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Are we too dependent on social media?
Posted on August 10th, 2009 by and currently 17 commenting.Remember where you were on August 6th when Twitter went down and Facebook sputtered along for a couple of hours? Me neither. But it was fascinating to watch the blogs light up with the topic. Fascinating.
It was almost a panic. People didn’t know what to do with themselves. But they still found a way to communicate.
That got me to thinking about what would happen if all social media suddenly went away one day for good. Stay with me. We have these tools that connect (or give the illusion of connection) us to followers/friends/etc. And because of that, we have become hyper-connected (overconnected?!?). But now since we have been exposed to this overconnectivity, if it was suddenly taken away, would you run out of the house and just start talking to everyone you saw? Would you be on the phone all day and night trying to update everyone on your every thought? Would you drive around the city with a bullhorn and broadcast messages?
I think the people that are using social media to have deep, meaningful conversations with a small group of others would be the ones that would adjust the easiest. Those that have build their reputation on their numbers and were nothing before social media would suddenly be nothing without it. Scary. For them at least.
So it’s just a thought, but I think there’s a lesson for all of us in there somewhere.
Tags: Facebook, hyper-connected, meaningful conversations, overconnected, Social media, Twitter
17 Responses to “Are we too dependent on social media?”
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Absolutely. Social Networking is easier for me online than off because I’m an introvert. But being a social introvert, I prefer to have smaller, deeper connections. I think that’s why Facebook is becoming more important to me since I purged 300-400 “friends” from it. I feel more connected there than anywhere else.
Take it all away, and I can adjust fine, but social media allows me to scale my introvertedness.
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As BOF knows well, “Fellowship” and “Community” will always find a way to happen. As people, we’re practically hardwired for it. Take away one avenue to share and we’ll find another way to share. We might have to use more personal ways (like a phone call) rather than public ways (like Twitter).
Sorta like when the power goes out. It disrupts us. Forces us to find other ways to get stuff done. For the most part, we manage. (Except when we’re talking about days or weeks without electricity. Different story.)
Amazing how we can become so accustomed (or addicted) to one way to communicate. Yet, when it is gone, we find another way. All goes back to our inert desire/need for “Fellowship” and “Community.”
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I like the idea of people running out of the house, and talking to everyone they see. It reminded me of this spoof which you’ve probably seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w
Great post - thanks!
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In a post a few weeks ago, Beth Harte asked how committed to being social would you be if Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn suddenly disappeared. Social Media isn’t about the platform, it’s about connecting. Check out the post: http://bit.ly/msB3C
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There was once a bumper sticker I saw all over that read, “Kill Your Television.” Now, everyone is online, and I often wonder about all those folks who killed their televisions by buying a computer and spending hours, weeks, and years putting it to use. In some ways, this too, must be killed.
Two things:
1. We’re consumed by screens.
2. If we don’t find something to engage our minds with, something will find us.If connecting with friends is what we’re interested in, it should ALWAYS involve more than just a screen. Have a bbq, a sleepover, a show and tell party. There are so many ways to create real fellowship and community, and yet it’s become so easy and convenient to try to replace this online.
It’s fine, in many ways, but it isn’t enough. We all deserve so much more.
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I admit, I felt a bit “off” for a moment when i couldn’t load stuff on Tweet Deck. But after the initial “disruption” of not being connected, I just went on with my day/thoughts.
I’m sure it hurt the folks that live on Twitter preaching to the choir more than it affected the rest of us.
I wanna unfollow you spike, but we work in the same room. It’s kinda hard not to know what you’re up to.
Great thoughts by the way.
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I take The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy mentality: Don’t Panic.
The awesome power of connecting with business associates and friends, old and new is undeniably cool. However, I know I could benefit from a little less online time.
Now that I’m reminded of the many great people I know, if it all went away tomorrow I would be that much more motivated to meet-up in the real world.
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I’m naturally a very social person, so social networking is just an extension of that but admittedly, when Twitter went down I was okay but when Facebook was failing too, I had a little meltdown. Why? I was in the middle of a project that involved mobilizing people locally in the social media scene… had it been a normal day, I probably would have taken the morning off.
What if social media all went away? I’d be totally fine because I understand that social media is not a crutch, just a tool.
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Are we too dependent on social media? [link to post] #postrank #marketing -
Ease of connection and participating in a community without being bombarded with worthless messaging. We all moved away from MySpace - why? It was because it felt too commercial, less personal and it was more difficult to use.
We all are compelled to connect, it’s our nature. Social media is a tool link no other that meets the balance of time v. return with a little ego stroking for good measure.
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@chrissandoval August 11th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I was at work when the Twitter downtime happened. A few of us actually turned around and started talking. to each other. face to face. about Twitter being down.
Then we turned around and started doing the work we’d been neglecting.
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Are we too dependent on social media? [link to post] -
“Are we too dependent on #socialmedia?” by @BrainsOnFire [link to post] #twitter -
“Are we too dependent on #socialmedia?” by @BrainsOnFire #twitter [link to post] -
What a great post. Recently, I have been thinking of my grandfather who lived his whole life in a small town. When I would go visit in the summer, we would sit on the porch after dinner each night and just sort of silently be, we would watch the people or cars go by, listen to the birds, the wind. Talk about connection! For all our new connections are we any closer to one another?
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Links de Agosto 2009: Conversas sobre redes sociais | the worst kind of thief August 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
[...] Are we too dependent on social media? – pergunta que nao pode calar, nunca, para quem trabalha com isso. Share and Enjoy: [...]
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“Are we too dependent on social media?” [link to post] (A great post but a couple weeks old–I just came across it.)
