The COVID-19 outbreak has completely changed the way we used to communicate. With the news, the gears around the world shifted drastically. Employees around the globe had to work remotely, and families and friends had to communicate virtually. While some adjusted to this transition with ease, many struggled to get used to the video calls, e-mails, and work-from-home every day.
However, we survived that time because technology kept on changing and providing us with more and more every day. But despite all of that, the threat of coronavirus resulted in drastic changes at a breakneck speed. These two years were difficult for everyone, and everything depended on virtuality. However, with things getting back to normal this change should have been reversed. But people have adapted it thoroughly and this seems to be irreversible now. Read below and find out if we are actually losing human connection.
Human connection is an innate need to create a social rapport with others. Given the complexity of human communication, it is next to impossible to have an online recreation of this kind of rapport that we get offline. Below are some pointers to verify we are moving toward a virtual world leaving the real world far behind-
We prefer texting over calling or meeting
We live in a world of constant change. With time, everything around us keeps on changing for the good. Today, people are reluctant to have an actual conversation and rather believe in texting over calling. Meeting someone in person is an age-old habit that is the least preferred these days.
Today, whether it is a friend’s birthday or any other occasion, the best we do is drop in a WhatsApp and the job is done. And therefore, we are losing human communication.
We are stuck to our screens
Another great pointer to support the fact we are losing human communication is we are stuck on our screens. Whether we are scrolling Instagram, replying to a text, or just taking a few selfies, our phones are always in our hands.
Not only this, even if we are in the office, we hardly take out time for personal communication with our colleagues. We usually prefer to drop in an e-mail. However, there can be certain reasons for that too but let us face it, we have stopped communicating with people.
Even children are addicted to mobile phones
The older generation is anyway addicted to the change that happened two years ago. On the other hand, children are also lost in this thing that they hardly want to go out to play. We aren’t the only people who are affected by the change, children are equally affected. Now they don’t feel like going to school, they are more interested in taking online classes instead.
Now that employees are being reluctant to go back to the office, it has started to impact certain things including their personal growth. Yes, it is true that working from home gave all of us the flexibility that we never thought we needed but it is now affecting businesses as well.
Since we are not able to meet our co-workers in person, many issues remain unresolved. And thus, the work-from-home situation is neither good for businesses nor for individuals.
I have had a similar experience where I realized our technological detachment has become today’s reality.
The other night, I had a terrible dream. I woke up and started pacing up and down. This is what I saw
- I saw that instead of meeting my best friend for a cup of coffee, she and I spent 30 minutes texting back and forth about our day.
- Post that, instead of talking to my boss about some issues I was having, I dropped in an e-mail stating everything.
- I even missed a friend of mine on the way back home because I was stuck on my phone.
- When I came back home, I spent a few hours catching up on my 1000+ friends most of whom I don’t even know.
Oh, wait! That was not a dream. That technological detachment is becoming today’s reality. No matter how easy is the online conversation, there is always a chance of being misunderstood or misunderstanding something or someone. The essential channels of communication are absent in online conversations including smiling, changing body language, touching, or intonating to emphasize or convey emotion. So, no matter what, whether or not you are interested in having a human connection, it is very important for everyone. As we rely on online interactions, there is the challenge of the absence of humanizing features that can eventually make us detached and isolated.
As a result, people have become more anxious than ever. It is a known fact that poor communication skills can not only evoke anxiety, depression, and stress but also predispose them to social isolation and loneliness.
Anxiety and depression can also cause you to lose confidence in yourself. People are considering counselling these days more than ever. If you want to avoid such situations below are some points that one can consider to make sure the actual communication isn’t lost because of the virtual world.
Try to be more communicative in-person
No matter how long the lockdown was and how much time we might have spent video calling the ones who were away, this has to stop now. One can make plans with people who live nearby. You can meet catch up with a friend, go for an outing with people you work with, and even go for some activities with family.
Create some structure in the amount you communicate virtually
Be it professional or personal, make sure you limit the use of virtual communication. Not only that, try to limit the use of social media. You can do this by setting a certain amount of dedicated time to social media.
For most people, it is getting difficult to sit in a room with someone, maintain eye contact, and make a conversation. Let us face it, that is not the world we live in anymore. Our world revolves around e-mails, laptop screens, mobile devices, and instant messaging platforms infiltrating our daily lives.
Today we skip from app-to-app vying for true intimate human connection, all while staying stuck behind the perceived safety of our screens. The truth is these platforms, the virtual world, and technology are supposed to augment human interaction, not replace it entirely.
While face-to-face interactions cannot be substituted easily, all these virtual channels of communication can be adapted to ensure we don’t lose the human need to connect socially. Since the pandemic has changed everything so far; how we work and meet people, the exponential rise in virtual communication, and other things like that. Since the paradigm is changing again, we must all remember that we will be around each other once again; living the original normal.