Engagement through social media, or e-engagement, as we may call it, is not just a way to build new contacts now, but also a way to voice your opinions in a time when people want to know your thoughts, but do not have the time to stand and share them with you.
Social contact, through social media or real relationships, is essential for a healthy living. A new study by John Cacioppo, psychology professor at the University of Chicago, reveals that social contact and regular exercise contribute to healthy aging, and also increase life span.
A blaring question here is that social contact now is dominated by social media. And when virtual life dominates the real one, how do you maintain moderation? On the other hand, internet addiction disorder (IAD) is on the rise. North America’s first inpatient clinic for Internet Addiction opened last year at Bradford Regional Medical Center in Pennsylvania. Social media is encompassing everything, but like other technologies, this exciting tool is slowly revealing its dark side.
Saying “I am very social” today has a different connotation from what it had, may be, 10 years ago. At that time “social” meant meeting in-person and sharing physical space. It included enlivening all five sensory functions of our body: touch, smell, sight, and hearing. The “new social” still lacks touch and smell. (I am not counting taste so significantly because I believe this sensory feeling still has personal boundaries to it.)
The social media space is growing each day and posing threats to real relationships. But are these really threats? May be yes, if we forget moderation. If it’s forgotten, we may slowly slip under the IAD scanner. But I fail to understand at times, how should an active social media person draw the line? Is it really a one-person effort?
Once we start using social media, we cannot avoid it. And even if we don’t want to start using it, there are many influencers to get us started. It’s addictive. No wonder why IAD is on the rise. The bottom-line is everyone has to set his/her own personal limits. We need to distinguish the “new social” from “real social”, we need to share physical space, and we need to exercise moderation.
You remember we teach kids about moderation when eating junk? Now we ourselves need to refrain from eating junk: the internet junk. It’s time to re-plan our days with more time for real people.
Let’s get somewhat real! Let’s take out time for the real social. Will you also take out the time to get real or do you prefer sticking to the “new social”? Or will you, like me, try to get, at least, somewhat real?
Video: http://bit.ly/1mtbvh4
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