SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION
Social media is all the rage. It’s literally turned business upside down. What once was a foundation is now liquid sand. There are those that say Social Media is the new PR, the new Advertising, the new branding, the new business model… I could go on and on.
We’ve noticed that there is a dark side to all this too; that businesses and individuals that seek to connect, do so to their own detriment sometimes.
Maybe it’s that social media offers a platform for those who are shy, or flat out anti-social to become “social” and contribute without the ramifications and risks of actual “hanging out and grabbing a drink after work.” Maybe it’s that social media is an addiction and psychologists will be on the morning show’s soon talking about the “insert media overhyped words” it poses. Maybe social media isn’t evil at all. Maybe it’s the next Industrial Revolution.
Wherever your opinion fall on that spectrum, I’ve got a story that offers some evidence as to what is can be. I have recently lost a best friend to social media. We used to go to the movies, grab drinks, go fly-fishing and take long mancations together. But for the last six months, the only time that I have interacted with my best friend has been through social media. Problem? You betcha. Real human contact has been replaced. If I feel this way, imagine how his family must feel…
Which brings me to this: The “human” connection can be lost in all this cool technological connection. By relying to heavily on the platform and not taking our head out of the boat,* we tend to lose perspective on what matters. I have even seen people post that while they love the person’s online persona and writing, they were completely disappointed in the real person after they met. I see this when advertising agencies and consulting firms “specialize.” I’ll let you draw your conclusion, but if you do the math, I think you’ll get to the same place I did.
The important thing is something my dad used to say: “Pan métron áriston.” What he really meant was “all in good measure.” social media shouldn’t suck you in and make you think that all your eggs should be in one basket. It’s NOT the gotta-have-it new shiny thing on the block. If you think that, you’ll end up the same place that the Internet did in 2000. Pop.a
Don’t lose the real you. Don’t be assimilated by social media. Resistance is not futile. It’s required. Remain Authentically you. I can’t hammer this enough. If you say one thing, and do another, it’s only a matter of time before your house of cards comes crashing down. This goes for your personal brand as well as the multi-billion dollar brands.
If you are addicted, there’s help. Get it. It’s not a twelve-step process and there are no meetings. Just do what my sailing instructor told me when I was knee high, “Get your head out of the boat.” Do that, and you should be just fine.
*Head out of the boat: an obscure reference to sailing instruction. Students tend to look at lines and parts of the boat rather than where the boat is on the water, in relation to the shore and the wind.
