Gail Rodgers Blog

Social Networking - Disconnected

It reminded me of “The Social Network” movie John and I enjoyed over the weekend. A fascinating story which left me feeling rather unsettled. I wondered why.

For sometime now I have had a Facebook account myself. I enjoy the photos of friends and family and its interesting keeping up to date on bits and pieces of the lives of people I rarely see. Yet I often come away from my virtual visiting, close my laptop and feel strangely disconnected.

I realized I saw the same thing in the movie. Brilliant people, party people, manipulating people, all kinds of people, all very connected virtually .... yet strangely disconnected with the world around them. In fact they were lonely and alone as the movie ended.

It confirmed my decision of the week before to close my ‘Facebook” account for the time being. I want to spend my “facebook” time in the real world of voices and faces and hands that reach out.  I’ll make a phone call or have a coffee with a friend I’ve meant to see in a long time.

I may miss the photos and the trivia of the lives of dozens of “friends” and I may even activate my account again. But for now, I want to limit my virtual world to email and spend those precious moments, previously in front of the computer screen, looking instead into the eyes of those around me and getting some real “face” time.

How about you? Does the virtual world of social networking meet your need for friendship? Does it distract you from relationships with the people around you? Could you live without it for one week?