As with most all modern technology, there are positive as well as negative effects and outcomes. I remember it was not all that long ago we had the ability to drive our vehicles a couple of miles down the road without any form of electronic communication; it didn’t exist. But, now, we usually turn around the second we realize we don’t have our cell phone with us. As great as cell phones can be, they have carried with them a bit of a crippling effect on our lives that I once could have never imagined.
Technology has shrunk the world, to a point, by connecting us all to one another with the pressing of a few buttons. This is a wonderful thing, but it has also created some unexpected issues. We can now instantly see and experience the entire world through a screen of colors rather than up close and in person. But when we look up and away from our screens, we have actually experienced very little and are generally alone.
Several years ago, I became grossly engulfed in playing the MMORPG, World of Warcraft. I found myself thinking about it constantly and counting the minutes until I could get back in the game. I had developed “friendships” with people around the world that were as addicted as me to this online fantasy world and I didn’t want to miss out on anything by being away for too long. I’m not sure what happened, but one day something clicked inside me and I thought, what am I doing? Life is out here, not in this damn game. I immediately canceled my membership and never returned. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from me.
I was reminded of this peculiar mindset recently while reading an article about F.O.M.O. (Fear of Missing Out). The author of the article described F.O.M.O. as “a very real emotional state produced by the constant feeling of need to keep on top of what everyone else is doing on social media – an addiction that affects anxiety levels and a general sense of wellbeing.”
How many of us have found ourselves repeatedly checking social media only moments after just previously checking it, as if there is going to be some big new post, picture or video by someone that could potentially change everything? I know I’ve been guilty of this before.
Problem is, social media gives us the ability to compare everything about our lives to (what we believe to be) the lives of others. We compare everything from our relationships, diet, figure, beauty, wealth, and standard of living. We do this with our friends as well as with others we really don’t even know that well – if at all. When we do this, we are perceiving reality through a distorted lens. I mean, we really don’t know how much of what comes across our screen is genuinely true and how much is, to some extent, fabricated and only serve to make things look to be better than they actually are.
To participate in social media is not necessarily a bad thing, so long as it is kept in check. But, like just about anything else, if you allow yourself to indulge too much, even the best of things can become harmful. Research has shown that too much time on social media can actually cause anxiety and depression. It’s tied to the way many people, consciously or subconsciously, compare themselves with others and develop a sense of envy toward them. To a great extent, it is merely a distraction from reality; as was my many squandered hours of game-time spent playing World of Warcraft.
So, while I do enjoy spending some time on social media, I would argue that the best means of connecting with others is not electronically through social media or other digital sites, games, apps or devices – but rather, in-person, through the very real physical senses that can only truly be experienced in reality; mostly situated outside of modern technology. If we should fear missing out on anything, we should fear missing out on our own life.
At least, that’s my opinion.
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