Goodbye Private Life

When did this happen?

The technology that has been developed over the last 20 years has completely changed how human beings connect and interact with one another on a daily basis. Previously, human connection and interaction could only happen through face-to-face contact, a voice over the phone or a handwritten letter. Now, we can connect with anyone at any place in the world at just about any time and they can respond almost instantly. This makes the world feel quite a bit smaller than it used to and it also causes things to come to the surface that have been lurking in the depths for awhile.

Don't mess up!

While it is a wondrous thing to have the capability to communicate with people all over the world at an almost instant rate, the constancy of social media also means there is not a lot of room for mistakes. I have watched this play out time after time: an internet personality says/does something regretful, their fanbase tears them apart and then it is a slow process of that internet personality gaining the trust and forgiveness of their audience. This seems almost like a checks and balances system for people on the internet, but it can turn into something completely toxic. What tends to happen is people view these public figures as somewhat celebrities, or hold them to a higher standard than other people. So, when this person messes up it is infinitely harder for them to be taken seriously when they apologize or try to change. When in reality, typical users mess up and say things they shouldn't all the time and are not held to the same standard as these public figures.

Accountability

This high standard that people seem to have adopted in judging people on the internet is not all bad. It is actually quite admirable that people are holding others accountable for what they say or do. But, as with anything, it is best done in moderation. There are even countless software programs called "Accountability Software" that help you regulate the content you intake and keep your use of the internet appropriate  The power of the internet is almost unstoppable, because it doesn't matter who you are, where you are in the world, or what time it is people will and can still berate you. So, if you mess up don't expect your critics to take a break.

Learning as a community

Everything being public and able to be archived away is scary for a lot people who weren't born into the technological age because it is something that has never happened previously. Now, future generations are going to be able to look back at our social media and see the people we really were, not through the lens of the author of a history textbook. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity and resources to learn from our mistakes. These mistakes don't even have to be ours either, we can learn from the mistakes of others and watch the reaction of large groups of people while being completely outside the situation, void of consequences.

Balance, balance, balance.

This is something that we as a human community are going to have to figure out and navigate. No generation has previously experienced what we do on a daily basis. There are no rule books, guidelines or helpful suggestions. We must all learn to balance our private and online life as well as how much of other people's lives we take in. I found an article that details how to balance your media intake and I think that it is really helpful in thinking about the balance of input and output. There is also a helpful chart that shows how good or bad certain levels of media intake are for your well-being. We will figure out how to navigate the waters of constant connection together, but it won't be easy.