Is Being Connected Causing us to Feel Disconnected?

So, the question is essentially, how is technology impacting our connections? My opinion is that for every good quality of technology, there is ultimately a not quite as good point to be considered. 

Let’s start with the most obvious…Social Media….

I like and use social media, and I see the benefits of it. We can share pictures, thoughts and feelings with our friends and families that we don’t see all the time. We can get a glimpse into the lives of the celebrities that we like and get ideas for all things hobby, and home decor that we could imagine! Some social media allows us to connect with others that have similar interests to us in the forms of groups and we can chat with others either through direct messaging or through commenting. All these things are things that we likely would rather not give up, considering how many users of the various social media websites there are.

On the other hand, social media can cause us to feel lacking in so many ways. The glimpses into other’s lives are often staged, or a moment in time where everyone smiles for the camera and they go back to arguing or ignoring each other immediately after. But the piece we see, and focus on is what they decide to share. This isn’t me saying that those photos are negative, it’s saying that it can cause us to feel envious of what others have or experience without actually knowing all the information. We see all these photos of things and can sometimes end up comparing our lives with what we’re seeing and that may make us feel “less than”. 

I tend to stay away from the comments sections of any news articles, where everyone has their opportunity to speak their mind about whatever has been shared. I do this because if I feel strongly about what is being commented on, I’ll be enticed to reply and frankly, people in the comments sections can be extremely mean or toxic and I leave filled with negative energy, angry and sometimes hurt, which is not the place that I want to be in. 

Social Media can allow people to communicate at all hours of the day and night, which can decrease someone’s feelings of loneliness because realistically, it doesn’t matter what time it is, there is always someone online! Before this, we likely wouldn’t be calling someone at 3am to chat, because we wouldn’t want to risk waking them up, but now it’s so much easier. You see that green dot by their profile and you know they’re awake and online!

Social Media also increases bullying in all age groups. People use the term keyboard warriors or trolls to describe people who feel protected from consequence because they’re hiding behind a keyboard. They can say whatever they want, no matter how hurtful, because they’re hidden essentially, they don’t even have to use their own name. This affects adults as well as kids. It can be hard to deal with this on the receiving end and has sadly resulted in extreme situations such as suicide and self-harm as a result of the relentless bullying. 

Access to Information

Access to information has increased exponentially since technology has improved. We can research anything we want to know more about in a matter of seconds, which is way more convenient than going to a library and reading numerous books on a topic. We can access our own information so much faster too! Remember when, after getting blood work you had to wait days to find out the results. I don’t know about you, but even if I was confident that everything was fine, it still stressed me out waiting! And the worst part…the doctor’s office only called if the results were bad! They didn’t even tell you if everything was fine! Now, we create a profile and can access the results good or bad, usually within 24 hours! Ahhh…technology!

The downside to this accessing information includes things like, when you’re researching a topic, you can’t be certain that you can trust the information. Ultimately, no matter what you look up, you can find information to support whatever angle you’re looking at it from. Articles are biased and not necessarily research based (this article is an example of someone’s opinions and experiences, rather than scientific research). 

The other obvious downside to accessing information is that there is always a risk that someone who is not you, is accessing it too. How many sites or organizations have had their information breached and leaked? This has over the years included everything from banking and finance institutions to dating sites and more.

Technology is there 24 hours a day…until it’s not…

During the pandemic many families and companies relied on technology to keep connected. Families were having holiday dinners via facetime and companies were allowing employees to work from home. It was so important to have this access in order to remain connected, and in a lot of ways, we were fortunate to have these capabilities. We relied on the internet for everything and even once restrictions in most countries were lifted, many companies continued having employees work from home because they realized the cost benefit of not having to house them in a large office building during work hours. 

Then the worst thing happened. A large telecommunications provider had a major network issue and stopped working for a day. Everyone, companies, families, individuals, lost the ability to communicate. People lost so much money due to not being able to work online, debit machines didn’t have connectivity and so on. We rely on technology so much, most of us don’t even have landlines, a lot of kids today don’t even know that phones with cords exist! The system got back up and running and we carried on, and then…..it happened again! This time even going as far as to impact 911 lines for some areas, making it impossible for people to call for help in the case of an emergency.

We rely on technology so much, there is no back up plan. If our cell phones and internet aren’t working, we aren’t either, it’s that simple. 

So Is technology bad? 

Absolutely not, as long as its function is kept in perspective. We need to realize the benefits of disconnecting as well as connecting. When we put our phones down, we are more present, we give more of ourselves and we get more of others when we’re face to face. We need to remember, that chatting online is great, but there are benefits to seeing others in person as well. 

We can build real connections online, but human beings are social creatures, and even the most introverted person still needs human connection. So use the technology, and access the information, but remember that if you can access it, so can others and that just because it’s on the internet, doesn’t necessarily make it true!

XO Sabrina