Social
Media : a virtual room full of people where all of us are shouting out information, exchanging views and thoughts
and calling for attention. In this room there are also bystanders and those simply watching the show. There are a lucky few who get
noticed, the even luckier ones get an answer and of course the luckiest of all
who find their solution and are able to offer a solution.
All jokes aside, Social Media is the
most powerful platform today to promote yourself, exchange information in a
matter of seconds, build a good image and also screw someone over in a jiffy.
All that on the largest global stage fabricated from web-based technologies, where we are all equal and so equal that
we even feel close enough to a celebrity to offer our condolences to them when
one of their parents passes away.
Social media has only come to
possess us in the recent years and prior to that we pretty much relied on
traditional methods of advertising for our businesses and on a personal level
we actually picked up the phone and made a call. In Social Media one doesn't need a physical voice, all you need is a keypad and the knowledge to be able to communicate in your given language.
I decided to go back in time and
step into the year 2001 for a few days. I disabled my smartphone a few levels
and switched off my IM functions, deleted my total of seven social media Apps
and kept active only my email accounts, SMS and phone calls. I did realise this
would be a sticky affair for me considering I use Social Media not only for
work but also on a personal level to promote my blog and to keep in touch with
people.
Nevertheless, I was prepared to take
the leap and actually was looking forward to a week without knowing what
someone ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, how the view of the sky was from
an airplane, what Candy Crush level someone had crossed, where someone had
checked in to drink a cup of coffee, which song they were listening to at 02.23
am or how the change in weather was affecting someone’s mood. With absolutely
no offense to anyone, it was simply an experiment I was ready to embark upon.
Initially I felt hugely responsible
to inform a few people of my disappearance and this is when I truly realised
there was literally only a handful of people who would be hugely affected by my
absence on all these networks. An eye opener that was!
I had all kinds of reaction, ranging
from “ok”, “what? L Why? Are you okay?”, “when will you be back?”
(this last one felt like I was moving to Nepal and detaching from the world), and “I don’t believe you will last for more than a day”.
As amusing as all these reactions
were, all these people adjusted to my needs and I was humbled by their efforts
to call me from abroad, email me and not expect an instant reply or even leave
messages with other people for me.
Apart from my phone battery lasting
longer these days, I noticed my mind was relaxed and not scattered. I was not
concerned about replying my Whatsapp’s,
updating my status on FB or Twitter, Pinning a dress I liked in a store,
enhancing my pictures on Instagram,
searching for music on Spotify,
watching Youtube videos or reading
poetry on Tumblr. What a mouthful
that was right? Imagine all the time I was saving?
Instead I read the newspaper once a
day, used my memory to wish a good friend a Happy Birthday and actually met her
for a coffee, without doing a Foursquare check in or taking a picture of our
doughnuts and posting them on Instagram.
I called my mother and spoke to her for an hour, I read a novel in all my
waiting breaks, cleaned out my Inbox, emptied my Trash and deleted over two
hundred pictures from my phones memory. It was like Feng Shui was being
performed on my phone and I was happy to let it happen.
I did notice also how the social
part of the media is simply “a boredom filler” for most of us. I call this TP
(Time Pass). If I was missing on
Facebook, no one really cared and if I didn’t tweet or pin then again no one
really cared. I was used to speaking to certain people in this social media
manner on a daily basis and actually began to believe for a while “yeah we are
close!” It’s not that I am not fond of those people or vice versa, but in all
honesty had there not been a medium in between, well perhaps communication
would be nil or limited. Does this ring a bell? The good old days when we only
spoke to someone when there was a true need and this did not label you as anti
social did it? I have mentioned my Fist of Five before and in these past few
days that fist was alive and very much active, without an instrument in between
which held us together.
Conclusions. I agree I did have
withdrawal symptoms on occasions and I was especially keen to check up on the
posts that were made by some bloggers I follow and I also felt a need to see
certain pictures. Nevertheless, this need was not a desperate one and I
reminded myself that I could easily survive without these networks and there
are other things in my life I most definitely would not survive without. I am
luckily not one of those people who suffers from compulsive status updating,
but I would like to remind everyone that it’s not healthy to share your
problems publicly because other than being judged and probably ridiculed, the
fact is Lou Holtz said that 20% don’t actually care and the remaining 80% are
actually glad you have them. This is very disturbing and the same applies for
your victories and triumphs. 20% don’t care and 80% are probably jealous.
We all do it, I do it and I proudly
post, tweet, pin, check in, like, comment, repost and I would dislike too if
the option was there. However, it’s good to find a balance and this is one more
addiction that can be remedied.
An interesting fact I observed was
the time I take to use social media for my business and blog promotion everyday
is not more than thirty minutes in total. Yet somehow on a personal level we
are able to spend 4-5 hours a day on these networks. Doing what? Well that you
should know!
In a positive light, I believe
Social Media is fantastic for all the introverts out there. It enables the
Internet to act as a buffer first and allows you to prepare for your answers.
There are a lot of people who suffer from speech impediments and Social Media
has broken down those barriers of prejudice for such people. It boosts their
confidence and brings them out of their bubble.
Social Media has also brought the world
closer on many levels. It is easier to share knowledge that can be very useful
to others via this medium. Blogs play a large role and bring out the objective
arguments of many services, products and solutions offered to consumers. An
example I like to use is for the hospitality industry. Thanks to you the social
media user, I get to hear about your experience at a restaurant or hotel. It
enables me to make my decision more carefully and I am deeply thankful for
these insights.
Use these magnificent tools to empower you, don't let social media overpower you!
A piece of me
