It is a funny perception that people have about college life and post graduate life. In college we either knew someone, or maybe even did it ourselves and cracked a beer before it was noon. But if you were to do this after completing your college career many would define the act as alcoholism. There is no difference in these two actions, just a different time in your life!
This post is not about the common addiction of drugs (including alcohol), actually it isn’t about drugs at all. Your addiction may not be drugs but you most likely have one and it is so common that nearly everyone shares the same addiction and could be called an addict.
Today many people have a cell phone, many have access to the internet and many have some type of online social life with the use of social media. What many do not realize is that with the ever growing WORLD WIDE WEB we have slowly become ADDICTS. Bear with me now, I know this sounds crazy but if you think about it where is your cell phone right now? What was the last thing you did on your cell phone? Did you make a phone call, a text or did you just check your media page (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blog)? The odds are you definitely didn’t just make a phone call, maybe you shot out a quick text to a friend but the reality is many of you use your cell phone to check the recent activity that is happening social media. At some point in time our phones have become the instant gateway to the internet and we have slowly became addicted to what we find online.
While the drunk may crave a drink in the morning, the heroin addict may immediately shoot up when they wake up and you just may be in the high percentage of addicts that checked their Facebook the moment they woke up. The addiction of social media has become so controlling that many of us must carry our phones with us at all times or we have separation anxiety. Doctors have even started to come up with new diagnoses and names for when we feel our leg vibrate as if our phone as just gone off only to realize we do not have our phone on us. Nearly ten years ago social media was just a thought and maybe a hobby but today many of us have a true addiction to it. Young and old have a craving to know what is going on currently on the World Wide Web, who just retweeted out tweet, who just liked/commented on our Facebook. These are moments we have a rush of pride that overcomes us because it seems as if people are following us personally.
This new form of communication is actually causing a lack of communication. The lack of personal relationships is hurting our generation’s ability to lead and inspire. Many don’t feel comfortable at all to speak to a person on the phone, when at one time that was the main way of communication. Others have a fear of speaking to a stranger because why talk with someone you do not know when we can just send a text. Our text have changed the way we communicate as well, we have become a generation of abbreviations. No longer are we creating deep personal relationships with each other, but we are developing a lot of weak relationships that cannot stand minor difficulties.
Social media has become so addicting to many that I have had this belief that somewhere in the world there is a genius doctor who is distracted by their own addiction to social media that he has made a mistake and failed to come up with the cure for some great disease. At first you may laugh at this comment but think about that local drug addict. At one point in their life they had a great personality; they were smart and possibly a leader in the classroom or even the best athlete competing in the area. But because of their addiction to drugs they never hit their true potential; instead they are down the street trying everything they can to get their hands on their next hit. So why is it so unrealistic that somewhere in the world there is a genius that is addicted, the same way the rest of the world is with social media, that they missed the one crucial ingredient to a great cure. It isn’t a crazy thought at all.
Now you could be wondering what does social media & the internet have to do with becoming a strong leader. My answer to you is EVERYTHING!
The best leaders in the world are those that can demonstrate strong communication skills and build strong relationships with those who believe in them. Social media dampers both of those strengths and develops leaders that struggle with the development of communication and relationships.
Communication on social media is only the first layer of a person. You only see what they want you to see. You can show appreciation for their thoughts maybe by liking a post or retweeting a tweet but do you really understand what they are thinking and feeling? Most likely you are barely scrapping the skin. You are missing out on the nonverbal communication and don’t have the opportunity to discuss in depth on a person’s beliefs and thoughts. You start to lack the ability to empathize what an individual goes thru. The lack of communication in today’s generation has created weak relationships all around.
Social media has led to the internalization of an individual’s problems by using social media as a distraction from the problem rather than to finding a solution. Instead of solving the problems that are ahead we hide and delay the inevitable.
At an early age young individuals are lacking the ability to problem solve with real world situations. This is a key ability when it comes to developing and keeping strong relationships. So though we might not be missing out on the opportunity to create a cure for the world we are definitely missing the opportunity to grow into a strong leader that can communicate and develop bonds that create strong relationships.
Though the internet has been a brilliant discovery, it also may be the great demise of the current way we live because instead of inspiring those that use it. It has actually created a growing generation of ADDICTS. Not addicts that crave a drug but a generation of addicts that cannot get enough of surface information from social media. A generation that lack strong communication and relationship skills that are the foundations of a strong leader that inspires and empowers for change!
So next time you have your craving to check your social media page, remember you may not be doing drugs, but you certainly have the traits of an addict. What are you missing out on in the world in front of you rather than the world that is internalized on the gadget that fits in your pocket?
My challenge to you is can you cut your social media page views down to once a day. Live in the moment that is around you. Meet someone new, try something new and maybe you will find that a strong relationship with people is important in order for you to understand what is needed around you.
INSPIRE TO EMPOWER FOR CHANGE
"One with Heart & Mind" 