Hi. My name is Zachary Adam Cohen. And I am an addict.
HI ZACH!
How long will it be before we hear about social media addiction groups? Tweeters Anonymous anyone? A lot of us are spending way too much time with social media, the tools, the networks, the channels, the philosophies, the people. We’ve really got to get out more. In order to stay well-grounded and keep the perspective that will sustain us into the future, it is incumbent on those of us in deeply involved in social media to not seclude ourselves.
If you are hanging out with roughly the same group of people more than 2 days or nights a week, you need to take a step back. You may not think so, but you are not paying enough attention to important things in and around your life. It is so easy to get caught into the social media trap. We are all learning so much, meeting new people, having so much fun, why would we ever consider that perhaps we’re missing something?
You’ve got to be able to peek into the near future if you want to be able to answer this question. Because, for now, all the above is true. We are learning, we are meeting new people, we’re having a lot of fun. We’re getting hooked up with new business opportunities and relationships. We are connecting with our native communities, those that are our soul mates, through social networks. What more could we need?
But the way this all ends is that we’ll just get burned out. Seeing the same people, having the same conversations, visiting the same locations again and again…it gets stale quickly, and you won’t even recognize when it begins to take its toll on your creativity and influence. By the time you notice, it will be too late.
Too late to reconnect with the people in your life that you’ve neglected. Too late to find yourself comfortable talking about anything other than social media. Too late to find yourself another complimentary set of passions. What else will be able to excited you?
So what is a social media butterfly to do?
Step out of the comfort zone
This is so key. We absolutely have to engage people who are not just our mirror images. We have to find and engage the people and communities who are different from us. This is valuable because it once again puts us on an even playing field with everyone else. When we step into worlds where we don’t dominate, we have to go back to square zero.
I am finding this one out right now in my own life. I’ve become heavily involved in an art-world project in which I am in way over my head. But I am IN. And that has made all the difference. I’ve befriended people who were much smarter than me, who were experts in their own right. And even if they weren’t experts, they certainly had their bearings, and in playing catch up, I’ve found myself stimulating parts of my intellect that I hadn’t used in awhile.
The most important thing that I have had to confront in this process is my own confidence. In social media, the past few months have been exceedingly remunerative for my self-esteem and confidence. The quality and frequency of my blogging should tell you that much. Yeah, does that sound arrogant? Well, I am proud of myself (so there). But now that I’ve stepped out of that world, I’ve had to confront the fact that there are people all around me, much more well versed in a vocabulary, an aesthetic reality, and a historical context that is outside my purview.
I’ve had to catch up. I’ve had to go press rewind on a whole cultural moment. I’ve had to go back and get acquainted with things, ideas, people, which those around me were already comfortable with. It has been exceptionally challenging and yet I already know how valuable the experience is. That return to roots is what all social media fanatics are going to need to do. Because it is only through such acts, stepping into the unknown, that will bounce positively back onto our efforts in the areas where we ARE comfortable.
One last thing. The timing is key. It is important to do what I’ve prescribed above, precisely when you don’t have to. At the peak of your powers. That is when to make the dramatic shift. To go outside your comfort zone. To place yourself back at square one and start all over again.
It’s not as hard as it seems. After awhile, you might not even miss Twitter all that much! The HORROR!
Image Source: Alan Cleaver on Flickr
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The unfortunate reality, is that there is a perpetual mentallity bred within the subculture of “social media junkies”. We’re all evangelizin the WORD OF THE WEB to others, telling our friends how we have to get on Twitter, picking on others for not having an iPhone vs a Blackberry or other such (completely useful) phone/communication gadget and telling businesses that they HAVE to be on every social network that exists. People definitely are losing the plot here. They’re forgetting that everyone’s experience and needs are completely unique to their purpous, life, etc on the web and off. We’re stuck with our noses in our gadgets, forgetting to take a breather to regain consciousness of the world we live in…to simply eat food or even sleep. My god, I’m completely guilty of sleeping with my phone.
It’s perpetuated to such a degree where I’ve actually seen children neglected. Right out neglected for the sake of their technology and social tools. The parents are on their computer so much that they don’t take time out to cook dinner or have a normal conversation. I’ve watched whole dinner parties stuck in their phones as an onlooking “non techie” sits there bored and jilted by their “busy” friends. “Oh, I’ve got to check my Twitter!” “Sorry I wanted to just reply to this guy real quick…” We’re seeing a line between what’s priority/real and what’s easily shelved for later…FADING. The line begins to blur. And in so doing, we are forgetting the world around us. We’re forgetting to connect, to meet new people, to focus on our work and to do new things. We’re supposed to be using our resourceful and creative energy towards something great and our time is entirely eaten up by geolocation apps and communication tools. We’re sitting RIGHT effing THERE with our friends at a party, and tweeting them from the same room. It’s sad. (okay I may have ranted off topic somewhere in between. I start getting angry and the plot gets fuzzy.)
.-= Natasha Wescoat´s last blog ..Winning Ideas =-.
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