Limitations

A group of friends decided to have a party to carve pumpkins, I wasn't invited. Starbucks was giving away free coffee, I wasn't told. Threadless had a fashion show, I didn't see it. It seems in todays fast paced social atmosphere the concept of one on one interaction is disappearing. Replaced by a virtual soap box dubbed Web 2.0. Though this new revolution of social networking is shattering our previous limitations, we are paying a hefty price.

Gone are the days of greeting neighbors on the street or idle conversation with a stranger. We have become slaves to our own creations where we spend our time communicating with people all over the world while ignoring the immediate reality around us. All of our improved communication has created a bubble around our individuality and formed a vacuum for personal interaction.

How many times have you been eating a meal to have someone excuse themselves so they can answer what is most likely an arbitrary phone call? Our generation is more interested in Facebook relationship status updates than the people standing a few feet away from them. We can now answer any question and communicate with anyone in the world with just a few pushes of a button but we are losing our need for the physical.

I am not saying that these new tools shouldn't be used and developed. Social media has brought the potential for tremendous enlightenment to people from all different walks of life. Education, travel, and many other aspects of our lives have changed for the better but we must not ignore where our desire for contact comes from. Its not a chat room or a web page but rather with flesh and blood people in different physical situations.

Though I reside in the spectrum of social media I have yet to delve right into the deep end. I prefer to use these tools as a way to broaden my knowledge and communicate with colleagues on a wide range of concepts. It is not a replacement nor even a supplement for my desire to talk to people face to face. It is this feeling that stirs a slight feeling of isolation. I am not the norm because I don't share every aspect of my life with the Internet community. I prefer to share my thoughts with actual speaking and not posts that have suffered through editing and scrutiny.

I equate the social media community with standing in a dark cave with thousands of other individuals. If I yell loud enough, my voice can be heard echoing throughout. If other people like what they hear they will pass the message further down the cave. If they don't they will shout back, a faceless specter in the dark. Without being able to see my opponent, my frustration can quickly develop into hatred or even rage. We have all heard of such stories in the media of suicides, gang fights, and stalkings that have been born of this creation. Without the restraint of common decency we are nothing but savages.

Though I could speak volumes about the benefits and ailments of our current on-line culture I feel I have made my point. Social Media is an exciting and expansive resource. Being able to connect to billions of people and limitless information can actually make you feel omnipotent or at least brilliant. It is when we give in to this revelation that we start to lose our physical selves. Eye contact becomes a screen name. Conversation becomes a blog. Friendship becomes a profile setting.

Losing our psyche in this endless expanse of opinion and information is a dangerous thought and I for one prefer to keep my feet on the ground and my head in the clouds so I propose a simple idea: speak. Make sure you spend more time talking than typing. Stop virtualizing you life and return to the days where people talked to each other and not at each other. Its a two way street and we're turning it into an on-ramp.