It’s replacing in-person connection
The single strongest predictor of our happiness is the strength of our connections to other people. But we’re referring to the three-dimensional people in this case.
The number of Facebook friends or Instagram followers we have does not count, despite our obsessions with crafting our own digital personas and becoming wrapped up in others’.
In recent years the amount of time we have dedicated to screen time has corresponded with a similar decrease in the quantity and quality of our in-person connections.
Even if we are physically with another person, we often are so wrapped up in documenting the experience for our followers to see, or checking our phones to see what others are up to, that we neglect the opportunities to develop authentic connections with the people we are actually with.
The next time you are tempted to scroll through social media, scroll through your list of contacts instead. Find someone to call or FaceTime.
The happiness you derive from an authentic connection with another person will be far greater than a random post or like on social media.
It’s affecting your memory of the actual event
People around the world now take more than a trillion pictures a year—mostly on their smart phones and often to post on social media.
This might seem like it’s enhancing our experiences. But to paraphrase Ferris Bueller, ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you spend all your time getting the perfect shot for your Instagram, you could miss it’.
If we direct all of our attention toward capturing the best shots for our social media followers to admire, less will be available to enjoy other aspects of the experience in real time.
Social experiences present an opportunity to take in a wide array of sights, sounds, interesting facts—and perhaps most importantly—connect with loved ones.
Spending too much time on our phones will detract from those other aspects of the experience, undermining the happiness we could be gleaning from them.
The next time you are enjoying a meal with friends or at a cool place, it’s great to snap a few pictures to capture the memory.
But set a limit on the number of pictures you’ll take and the amount of time you’ll spend on your phone.
Make sure an equal amount of your attention goes toward taking in all aspects of the experience and savoring the camaraderie of those around you.
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