Comments on: Does Social Media make you less Human?

By: Sandra Finkelstein

Sandra Finkelstein — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:57:23 +0000

On the surface yes the social media outlets keep you “connected” and allow you to keep in touch with peopel miles away, conduct business which sometimes would not be possible, HOWEVER and yes there is a however — the pendulum has swung too far to one way. We need to bring it back to balance.

People, especially the youth use this as there main source of connecting and while it allows you to talk and exchange quickly and easily, even with their own language, it does not replace the face to face communication which seems fewer and far between.

I recently saw a key note speaker and she was addressing an audience on the topic of Entrepreneurship. She said that technology is to be used for content not INTENT. In otherwords by all means text, email, msn, pin, twitter, facebook, use LinkedIn to pass on information – what a great tool however when it comes to creating the in-depth (more than surface hey how’s it going) relationship this is not the answer. It can begin the “engagement” process however the sooner you can take it to phone then in person, if possible, the better. When people use the word communication they fail to realize that communication is words spoken, tone of voice and body language. From my data words only have 7% impact where as tone has 38% importance and body language 55%. Even if the numbers vary slightly you can see that the words spoken have the least impact in communication. If we believe that social media holds the same “light” as face to face human communication we lose the essence of communication. One of the issues is that an email cannot express the same level of emotion as a person speaking. On many days if you asked me how I was, I may pin you back OK however if you called me and said the same thing you will hear in my voice that all is NOT ok and I can really use a friendly ear and even a cry. The other issue is miscommunication. I have heard over and over again from parents that have teenagers that texting creates so much more stress — miscommunication. This is also true of 0ur work environment. An email that is full of content is easily interpreted however and email or some other form that has some INTENT which is open to interpretation by the READER (not sender) may lead you down a road of miscommunication where it will take 5 emails to properly explain what YOU MEANT by your email versus a call that can clear things up in a few minutes.

We all know that technology is here to stay however we need to remember that it is a tool and that is it. Do not confuse it’s purpose.

It is sad to see two people having lunch together and they are both texting or on the phone and I always wonder if they are talking to each other. Or a person walking their dog or child in the stroller, to see them on the phone rather than interacting with their dog or child.

We all have a choice. There may be times when your best option and choice is technology. There will also be the choice to put down the phone and away all the technology and just do the old fashioned hanging out!

By: kathy Gyimesy

kathy Gyimesy — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:58:09 +0000

More social AND therefore, more human – definitely!

Kathy

By: admin

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:31:31 +0000

Social Media definitely brings the water cooler talk to the work from home crowd, great point Debbie. When you have a minute, please call in to the podcast I’d love to have you join the conversation 206-888-6606 Jay

By: admin

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:30:05 +0000

I didn’t know about #getmehome Lorne. Great story, thanks for sharing.

By: Lorne Wensel

Lorne Wensel — Tue, 04 May 2010 04:10:59 +0000

Social media has made us more aware and caring humans. The recent events in April of the no fly volcanic ash cloud left thousands stranded. With the help of the twitter hash tag #getmehome helped caring individuals connected with exhausted homeward bound people. The ash cloud Facebook site had similar stories of goodwill and amazing results. When the airlines and European flight authority lets you down social networking proves to be the human touch. Bouquets to everyone who helped out with #getmehome your simple act of humanity.

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Mon, 03 May 2010 22:28:28 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jay Berkowitz, April E. Simons. April E. Simons said: RT @JayBerkowitz: Does Social Media Make you less human or more connected? Please comment http://bit.ly/SocialMediaHumanize [...]

By: Debbie Voiles

Debbie Voiles — Mon, 03 May 2010 22:08:28 +0000

Jay, I think people who object to social media have never experienced its benefits. I’m married to one of them. Personally, I work from home and run a national running coaching company. Twitter and Facebook are hugely helpful to me as I grow my business. ALSO, social media helps keep me from feeling isolated. I have connected with so many people that I hadn’t communicated with in years, and now I interact with them daily. And I’ve been able to connect with my ex-students from 15 years of teaching English.
Social media allows us to be much more social, and that is extremely healthy. I have a couple of friends with cancer. The computer is a lifeline because when they can talk about it, it’s easier to cope with.
Jay, I always listen to your podcast and have published nine of my own. I love Ten Golden Rules. I have listened to some episodes twice, so I feel like I know you.
Thanks.

By: April E. Simons

April E. Simons — Mon, 03 May 2010 22:01:50 +0000

Great post Jay! I think social media makes you “more” human if used for its initial purpose – to engage. I used to think that the “old school” way of communicating in person or by telephone was the only way to “properly” engage – but, I soon realized that I was wrong. Social media as we understand it through the power of the internet is only a fabulous extension of communication. It allows you to connect with folks you may not ordinarily get to connect with and further engage with the people (customers, friends, family, etc.) you see in everyday life – as you so wonderfully pointed out above.

And, without social media – we wouldn’t get to read great posts on blogs like yours!

Thanks for sharing – and being social!

April