When did we last check the “likes” on your social media
posts?
When did we last send/ receive “Add friend/ connection”
request?
Most of us, in all probability, would answer “not too long
back” to the above 2 questions.
Doesn’t the above clearly highlight our “obsessed” self and also
indicates that to create space for ourselves in this digital cosmos we must take
an oath of allegiance to “Attention” and “Connection”. Quite characteristic of this cosmos (digital) is
the chaos created by our craving for “popularity” and “likes” in our bid to
remain visible and relevant in the parallel digital social world.
Akin to the hyperconnected nature of the digitally connected
world (Internet), our lives also, in this digital world, thrive on the ability to
network so as to derive the best from this gigantic superhighway of (social)
communication. The hyperconnected world characterised by WWW, Internet and
various Social platforms has broken barriers of communication to such an extent
that it just takes 3-4 hops to establish any new connection. Somewhere, our
existence and relevance also, now seems to be substantiated only by the number
of connections we have. “Recommendations and Referrals” has become the new
currency of professional success and CNF (Connections, Networks and Friends) is
assumed to be the panacea for all that we seek during our existence in this
digital world.
But in all this hype about more connections, expanded
network and more friends, we seem to have let go of the most important connection
i.e. the connection with the self.
Agreed, the CNF (Connections, Networks and Friends) help us achieve and
accomplish a lot but at what cost? The price we pay is huge, in terms of compromising
on our most robust support system - our “inner self”. No doubt, man is a social
animal and needs to connect with others for survival, but hasn’t this
over-reliance and dependence on others gone too far under the garb of being
trendy and to align with the needs of social platforms? For few, it provides an opportunity to mask
their inefficiencies, incompetencies and thrive solely on their skill of
“networking” whereas for others, the competent ones, it lands them into this so
called “popularity” rat race, where the focus is on maximising the likes, and
incrementing the CNF (Connections, Network and Friends) at the fastest possible
pace. A closer look at the downside and we can realise the intensity of the
impact this over-reliance has on our personality by way of severely denting our
self-esteem/ self-worth and also derailing us from our quest to evolve and grow,
just to mention the key ones.
Isn’t it time to ponder whether disconnecting with the self
is a reasonable price to pay for the paradox we are living, where what we are
seeking is exactly what we are found wanting in ! The more attention we seek
through CNF (Connections, Network and Friends), the less attentive we tend to
be becoming; the more connections we are adding, the less connected we tend to
be becoming. The need, at this point, clearly is not to get lost in this
illusionary world of virtual existence where the crisis of losing our real
identity looms large but to connect with our inner self, where the real world
resides. This connection with the self may definitely turn out as panacea to
the ills and after effects of digitally obsesses living and we can’t afford to
let go of this crucial “self-connection” if we plan to smoothly surf this
gigantic superhighway of information and connection.
The following few steps could easily help us establish and
sustain the “self-connection”
·
Building regular self-time in our routine to
focus on self-reflection
·
Practising mediation, mindfulness or any other
similar practice to develop acceptance, acknowledgement and observation
·
Observing digital downtime to experience living in
the “real world”
·
Replacing digital usage time with any hobby that
helps build self-esteem and self-confidence
·
Practising an agenda driven digital consumption to
avoid digital overuse
·
Practising independent decision making wherever
possible to develop self-reliance and self-efficacy
·
Practising Minimalism and Essentialism to help develop
the habit of “living with less”
Let's realise the potential that lie within us and harness the power of self-connection to beat the blues of obsession filled digital living !
