Let's Consult Our Handy-Dandy Socials

With the world at our fingertips sometimes we forget how far apart we still actually are. This is a concept that a lot of people come face-to-face with when using social media. They have “friends” all over the country, or even all over the world, and yet typing a message to them is the most they are able to do. It begs the question for as many people as we claim to know, how many actual friends do we have. Moreover, for as much as we talk to people through these social media sites, how socially inept have we become. If I were to move into a shack in the woods and live for 10 years never speaking to other people, once I finally made it back into the population, I might seem a little socially awkward. It is something that has to be addressed when homeschooling a child. It is true that a parent may be able to teach their child everything it needs to know for college by the age of 10. However, without the social interactions of public school, that child may not develop socially the way it needs because you, and its siblings if applicable, are the only people it has interacted with. Being socially inept does not benefit the child, no matter how smart they are. And, sure, most children find social media by the time they are teens but learning social interaction via social media is akin to learning to play golf from video games. Even with virtual reality, the video game helps your avatar in so many minor ways that all you have to do is swing the controller and might even sink a hole-in-one. However, the subtle nuances of how to swing a golf club are not taught and it is nearly impossible to make the ball go where you want it, if you are able to hit it at all. When all you can do is type messages or send pictures to other users, you don’t learn the subtle nuances of social situations and therefore find it more difficult to interact in a socially vast world. It also must be noted that even if we have been out in the world, constant use of social media for all of our interactions can numb our social senses and make us more inept. All of this to say that social skills cannot be taught, they can only be learned and are necessary in a world of a social species such as ourselves. Making friends, job applications, gaining a significant other, and even just seeming relatively normal in society means learning those social skills from a young age and maintaining them through practice. The only way to truly learn them and practice them is to actually talk to people face-to-face. While there is nothing wrong with social media for a bit of fun, there is also great benefits from getting out in the world and enjoying the company of others. It is also a good idea to make sure the young ones don’t get on too early and that they are forced to leave socials once in a while to hang out with a friend or two. In the end, it all culminates to how difficult it can be to live in the modern world where, with one or two devices, we think ourselves to be sociable. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.