Connecting the Dots
Connections, connections everywhere–We are LinkedIn, we appear on Facebook and renew friendships, some have SecondLives, we tweet and blog and comment and chatter chatter chatter (or is that clatter clatter clatter) all day long across keyboards and cyberspace. We are arguably more interconnected as humans than we have ever been because of digital technology (at least those of us who have access to technology to let us connect in virtual space).
And yet, complete and utter dissatisfaction. What gives?
What gives??? Well for one thing, in the booming buzzing chaos of the digital world, we assume the primacy of words. This is understandable–language is arguably what makes us human. Well, that and social cognition and theory of mind–what others might call soul. But I digress; the point is that if we assume that words are all we need to connect, we lose track of the fact that communication and connection is so much more than words. It’s people’s eyes and the way they tilt their heads and move their hands expressively. It’s tone of voice, and changes in skin tone as we get excited or upset. It’s a handshake, a hug, a kiss (or many!) and tickling. A child’s laugh, a grandmother’s soft hands as she smooths your hair. Fully, truly, completely human communication is as much a dance as it is words and it is that dance, that connection that social media simply cannot capture, communicate, or even recreate. There is a spontaneous choreography that emerges between people as they interact in person–and therein lies the beauty and the connections that make us whole as individuals and in relationships with others.
