Just a moment, I'm posting this. A few years ago, I attended a social media event. This is an event where people gather and share their ideas with an audience.
Many of these influencers had spent years creating videos and sharing their stories and encouraging others to build authentic relationships. I watched with enthusiasm each one walk into the conference and right on by, headed for the most Instagram-worthy location in the conference hall. With each attempt, I was able to get to the conference hall. In an attempt to introduce myself, I was ignored or brushed off. You see, they chose to connect online rather than to connect with a human being.
They chose social media over the potential of a real relationship right in front of them. That was the moment. the moment that changed my perspective. Social media is making us unsocial.
Social media is killing relationships. Social media is replacing experiences. Look familiar?
Or this? How about this? Social media has changed the way we live our lives, from the way we get news to the way we interact with loved ones.
It's everywhere. It's powerful. and it's growing.
According to the Global Web Index, we spend on average two hours a day on social media and it's increasing at a rate of two minutes per day. Over the course of a lifetime, that's five years and four months on social media. That's over 40,000 hours.
The experience of art and history are being replaced with a digital representation of those things. Rather than visit a museum or art gallery, we take to Instagram to view the works of artists like Banksy. Social media is impacting social issues too.
Have you heard the term slacktivism? While social media activism brings awareness to societal issues, the awareness isn't translating into real change. It's a shift to devices. People are pressing a like button rather than actively engaging with campaigns in real life. We care more about how other people perceive our adventures than actually having them.
The urge to check social media is stronger than the urge for sex, yet both are driven by a need to connect. Many relationships have been j- ...deportized or ruined because of micro-cheating, pushing the boundaries of fidelity through social media. We know that the world is changing with every passing moment because of technological inventions and rapid adoption of the technology.
But technology is not the problem. We are. And the reality is we are slowly becoming addicted. How do I know? I'm on the inside.
For the past 20 years, I've been in marketing. And as long as there are advertisers looking to capture your attention and get you hooked, there will be new social platforms. There will be new social channels. For the last few years, I had been creating content on social, specifically on LinkedIn, and I was named a top voice on the platform. But what I realized was, the more I was creating online and building relationships online, I was losing touch with people in real life.
After food and shelter, our need to belong and feel positively connected is arguably the number one predictor of health, happiness, well-being, and even longevity. Human connection brings complex value to our lives. It's the interactive exchange that defines us.
We need to use social media as a support to building real relationships, not a catalyst to losing them. Remember, some of the most brilliant minds in the world, think Silicon Valley Tech, have dedicated their lives to making social media more addictive. We need to get aggressive to get our focus back.
We can do it. Here's how. Turn notifications off.
Delete social media apps from your phone. Educate others and help our children understand how to manage their usage. Use Facebook. Use social media to build relationships and take it offline.
We already know the risks. Anxiety, isolation, depression, cyberbullying, low self-worth. We can do it.
Let's disconnect to connect. Thank you.