Hooked On Social Media?

If you are hooked on social media, you might consider:

• Using social media to communicate with others can either help or hurt your communication, depending on how you use it.
• “Hiding” behind media (saying things online you’d never say in person), should always be a sign something is off.
• You should work on establishing real and sincere relationships. Not virtual ones.
• Professionalism in using media is becoming a huge issue. Many companies search social media before hiring.

The person you portray yourself as on Facebook, Twitter, Email, Message boards, Texting, Phone calls, gaming communities, etc. should be a reflection of who you truly are. But, more and more we hide from reality and attempt to recreate who we are by recreating an image of ourselves. This is a false portrayal.

We are also addicted to communicating terribly. The worst way to communicate with another person is through short electronic messages (e.g. texting, Twitter, etc.). But, the majority of young adults use this kind of communication most frequently. Fully 90% of young adults sleep within arms reach of their phones, because they don't know how to unplug themselves.

It also affects how we communicate and relate to one another. It is nearly impossible to read someone's body language, when behind a computer. The ultimate result of any communication will either increase or decrease the bond of love between two people.

If we are constantly plugged-in to media, we unlearn how to interact with other humans face-to-face. We can forget the faces we see in real life are more important than those on the screens.

Studies show that most people in younger generations spend a significant amount of time using media to communicate and it can negatively change the way we view the human person. To guard against such tendencies, we should not try and re-create our image on the internet.  The fact is that we are who we are.  Our identity should bleed out of every area of our lives. We should also set limits on how frequently we use social media and for how long.

Of course, there are many positive elements to electronic and social media. But, too much of a good thing...

So, if you are hooked on Facebook, Twitter, etc., then you will appreciate these two "musicals".