When I was going to grad school for my degree in counseling, the internet was still fairly new. Yes, I sound ancient as was there really life before the internet? We actually had to go to the library to research things…but I digress. Things have changed SO much in the past several years and I am curious about the future repercussions of all this information and social networking right at our finger tips. I would be willing to bet that in many years to come, classes will be offered on how to deal with all of this as professionals.
What I am getting at, is the major impact that social networking is having on our personal lives. Sites like Facebook, Twitter etc provide us with so much information about people at a moment’s notice. When Facebook first came into play, my first feeling was, “not something else to keep up with, I don’t have time for this”. Then I thought it was a glorified Classmates website. (I am really dating myself here). However, I was pleasantly surprised at all the benefits of this site. Reconnecting with people I haven’t talked to in ages. People I always wondered what happened to them and now I could, it was not just another thing to deal with. I was able to network, get ideas, commiserate with others who were in the same boat as me, keep up with family I don’t see on a regular basis etc.
BUT, and there is always a but….as my practice grows and I meet with more and more people, I have found that sites such as this can also be a source of stress, mainly in relationships. I also see the negative impact of it all. People deleting others, putting updates that aren’t kind and directed at specific people, removing pictures and the list goes on and on. It’s a challenge for me to assist people in working through it all as our society is changing from being forced from verbal communication to relying on the internet or text messages or e-mail to communicate. The problem is that a lot can be misinterpreted in this type of communication. You can’t convey tone or emotion in communicating electronically and a lot can be left up to interpretation, or misinterpretation. From there, it can lead to many hurt feelings and relationships being damaged and that’s not always the intended purpose. I see a lot of drama that isn’t always warranted.
I wish I had a great answer for resolving all of this and how to ensure that the communication that is intended is received in the intended way. Sadly, there is no magic answer. My standpoint is to still encourage people to just ask another person just what is going in a relationship and not leave it up to trying to read between the lines. I realize that this is no easy feat at times, but living with the unknown can cause much increased anxiety and stress and frankly we don’t have time for in this face paced world.
Technology is great and has so many benefits. Please keep in mind how you use this technology and that there is always someone on the receiving end of things. Don’t get me wrong, technology has also made it easy to say those things that are so difficult to say in person (yes, I am guilty of this too) but in the end, what is most important is the relationship we have with other when the electricity is out and we can’t get on our computers!!!!
Have a GREAT rest of the week everyone and as always, I would love to hear if you have any ideas about future topics on here!
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