Yesterday in a casual chat, one of my office colleagues told me about her 9 yrs old son’s behavior. Whenever she cooks anything for him, he first takes its picture with Smartphone, posts it online, and then waits for the likes. In this, he hardly notices the actual taste of the dish, his mom made for him and what he feels determined by the online reactions of other people.

These days, connecting with a person online who is living in another city is easier than talking to a family member who is sitting in front of us but busy on his phone. Instead of sharing with each other, family members post their experiences online. Today through social media tools, anyone can be connected with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.   Despite so much connection, people are feeling more lonely and disconnected than ever before. People keep themselves engaged in their online activities and forget to notice their offline activities.

But this connection has its own limitations and you cannot know a person completely, as this needs physical interaction and time. You know only what the other person allows you to know. Our limited attention span and multitasking on social media gives us a false sense of connection, at the peril of ignoring those around us in flesh and blood and the island that we become in reality is exacerbated by the illusion of knowing and being in touch with multitudes superficially.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash