It’s not funny anymore
You’ve seen the picture on your facebook page and instagram feed. “Quality Family Time,” followed by the shot of 4 or more family members sitting around a couch scrolling on their devices not speaking to each other. The humor of it all seems so obvious by now that you end up shrugging your shoulders in an act of acceptance. Except it’s not funny anymore. It’s now become a dangerous example of how we are losing the very skill set that sets us apart from earth's other creatures. The ability to listen and discern information from each other by using direct human interaction. The scary part is not the lack of conversation.. its losing the ability to have a conversation at all.
Be honest, when is the last time you heard the words, “we need to talk” and not have an immediate knot in your stomach. Real talk with real stakes is something we’ve learned to avoid at all cost.
I don’t have to tell you we’ve broken up when I can text you the information on the way to the gym.
I don’t need to personally offer my condolences, when I could write them to you on your facebook page.
Why talk about something upsetting when an emoji will suffice!
Look…this is not an old man get off my lawn rant. I like social media and the power it brings to people looking to express themselves. It would be naive for me to say we have to go back to the way things were. (I wouldn’t even know what year that would be! As long as we bypass the 60 ft long cord kitchen phones I’m good.)
But the fact that one to one personal interaction, especially amongst young people, has become a developmental problem when mixed with the continued rise of social media. A Stanford study of over 2,000 8–12 year girls showed that, “the choices that our children are making — when and how they engage with these media and in what situations — are shaping their social relationships, social well-being, and time availabilities for school-related study and other activities.”
Listen, it’s fucking scary to open your mouth and offer your opinions on a topic to someone else. There is no comment section, reply key or like button to hide behind and the reaction you get in return could sting a bit. But if you don’t test the the ground you're standing on how do you know how firm it is? If our ideas and thoughts shape our individuality, how can you explain yourself if you can’t express them directly to others?
