Will Social Media Eventually Replace our Loved Ones?

“I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots”

Albert Einstein

There has been enough speculation about whether or not Einstein really made the above statement— that is not my concern. However, what I am truly concerned about is the fact that we could well be on our way to fulfilling the above “prophesy”.

Ask yourself. How many times have I grabbed my phone, simply because there was “nothing else” to do? I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves.

Staggering Statistics.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has found out that kids aged 8-18 years old spend over 7 hours a day using electronic media. The average time actually spent on smartphones, per day is about 3 hours. Out of these hours, we spend 1 hour, 16 minutes on the top five social media apps, garnering 2, 617 times a person will tap, swipe, and click each day.

As though that is not enough, research shows that 80% of smartphone users check their phone within 1 hour of going to sleep or waking up—35% of which will do so within 5 minutes.

In fact, check your dictionary right now, there is such a thing as Phubbing (phone-snubbing). 85% of phone users will check their device while speaking with friends and family. (Aren’t we all guilty? God have mercy!).

I could go on and on about the numbers and the sheer implication of all these, but I’ll probably let you find out for yourself.

Bonus: There are more currently more phones than people in the world.

Not Good. Not Bad.

It’s the truth—social media is neither good, nor bad. As my father would always inquire, “What are you doing on there?”

With the world going digital and all, it’s almost impossible not to go online to check the latest development on social media, gain access to information and data, and get ahead on shopping, stock trading and auctions. In truth, you are able to read this because of your phone, or whatever link directed you here. Yes, there are various advantages.

On the flip side, there is also such a thing as phone addiction—Nomophobia. Not to the phone itself, of course, but to its content. To be honest, no one would really agree that he/she is addicted to his/her phone (I certainly wouldn’t). We’d all argue that this email is important, that we have to send this text or that we absolutely have to see that viral video.

Not that there’s anything wrong with all that—but there should be a line somewhere that we should not cross. A line beyond which you do not control your phone, but it controls you. That’s where the danger really is.

Break up with your phone—now!

Don’t panic! Y’all can still be friends (LOL). Maybe you’d take me more seriously, if I tell you your life is at stake here—because it is. These tech people are not out for your data subscription, or whatnot, what they are really after is your attention. Unbelievably, your time is your life—and you have to curb the amount of time you spend online, so you can focus on investing it a little.

Build relationships. Not just virtual ones alone, but also real relationships as well. Spend time enjoying art, read more books, communicate with people, enjoy and develop your talents, spend more time with God.

In short, what I’m trying to say is—manage your time! When next you feel like mindlessly flipping out your phone at home, or in a crowd, force yourself to remember that there is a life waiting for you outside of the virtual.

PS. Do me a little favor by commenting on this post, and sharing to as many people that need this—that should be everybody.