Social media platforms like facebook etc have become our new address. A new plane of existence. Few days back I was looking at an award winning photograph in which a bunch of people were taking photo of a celebrity from their mobile phone. Everybody had mobiles in their hand clicking the photo and looking in the viewfinder on the phone, except an elder woman. Now! Some might say that she may not be knowing how to use a smart phone. But the expressions she had on the face told a different story. She didn’t want to miss the moment in real by living it in the screen, rather this lady was experiencing the moment right there.
Maslow in his hierarchy of needs mentioned about the social and psychological need to be appreciated and liked that still stands true. What has changed is the medium. Be a function or a travel destination, don’t you find yourself more interested to ‘look happy’ in the picture rather than ‘feel happy’ in the moment? I met a close friend after a long time in an alumni function, who is living a super exciting life outside the native country. I see his regular updates on facebook for the weekends that he spends partying and doing adventure sports. When I met him, he seemed to be a very different person. He was seeming so tired with his busy life where partying and weekend vacations also looked like a task to him. It seemed that he was obliging himself to portray a happy life. On contrary another friend of mine who had a no lesser busy lifestyle seemed more alive and natural. I asked him about his typical week’s activities and was surprised, he had nothing exciting to do big like the other friend. All that he did was investing his time in real people in the real world. He enjoyed being with people and being associated with happy memories of people.
How many of us do that today? Don’t we wish people on their Birthdays and Anniversaries by SMS / Messages rather than taking out few minutes to visit them or even Call them? Have we lost the human touch? Yes, indeed the convenience from technology has made us so lazy that we often complaint that life is not the same as it used to be few years back. It is not that the Life is faster than it was earlier. Rather technology has enabled us to communicate at even faster rate. It is the use of technology for the convenience than communication that has let to this.
Imagine yourself in 2 scenarios, first one, sitting alone in a room with a Laptop and receiving 1000 likes for your post or Second one, with your friends on a street food joint and roasting each other. Which scene will you want to see yourself in?
Get LIKE in the REAL Life. Likes on social media at times are nothing more than a contract for getting liked back by others.
Sending Love, Laughter and Joy…. Parth