The Devils Advocate

This week I read the case "How Large U.S. companies can Use Twitter and Other Social Media to Gain Business Value". While informative and very systematic in its assessment of the corporate use of social media, I found this case to be rather dry and less than inspiring for my blog post. So, this week I have decided to finally take on the role of the devil's advocate.

I have decided tonight, to finally write about the pervasive and fairly addictive role that technology has assumed in the wake of my generation, which has prompted myself and many of my friends to comment, we were born in the wrong generation.

It cannot be denied of course that our society has benefited from the technological innovation and improvements that have occured, including improved medical care, access to information and an overall raised standard of living. However, while the world has become increasingly smaller as connectivity has exponentially increased, I tend to question this connectivity and the quality of the social ties that are formed through various forms of social media and texting. While their is something to be said about becoming friends with the click of a button, can you really call that person is a friend? The world of social media while instant, is really just an overwhelming collection of loose ties, but can you really say that all these ties are worth as much as 20 strong ties? Obviously it depends on your end goal, but considering these ties in a non job hunting capacity I would have to say no. For me I truly could not call the majority of these flash boiled, instant "friendships" actual friendships. When I consider my best friends, there is no doubt in my mind that they would do anything for me, but can I really say the same for the 1,135 other facebook " friends" of mine. While mediums like Facebook and Twitter serve as good means of bolstering and allowing for maintenance of close friendships, I think it is impossible to truly create something as personal as a friendship when your interactions are NOT in person.

And yet I cannot turn on the TV without seeing at least one commercial for Match.com or various other digital dating services. I think one of the reasons I am most envious of my parents' generation is that communication and friendships were about the people and not about the tools of connectivity. Sitting here in the library, I cannot walk two feet in any direction without seeing at least one kid on facebook, everybody is doing... myself included. And there in lies the problem, if you aren't doing it, what are you doing and how are you connecting with your generation because Facebook has taken on a life of its own. Just in the past six years since Facebook's inception, the Facebook culture has led to the creation of virtual goods, farms... you name it, but sadly it is also creating these weakened, impersonal and digitally based relationships. I feel like people get so caught up in the tool that they forget why it is there in the first place. If we spend half as much time actually WITH the people we are "stalking" on Facebook I feel people get a deeper, more substance based bond rather than a mere superficial "wall to wall" connection. As people's tendencies become predominately Facebook focused and introverted, I feel that they are missing out on the real world social interactions that are so important in life, not to mention stunting the potential growth of strong long term friendships that go beyond the superficial surface.

So, there is Thing One and obviously there is Thing Two in the realm of social media and communication. Thing One being Facebook and Thing Two being TEXTING. If there is one thing that drives me crazy it is the obsessive texting culture that has slowly consumed our generation. Cell phones are great and all and I really don't know how I would contact anyone or make plans without one, but the idol chitchat that occurs via texting is infuriating. Any given time or place, it is completely standard to see a smattering of students, at the very least, heads down staring intently, as they type feverishly away while staring at the tiny display of their mobile device, while simultaneously ignoring the real world unfolding around them. The worst being when two people are sitting at the same table and one of them is so completely consumed by their digital conversation that they forget to listen and contribute to the real life conversation unfolding in front of them.

Apart from being consumed by our cell phones, in our ever pressing need for speed and instant access, texting also means we must forgo quality conversation and interaction that you gain from personal interaction. More and more I hear people stressing out about the subliminal messages within a text message because so much is lost in translation that texting become somewhat of a complicated art form of decoding. When you speak to someone in person there are never such issues because feelings and emotions shine through and make it very clear as tot the meaning of a message. I can't bear the thought of everyone walking around heads down so all consumed by messages that in effect are more trouble than they are worth.

So sure there is the practicality component, but in the grand scheme I ask, are the tradeoffs worth it? In our attempt to stay connected, are we not hoping on a runaway train and getting dragged along, riding full speed ahead towards past the point of no return?