In TedTalks
“Connected but alone”, Sherry Turkle raises relevant issues with technology,
especially in regard to social isolation. Turkle asserts that connecting
primarily through social media gives people a false feeling of companionship;
this leads to feelings of seclusion and loneliness. I agree with Turkle more
than I don’t. I don’t post very much on social media for that reason. When
Facebook started to climb to its peak I was in the middle of high school. I don’t
think there is anything more dangerous than teenagers feeling even more
isolated than they already do; and I actually stopped posting very much towards
the end of high school as I felt I was getting addicted to people “liking” my
posts. And when they didn’t, I would turn my extroverted self into an introvert
and start to question my validity. That being said I am still addicted to
watching what happens in other people’s lives, and, I often take note if a
friend of mine is going through tough times but still posts only happy-go-lucky
“living my best life” sort of posts. We have control over how we are perceived…
is this better or worse for this friend’s mental health and sense of connection?
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I could especially relate to your comment “I don’t think there is anything more dangerous than teenagers feeling even more isolated than they already do; and I actually stopped posting very much towards the end of high school as I felt I was getting addicted to people “liking” my posts.” As a 50-year-old I still find myself craving that form of digital validation, I think some of us never out grow it I certainly haven’t. It is frightening how much of our self worth can be attached to the opinion of people who in some cases we barely know and certainly don’t know us.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how that feeling never goes away! I have felt it stay with me, even throughout my 20's and I don't know if we ever fully can grow out of it... I believe there is something innately in us (as humans) that wants to belong and be accepted; I think that's why we crave the online validation, it's just very different, as you've pointed out Mike, that online we're trying to be validated by sometimes people who barely know us.
DeleteI totally agree. It can be baffling to watch someone post "best-life" pictures or updates while going through hard times in the real world. While I agree with the notion of faking is until making it in some senses, it doesn't really apply to coping with grief, mental health, or developing a sense of connection. It seems like people are trying to dissociate from themselves and their own experiences with these behaviours and I worry that it prevents their support systems from being able to properly reach out. We're all social creatures but being social does not have to mean only being perceived as having fun and always being happy! There's a lot of power in authenticity. Thanks for the though-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts Tess! And it's interesting you mention faking it until you make it, because I definitely try to do that in my own life and it generally works -at least to some extent- for me! I haven't tried that on social media, but I wonder if that's a part of it?
DeleteI cannot fathom what high school must have been like with Facebook available to everyone. It must have been so tough to experience that from a younger age. It makes me so happy to hear of high schools banning cellphones completely these days!
ReplyDeleteIn eleventh grade I visited a friend at UVic, she kept going on and on about this new thing online called face-something - it was only available to people with a university or college email address - back then I thought it was some dumb fad, thankful that it would be gone before I had to deal with it. Oh, how wrong I was. As for your question of whether having control over our perception is for good or not - I believe that we are constantly editing, even in day-to-day life. We could, however, allow ourselves to be more vulnerable and demonstrate that side to the public, for the sake of honesty. It's a tight line we must walk in that sense, what is the right thing to do?
It's so interesting how Facebook, and so many other social media platforms, took off in such a short amount of time! And of coarse you'd think it was just another fad, because at the time of Facebook there was a lot of media that failed in the market. Or media that was quickly becoming outdated. Facebook perhaps has been one of the best social media platforms for continually updating their platform and functionality to stay relevant.
DeleteNow looking at what high schoolers deal with when it comes to all the new functions of social media it's even more frightening; definitely glad to hear high schools banning cell phones!
Recent studies have shown that cell phones are linked to causing brain tumors, which I found out last year.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting fact Robert, thanks for sharing. How do you use your cell phone? (i.e. just for talking and texting?) Or do you have a smart phone that you access social media on?
DeleteI completely agree with your approach to limiting posting on social media. In the past two years I have significantly cut back with posting on my various accounts because of the anxiety I get from posting. It is so common for people to seek validation in the form of likes and I can admit I had fallen for it too. Even if I post every 6 months I still get that same anxiety every time I post. Glad I don't feel too alone though!
ReplyDelete