Is it time to raise questions about a perfectly acceptable modern day form of communication? Am I about to raise uncomfortable perspectives that the masses would prefer not to consider?
I have formed these views following six months of visiting and reading from such sites. I also include the phenomena of e-mailing of which I have years of experience.
Clearly there is also a generational gap in understanding the benefits of social networking sites. I see the benefits it has brought my own daughter and son in their hectically busy and socially active lifestyles. But then I look back and see that people led exciting and fulfilling lives without the benefits of social networking sites.
In the days when we would put pen to paper the very fact of this action caused a presence of mind to dominate. We approached the act of communication with a deliberation and focus that pressing the send button does not require.
Do we actually hear much about the downside of social networking sites? Has any research been done to investigate how much depression sometimes resulting in suicides, is caused by inconsiderate words and ill thought out remarks that comes from the speed of computer drive communications? And in some cases deliberate insults. It takes less courage to speak off the cuff when faced with a non-human screen than it does in a face to face interaction.
I would like to think that the convenience and speed of such communications is actually teaching us to become mindful but somehow I doubt it. It is usually after a difficult and painful experience that such mindfulness arises.
I have in the past been guilty of firing off words from a state of emotional hurt and anger not thinking how my words would be received. And I learned to my cost that they did hurt, and caused a loss of trust that is taking years to overcome.
If we have not developed a strong sense of identity and are subject to low self-esteem or depression, reading about the successes, pleasures, friendships and happiness of others on social network sites, can actually compound our problems. You could also equally say that communicating our problems to others brings understanding and compassion and helps us see a different perspective that begins a healing process.
You see the problem is when we cannot see and "feel" the energy of the person to whom we are communicating there is a tendency to merely project our own mind-set with complete disregard of another's state of being.
One big advantage is there is less chance of keeping secrets anymore. As whistle-blower's sites prove and this can only be a good thing.
Certainly we will never return to living lives without these communications unless a catastrophic incident occurs that renders us technically bereft for a while. But maybe next time we are about to press the "send" button, we could stop and re-read what we have written and ask ourselves, "would I like to receive this?"
"Do onto others as you would have them do onto you?"
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