Finding Balance in a Connected World
I’ve been asked to write an article about ways to be a better person on the internet. I mean face it, sometimes interaction online can feel like stepping onto a minefield. Snarky, judgemental comments may await. There might be forced and falsely read interactions. Or even better, daunting thoughts that affect in more ways than we care to admit.
Before I put pen to paper, I did some research (and although my research sample was small) – I found that the people I spoke to couldn’t quite remember a time that their time and their feelings weren’t constantly connected to Facebook, Twitter and Email. When I asked how they coped with this on a day-to-day basis, some felt pressure to be more interactive than they actually wanted to, in-order to avoid being ostracized by online ‘friends’. Others had no qualms sharing every detail of their lives online, both intimate and minute, easily and quickly.
Then they were those on a constant journey to find a healthy balance. I.e having an appetite for healthy social media interaction, and an equally deep desire for simplicity. Like waking-up with no alarm. Having phone free days. Spending time in nature. Reading a book, meandering, searching, exploring…
The amount of people with access to the internet has increased 10-fold* in the last decade, and is on the rise.
Research says if we’re born after the 80’s, we’re even less likely to build genuine relationships or read emotions accurately, because most human interaction is done behind a screen. Think about it this way, although social networking sites boost connections among people, there can still be a ‘false’ sense of connection. For one, the person on the other side of the screen is unable to observe nor fully read emotion or intention. Yes there are emojis, but how do we gauge the accuracy of their use across virtual reality?
In a world of social media, perception is everything. Research shows that living in a digital-era could mean that we’re susceptible to creating false identities and realities that are not necessarily authentic to who we are. As social media evolves, we become obsessed with comparisons. We believe the things we see and read over the things we feel.
I thought about something the other day. What did we do before Google, Siri, Instagram and Yahoo? How did we manage to have good times, without having to publicize them? I mean, how did we find answers to all the weird and wonderful questions that we had? I know this is the ultimate paradox, but Google says before technology, people consulted librarians, religious texts, other human beings, and their own primal instincts which they cultivated through mediation and a deeper connection with nature. Today, a high-tech life means we spend less time in nature, where we’re meant to engage with our surroundings, ourselves, the universe and our ancestors.
I suppose having said all this, the internet dynamic won’t be changing anytime soon. If anything, the number of people using it is on the rise. Trolls, extremists, technology and online etiquette will be concepts we may have to familiarize ourselves with. This means we might just have to take a step back and educate people on how to be better ‘online’ people. For the sake of online humanity. But I suppose whatever your stance, spending time in the natural world is definitely an anti-dote to the downsides of the internet and social media. Spending time in nature could just be the best way to detox, get creative and find answers to powerful and pertinent questions.
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xxx