Social media channels alienate us from one another but also inform and entertain us. Are you nostalgic for the days you’d sit with your friends at a table and converse with them, getting their full attention? That time is gone.
Yes, you can still congregate with friends and family members, but the quality of such gatherings isn’t as good as it used to be.
Nowadays, people can be sitting at one table but busy with their phones. No talking, no conversing, no paying attention.
You better observe this reality for yourself to validate the truth of these statements. You can see four persons sitting across from each other, but all are obsessed with their phones screen. They’re either texting or watching something, although that something might be inaudible. This is alienation. Social media applications are drifting us apart.
Their alienation has permeated every circle of our society (this matter only applies to people with an internet connection). Even individuals within the same household are estranged from one another. They’re overtaken by the social media hypnotic fixation. For instance, children with phones are preoccupied with games and other distractions; parents are fixated on their phones’ screens.
People appear to be enjoying their smartphones more than they do with the company of their kith and kin. When glued to social media, we don’t like to be bothered or perturbed. No interruption, no annoyance. We prefer to be left alone, for we’re on a big mission, bigger than the company of family members and friends.
Although social media channels make us lonelier, they inform us and entertain us to the extent we may not need someone’s involvement. Before this digital age, people would get together to inform and entertain one another. Some individuals might have the skill of informing and entertaining the rest. Therefore, they’d talk, while others would listen. The outcome was to get information and entertainment from those sessions. That’s a bygone era now.
At this time, we simply get news and amusement at our fingertips. They’re one touch away from us. Just unlock your phone’s screen and slide to the social media app you desire to use. Do you need to read the news? It’s there for you. Do you need to watch clips on Facebook or view videos on YouTube? They’re readily available.
From the comfort of our homes, we can watch and read all important news to us on our smartphones. It’s that simple. Amazing! Isn’t it? You don’t need to call people and ask them “what happened here or there?” The social media applications provide you with timely news and hilarious entertainment.
Social media platforms are bent on distancing us from each other. But they’re promising us an alternative, which is to befriend them so that we can get informed and entertained. For better or worse, social media machines are manipulating us and moving us from one another.