Okay, I’ve said my blog is to try and make your day a bit better and promote positivity but I need to bring some awareness to this post about the darker side of social media. You see the highly powerful influence it has on us is one of the reasons for starting up this blog on mindfulness and spending more time outdoors. I’ll go into more detail why I think that we are a generation that needs to consider being more mindful and perhaps a little less inclined to be hooked on social media.
I confess to liking social media just like the majority of us (although in small doses I have to add). If you are reading this it is thanks to social media like Google and Facebook…but I am aware that valuable time needs to be spent away from the computer or smartphone and spent in the company of family and friends, or being active by going for a run, hike or being in a club or following a hobby. Anything that involves physical, direct interaction with other people and the environment.
Are we a happier bunch?
We love a bit of gossip, some news we like to believe in whether it’s true or false, have a chat, state an opinion, or just being nosey as to what is going on in other people’s lives regardless of if you know them intimately or not. Much time can be spent daily connecting to our mobiles or computers checking our FB account, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat…it’s irresistable. Does this bring more happiness? Or are we not even aware of how it makes us feel as we’re so caught up?
Technology is advancing at such a rapid rate and now more information is at our fingertips than ever before. We can be immersed with so much information that it can be overwhelming. What we might not be aware of is that technology has been distracting us from our bodies which means that we are losing our ability to pay attention to our senses. Instead we are absorbed by our smartphones and computers. We are more interested in what’s happening on FB, YouTube, etc., etc. than what is happening right here. We are more connected through our screens and wanting to know what happens elsewhere than savouring the tastes and smells of the meal set out on the table. We’ve actually ‘evolved’ from being alert and attentive hunters to being audiovisual beings, ie. a pair of eyes and a pair of ears connected to eight fingers and two thumbs, a screen (and don’t forget that credit card). Social media doesn’t appreciate that humans have bodies.
Now do you get the idea why I meditate and go outdoors to remain connected to the here and now, to the body as well as mind, to what is real and to work at remaining focused and balanced? Mindfulness helps bring awareness to not becoming addicted to social media and maintaining a healthier balance without feeling attachments or anxieties.
Audiovisual beings
Today is all about ‘sharing experiences’ on the web. We post news, take a picture, and wait for the “likes”. Our feelings are increasingly determined by the online reactions rather than by our actual experience.
When audiovisual beings are estranged from their bodies, senses, and physical environment they are more likely to feel alienated, lonely and disorientated. This is rather concerning when social media like FB encourages people to spend more and more time online leaving less energy to devote to other activities. Now wouldn’t it be great if FB invested in a tool to encourage more meaningful offline activities, caring more for our social and health concerns than over its financial interests, but I don’t think that is in FB’s business model. Can you imagine after being connected for let’s say 30 minutes, FB makes a suggestion, for example, “Please leave FB now for a while, get outdoors, move your body, feel the air on your skin, notice the smells…” It sounds laughable but just really think about it…wouldn’t it help us reconnect with our body and senses?
It’s not all bad
I’ve come to realise how very few of my online friends I actually know intimately. I imagine this could be the same for anyone who has in excess of 200 people in their account. Now I’m not going to knock FB completely because it’s true that I have also made some really good friends through groups that connect us, such as the Simple Minds FB groups, (and please don’t be offended if I don’t respond with a “like” or a comment to all your posts and likewise I’m not offended if only one person reads this). Thanks to social media like FB, this has also allowed me to share my blog with you. I receive some news that is of interest to me as I rarely watch TV. I can connect via Skype, Messenger or WhatsApp with my family overseas for free. It has even be an educational source. But there is always a price for receiving these goodies. In exchange we are also giving away our very own privacy and information about ourselves.
Giving away intimate data
We don’t need to listen to ourselves anymore. We give away so much data that now algorithms come up with answers for us: which books to read, what our ideal partner is like, what type of personality we have, what kind of music suits you, what type of news interests you, which political party to vote for…We don’t have to look inside ourselves anymore; just use our fingertips to access the information we need for us.
Algorithms have the capability of shaping an individual’s decisions without that person even knowing it and this is concerning, especially as it means the power to manipulate large population groups.
“Ignorance is strength.”
George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’
But let’s not get all doom and gloom here, on the upside we face far fewer obstacles to getting what we want leading to more instant gratification and all that information, thanks to the power of algorithms, are so easily accessible at our fingertips. Let’s not pay attention to an old philosopher like Epicurus who pointed out that an immoderate pursuit of pleasure inevitably leads to misery. (Forgive me for my sarcastic humour.)
The people at Silicon Valley
We can thank the employees at Silicon Valley for their incredible work on developing the internet. In all fairness, they originally saw the internet as a tool for social revolution rather than for money making. However, this vision over recent years has been distorted with many not envisioning the consequences that have occurred. The fast pace of introducing new technologies, our busy lives, so many changes, all this doesn’t allow time to even consider what might become of us in the future.
Now Silicon Valley has become aware of something that they’re not openly communicating with us. They’ve become aware of how addictive and hard it is to disconnect from social media and even employees at FB impose themselves limits to using social media. There’s been increasing concern about people’s ability to focus being more limited as it’s so distracting. Children of Silicon Valley workers are sent to Waldorf schools where smartphones and laptops are banned. Some employees at Silicon Valley prohibit their children access to computers and phones until they are 14 years of age with settings for access restrictions and time limits. Employers invest in seeking out the best mindfulness teachers to come in and give courses to their employees. It seems that Silicon Valley now realise that social media has turned into compulsions.
So what can we do to control those compulsions?
It is possible to find a healthier balance over our use of social media without having to dismiss it completely. For example there are many apps which give rewards for not using the phone when you need to focus. One example which was created by an employee at Silicon Valley is Pocket Points. If you are an avid You Tube user there’s DF You Tube to control distractions. For restrictions to internet access on your router, a quick visit to the setup page of your router can establish restrictions for some or all devices.
And finally, don’t forget to look after your body as well as your mind. Get out, go for a run or a walk, focus on your breath and sensations in your body and live in the moment. That laptop/computer/smartphone can wait for a while.
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