Social networks do not substitute offline connections

As important Social Media has been placed in various aspects of our lives, from branding, networking, communicating and staying in touch with those abroad, there is one thing it will never cover, and that is the offline human connection.

All of us who enjoy the convenient aspects that a social network can provide, from birthday reminders, notifications of relationship engagements or updates and even soon the pending ability to send gifts to others during their celebratory moments via Facebook.

However, convenience is not always the right choice, especially when someone who is close to you is celebrating or mourning, good or bad, memories are not solely meant to be made and maintained online. You need to still be able to extend yourself farther than the keyboard to remain genuine and sincere.

It is always nice to see that someone is thinking of you no matter what the situation is and that they took the time to respond online, I will not discredit that effort; it is very thoughtful and kind. I am simply pointing out that perhaps we have become too reliant on being able to write within characters without truly building character by making the same efforts offline.

We are all going through the ups and downs of the rollercoaster of life and social networking has most certainly enabled us to humanize our online activities and even participate in memories we once may have been left out of due to distance or circumstances. With that said, other actions are still necessary to keep relationships important, texting, status updates and videos do not replace the most human element of being present in person.

Even hand written letters, cards or a phone call can be more meaningful than the typed word since all others mentioned add personality and expression that typing lacks. Humans need personal time without our heads buried in our smartphones, conversations that are longer than 140 characters and shared moments that are more than a quick congrats online.

We still need hugs and memories built on time spent together beyond a screen and we should not sacrifice this for convenience. Social Media will do a lot for us, technology too, but nothing compares to the human interaction that connects us offline, let us not forget to be there through the positives and negatives in our 3D form, after all the human voice and touch is irreplaceable and can never be duplicated or recreated quite the same as when it is from a loved one.

two hands image via Shutterstock