This is part 2 of a 3 part series that talks about the influence of social media on how present people are in their daily lives.
As you saw in my first part of this series, being present at lunch can make all the difference. (Read before about my lunch with Steve Mitchell from Ernst and Young, and the gift making each moment about people, relationships and being present.)
But saying no to text isn\’t the only area of which we need to be aware, and even say no to.
92% of American teenagers (ages 13-17) are online every day. In fact, almost a quarter say they are on some type of platform constantly. According to the 2015 report by Pew Research Center, there was one TV show where parents \”tested\” taking away their teens cellphones for 24 hours. In some cases, there were shrieks, cries and anguish of the teens begging for their phones back. They were overly connected to their phones.
Christine Rosen wrote in the Wall Street Journal:
\”A typical teen, according to Pew, has 145 Facebook friends and 150 Instagram followers. Based on survey data from our lab as well as national statistics, I would estimate that only between 5% and 15% of teens abstain from social-media use.\”
But the social media tides maybe changing. I know some people on my team who don\’t do social media, or aren\’t that involved. One of my great marketers was 26 and considered \”YGen\” — and was not on any social media. She simply told me she didn\’t have time, and wasn\’t interested.
Christine Rosen quotes a woman:
\”I feel like a lot of what happens on Instagram isn\’t valuable communication,\” said Katherine Silk, 18, who grew up in Los Angeles and is about to start a gap year before heading to Emory University. \”I\’ll be with friends eating, and they\’ll say, \’ Let\’s post this on Instagram!\’ Sometimes I feel like saying, \’you should be talking to me and the other people here, not posting things for people who may or may not care, just so you can get more likes.\”
As for the possibility that they are missing out, the social-media abstainers are sanguine. \”If I have something important to tell my friends, I\’ll call them. That\’s enough,\” says Ms. Silk.\”
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Just as it\’s important to be present with your colleague at lunch, being truly connected is not just online. It\’s spending your time in a way that is present with others, not just FOMO. If you are crying for your phone, maybe it\’s time to set up in an in-person with your friend, or friends together. We have a need to connect. Social media isn\’t the only filler to that need.
Connecting is all about people, relationships and being present.
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Would you \’Say No to Text?\” Say No to Social Media? Tell me what you think.
Christine Rosen is a writer for The Wall Street Journal. Read her article here.