My Daily Reflection: How does one connect to the relevant?

How do we let others know we find their thoughts and ideas relevant?

In a day and age of impersonal social media how does one stay in touch with reactions, quality, and meaning? Are we helpful or redundant? Are we contributing or wasting our time and energy?

In face to face contact we read facial expressions and body language.

When speaking with someone we can register their comments and their feedback.

On social media we voice our thoughts, our concerns, our motivation and our aspirations into a void.

Is what we have to say even reaching anyone?  

If we are reaching anyone do they even care?

The exercise of communication is to interact with others. However, when we don't even know for certain if we have made a connection, are we deceiving ourselves that what thoughts are important to us, when shared even matter to others?

One must inevitably consider the possible futility of randomly connecting. When our reaching out becomes a random attempt to communicate with others about the essence of experiences; about the nature and quality of life; the question becomes is our message only reaching the cosmic void?

What we experience in life matters.  It shapes our perspective.  Sharing our perspective offers us opportunities to learn from the experiences of others and sometimes make adjustments to our own habitual responses.  What if our perspective is way off base and we continue down an errant path because no one points out a better road?  What if we make a break through and no one is there to celebrate and encourage? 

It is when I ask questions like this that I realize that social media can either enhance us or isolate us.  When we engage in conversations, when we have feedback and different points of view we are connecting, growing, learning being a part of something greater than ourselves.  However, when we spill our thoughts into the void with no response, with no critical feedback, with no alternate points of view; we become more isolated than before the arrival of social media. 

It is then that we have to wonder if social media is contributing to or detracting from the essence of our humanity, our ability to connect in a meaningful way with others. 

Is social media training us to become experts in non communication?

Renate Dundys Marrello

2017 - 04 - 13

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