Recently, I took a short hiatus from using social media. Which, for me, is just Facebook and Instagram. I wanted to take some time to go inward to figure some things out about myself. I'm a very busy person with two kids to care for, a full time job that has demanded a lot of overtime lately, and still acclimating to a new home. I was starting to question why I felt the need to share things on social media and trying to remember what life was like before social media. I am a normal person with hardships and triumphs that occur daily. But I rarely post anything about the hardships online. Only the triumphs. I have done this consciously, in an attempt to only spread positive vibes into the world and not contribute to any negativity or venting. Plus, I prefer to keep that stuff private and deal with it within my family.
In my short search for answers, I came to see just how lonely our society has become. Many have become addicted to the constant need for reassurance in the form of a bling from your phone or notification message. Letting you know that others are there and you're not alone in the world. But in reality, we are so much more alone than we ever were before. This act of being social through our online networks leads us to believe we have so many friends and associates, but we rarely make time to meet with these people. It's almost as if our world wide connecting abilities, which is really amazing when you think about it, have made it so easy to make random friends all over the world. But has led us to alienate the people who are right here in our own towns. I like to find a balance with the awesomeness of technology and the reality of life where we physically are. Which is very hard to do! You could stay online all day for a year and still not see everything there is to see. It's overwhelming when you think about it.
I have been making an effort to be more present when I'm out and about in town. I look up, I watch people, I listen to their conversations. A little creepy, I know, but I've been blown away at how disconnected everyone is. At least in Southern California where I have moved to. Everyone is looking down at their phones or have their earbuds in. Almost a bright, blinking sign that says, "DON'T APPROACH ME". Eye contact is rarely made and when I have made eye contact, it seems to make people uncomfortable. And if it's a male person, it seems to mean that I'd like them to pursue me romantically. Which is not the case.
I've spent my fair share of time doing the online dating thing, I blog, I have a Facebook and Instagram account, I tried Twitter for like a day, I have a YouTube channel to share funny videos with and I've done meetup.com. In all of my time using these outlets, I've come to a definitive conclusion...it's all a very individualized form of people watching.
So if you're feeling lost in the world, step outside and attempt to connect with a human who lives in your area.
