iFriends: One Connection for

Another

By Robert Chiu

Photo: winterofdiscontent

Photo: Defence Images

The digital age has changed the face of our interactions.

Constant connectivity is the norm; everything from texting to tweeting serves to put us in touch with our friends in just

an instant.

And we are getting

Photo: Robert Thomson

younger and younger when we first connect.

Photo: Mrs. Magic

Our generation has been born into a world far different than that of our elders, particularly when it comes to our idea of

intimacy.

…is a thing of the past.

Photo: Alan Cleaver

Social networks compel us to outsource our lives online,

Photo: boltron-

opening everything we share to potential scrutiny.

A German study released last year suggests a negative relationship between Facebook use and general life satisfaction…likely due to the

“envious” and “insidious” feelings the platform inspires.

Thoughts of social comparison—and competition—are inevitable.

Photo: Government Press Office Source: Science Daily

Photo: Barbo Uppsala

Nonetheless, we choose to provide friends and strangers alike

with a constant window into our lives.

For better or worse, this means

our physical and digital personas

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are gradually melting

into one.

Photo: Matthew Burpee

Whether we pick up on these impressions or not,

everything we do online

is treated as a testament to our identity.

With the eyes of the internet on our every

move,

the pressure is on to keep our lives

looking as

picturesque as possible.

Photo: Khanh Hmoong

Photo: andy z

Yet for all the time we spend practicing picture perfect

expressions, we are learning less and less about how to read them.

Photo: Derpunk

Only 7% of communication is conveyed through the things we say.

The other 93% consists of non-verbal nuances we can never truly deliver by digital means.

Source: AccuConference

Photo: k.landerholm

“Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation”

- A 16 year old texter

Source: New York Times

Photo: pedrosimoes7

We are attached at the hip to our devices.

We are constantly retreating to our screens,

giving ourselves an excuse to ignore the world around us.

Photo: Coal Miki

Access to each of our friends rests at our

fingertips, yet genuine interactions seem to be

moving beyond our reach.

Photo: PistoCasero

How can we be expected to

foster real relationships… …when so much of our lives has been rendered virtual ?

Photo: glennharper

Dunbar’s number holds that humans can maintain, at most, 150 stable social relationships; yet Facebook allows for friend

counts of up to 5000.

Source: MIT Technology Review

Photo: IntelFreePress

Perhaps that’s why 26% of people do more socializing online than in person.

Source: DigitalTrends

Photo: JB London

Our human connections are far more important than our digital ones, yet sometimes we seem to neglect the former in

favour of the latter.

Photo: Montage Communications

But balance is key.

Used with care, each of these digital platforms can be great tools for nourishing our personal relationships.

Photo: Khanh Hmoong

Just remember that it never hurts, every now and again, to hang up the cameras, put away the computers,

and make conversation.