Photo courtesy of Hannah Ramesar
BY HANNAH RAMESAR
Face down, thumbs at the ready, and no human eye contact: this is the way the current generation chooses to spend their free time, class time, lunch time, dinner time – well, pretty much all of their time. Modern technology, cell phones in particular, has been altering the way people interact with each other, ultimately changing the expectations of social interaction.
In this day and age, the emergence of social media platforms may never cease, thanks to the millions engaging in psychological warfare about whose life is more “glamorous” or “fun”. People are constantly seeking confirmation from others through online socializing, feeling as though their dozens of notifications validate anything of substantial value.
Got a new purse or went out with a couple of friends for lunch? Chances are your six hundred “friends”, better known as your six hundred followers, already know about how “totally perf” your new Michael Kors clutch is, thanks to Instagram, the one-and-only application that allows for the sharing of a shamelessly unlimited collection of self-portraits (better known as “selfies”). Oh, and the lunch date you went on with your friends? Your followers were sure to note your order of sautéed tenderloin medallions in a balsamic cream sauce, served with garlic mashed potatoes and Portabella mushrooms, all thanks to your impressive food-photography skills.
Social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter allow for a momentary escape from the rawness of life, and open up the doors to millions of virtual hands – all of which are seemingly welcoming and longing for your warm embrace. At the end of the day, people feel drawn to these “apps” because it awards them the opportunity to have someone’s complete and undivided attention. Whether or not the attention is for six seconds or sixty seconds is regardless; the “retweets”, “favorites”, and “liking” confirm the phenomenon that is the seemingly unquenchable need for validation. With the current generation having unlimited access to various forms of social media, smartphones simply permit them portable access to their source of artificially induced confidence.
Social interaction is defined to be the way people talk and act with each other while media is the main means of mass communication. It is no secret that people tend to love things in excess, attention being one of those things. The merging of “social interaction” with “media” to equate to what is now “social media”, an umbrella under which vast social and communication outlets are sheltered under, is nothing short of brilliant. Society today has single handedly redefined and watered down interpersonal relationships and close associations between people to be the equivalent of a “follow back” or “comment.” With their entire life at their fingertips, who wouldn’t be on their phone all day everyday?
