I wrote an article last month titled ‘How social are we really?’
In that article I was looking at things mostly from a business point of and how social networks had become less social and more marketing tools.
The last 6 months have encouraged me to think more about whether the technological advancements that were meant to make our lives easier have actually done the reverse?
When was the last time you picked up the telephone to speak to someone? Guilty, I do tend to text more whether using the traditional text messaging service or WhatsApp. I do also sometimes email, but that is usually to people who are in a different time zone.
What about when you have ‘important’ news to share such as weddings, pregnancy etc, how would you share the news with your nearest and dearest? A friend found out her sister is getting married through Facebook, not even a private message but a wall posting. Another friend found out she is to be an auntie again, yep via Facebook!
The people who choose to share their ‘big’ news this way most likely don’t see anything wrong with what they have done…until they are on the receiving end then we’ll see how they like it. 😉
In the case of the friend becoming an auntie again, a reason offered up for posting the news on Facebook was because **** would forget to tell some people. What a cop-out, how would you forget to tell your own sibling who you speak to / text fairly regularly that there is to be a new addition to the family?
Maybe my family and friends are different; we wouldn’t announce personal news so publicly till the important people had been told. In my mind it is just not something you do.
Fair enough not everyone gets on with or even likes their family, but isn’t it just a tad bit disrespectful? Or is it that people have become too lazy to even physically speak to people? Is it this laziness that drives people to share their ‘big’ news with others via a social network, wait to be contacted then be offended when some people can’t be bothered to congratulate them?
Some may think I am being overly harsh, but I don’t think so. 😀 If I found out from a Facebook wall posting that my sister was pregnant she would know I wasn’t a happy bunny!
Social Networks are there to socialise, build networks and relationships it should not be a substitute or an excuse to not speak to those you call family and friends in the real world. If you can’t speak to those people even to share exceptional news with..well that should tell you something!
Fozia 