puts the blame that we distribute across social media platforms, into perspective. Is social media to be truly blamed for creating havoc in our lives or is it our individual relationship with it?

Bringing my own usage back in the limelight, I would say that my usage is distributed as 80% for work (I run a community for expressions, poetry, and storytelling that heavily relies on social media for community building, networking and publishing literary works) and about 20% of personal use (aimless entertainment, networking, chatting and browsing). Now as I see it, I can manage that distribution and also refine my social media use.

I can, if I want, steer it towards active production rather than passive consumption.

So let this article, be a tickler and urge you to take a few steps away and re-approach the relationship you have with social media. Contributing to conversations around mental health; reaching out to people and generating awareness in a time of catastrophes; encouraging dialogues of change and inspiration around climate change or building communities of female friendships and empowerment, are few conversations that social media can provide an impetus to and you can provide an outlet to.

The want for this conversation elicits us to evaluate the sociality of social media and where we are placed in the blue-dotted map. Moreso, are we there to leave a mark or be dusted off.

When we built these social mediums the purpose was different – to build communities and make the world more liberal, accessible, expressive and democratic. I have seen these characteristics come to life on a first-hand basis. Today, unfortunately, I believe we are derailing a little off course.

But the beauty of social media is that the steering is and will always be in your hands. This if seen from a microscopic angle, is all that social media is about - you amidst that sociality.

Think about it and think about it before - this sociality that we speak about, is your door to this world today.

The question is do you want to shape this new world or merely be a spectator.