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iFriends: One Connection for
Another
By Robert Chiu
Photo: winterofdiscontent
Photo: Defence Images
The digital age has changed the face of our interactions.
Constant connectivity is the norm; everything from texting to tweeting serves to put us in touch with our friends in just
an instant.
And we are getting
Photo: Robert Thomson
younger and younger when we first connect.
Photo: Mrs. Magic
Our generation has been born into a world far different than that of our elders, particularly when it comes to our idea of
intimacy.
…is a thing of the past.
Photo: Alan Cleaver
Social networks compel us to outsource our lives online,
Photo: boltron-
opening everything we share to potential scrutiny.
A German study released last year suggests a negative relationship between Facebook use and general life satisfaction…likely due to the
“envious” and “insidious” feelings the platform inspires.
Thoughts of social comparison—and competition—are inevitable.
Photo: Government Press Office Source: Science Daily
Photo: Barbo Uppsala
Nonetheless, we choose to provide friends and strangers alike
with a constant window into our lives.
For better or worse, this means
our physical and digital personas
Photo: flyzipper
are gradually melting
into one.
Photo: Matthew Burpee
Whether we pick up on these impressions or not,
everything we do online
is treated as a testament to our identity.
With the eyes of the internet on our every
move,
the pressure is on to keep our lives
looking as
picturesque as possible.
Photo: Khanh Hmoong
Photo: andy z
Yet for all the time we spend practicing picture perfect
expressions, we are learning less and less about how to read them.
Photo: Derpunk
Only 7% of communication is conveyed through the things we say.
The other 93% consists of non-verbal nuances we can never truly deliver by digital means.
Source: AccuConference
Photo: k.landerholm
“Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation”
- A 16 year old texter
Source: New York Times
Photo: pedrosimoes7
We are attached at the hip to our devices.
We are constantly retreating to our screens,
giving ourselves an excuse to ignore the world around us.
Photo: Coal Miki
Access to each of our friends rests at our
fingertips, yet genuine interactions seem to be
moving beyond our reach.
Photo: PistoCasero
How can we be expected to
foster real relationships… …when so much of our lives has been rendered virtual ?
Photo: glennharper
Dunbar’s number holds that humans can maintain, at most, 150 stable social relationships; yet Facebook allows for friend
counts of up to 5000.
Source: MIT Technology Review
Photo: IntelFreePress
Perhaps that’s why 26% of people do more socializing online than in person.
Source: DigitalTrends
Photo: JB London
Our human connections are far more important than our digital ones, yet sometimes we seem to neglect the former in
favour of the latter.
Photo: Montage Communications
But balance is key.
Used with care, each of these digital platforms can be great tools for nourishing our personal relationships.
Photo: Khanh Hmoong
Just remember that it never hurts, every now and again, to hang up the cameras, put away the computers,
and make conversation.