Social media posts feel like my best friend. I can share my feelings, thoughts, and opinions without the frustration of someone interrupting me. Furthermore, I can mull over and play with and refine my thoughts before sending them out. Social media comes across as a slice of heaven for an introvert who has lots of thoughts and feelings roiling around inside.
As United States citizens we have never seen such one way, uninterrupted and mass communication. As us introverts stretch out in this freedom, we, I, can overdo it. Interruption and instant response are key components to a conversation. Reading the other's facial cues, body language and tone are life skills that allow us to function as a society. When you or I see the pain, confusion, humor or anger we are inciting on someone else's body I believe we feel some level of empathy. When we hear the hurt tone in another's voice, we remember when we felt the same. Emojis just don't carry the same energy.
So now that the email has been sent can we reel it back? I wish I knew. I think we will know when we make understanding and using social media responsibly significant priorities. We can do empathy when we access the sites of those opposed to us and try our best to read with unbiased eyes. We need to stay away from loud, angry sites with click bait headlines. We need to travel to a coffee shop to listen and respond, practice our social skills. We need to eat meals together media free. We need to relearn how to put on another's pair of shoes and walk around for awhile.
Our use of social media is smashing away at our social skills and the fabric our ancestors have created and maintained over the years. This bag of skills forms a large part of what keeps us from reverting to days before civilization. Social skills are basic to cultural survival as breathing is for all animals.
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