How social media dimishes the depth of our interactions (post 7)

One of my closest friends (we have been friends since we were 10) lost her mother last month. I have mentioned it in my earlier posts. She and I were talking just now, about how death of our loved ones leave an irreplaceable void in our lives.
Every memory now on, every thing we do, every success we achieve will always be tinged with sadness, as they aren't there to witness it. People will say things like 'Oh they are there with you, they are watching you from heaven' etc. But it's just not the same.

A loss is a loss.

One of the things I find these days is that people find it so easy to leave 'sad' emoticons on facebook. Someone announces the death of their parent, and many condolence messages come pouring in. It's easy. Click a button. Write a few words like 'stay strong', 'RIP' ,'Sorry for your loss' etc and it's done. You are off, scrolling to see the next funny video, or reading someone else's status message.

In many ways social media makes us less social. More alone. More isolated.

One of the main characters in my book, Ayan, experiences this and realises the true extent of it, when circumstances force him to move to a tiny village in Kerala, where there isn't even Internet.



I do believe we all benefit a great deal if we put away our phones. This deliberate staying away opens up other spaces inside out minds, which are otherwise occupied by mindless surfing through feeds.
 
Put away the phones and read.
In fact, stop reading this right now, and go pick up a book.
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