Social networks: how to find balance in social relationships
With the arrival of social networks, it seems that everyone can be connected, but a duality extends among the students of this social phenomenon: are we replacing the social relations by virtual connections? Or has our attachment and socialization skills increased and are we closer to one another thanks to technology and social networks?
To make good use of the social networks it is essential to find balance in social relationships. And technology is changing the way families communicate and spend time together. Many of them now have smartphones, which offer endless hours of entertainment, social networks and other distractions.
Some voices say that the technology and social networks They are separating families. Others, on the other hand, are delighted because this new medium has become an integral part of the family and thanks to it they are permanently connected and programmed to dine, stay to go out, notify if it is late, and in general brings security and tranquility.
Humans need the connection with other people and have a sense of belonging to the tribe. Numerous studies show that social support gives people greater positive mental health, while exclusion or loneliness, negatively impacts the individual.
Digital natives and the family
For the new generations, who were born with mobile phones and tablets under their arms, Being permanently connected is an everyday fact, as an extension of their life that they can not do without. For people of middle age or older, its use is still mildly dispensable, because at birth in a century where this technology did not exist, discover other forms of communication and entertainment, which new generations of digital natives surprise and bore. Some voices even speak of addiction to new technologies.
There is no doubt that the Internet is a hugely popular, comfortable and immediately gratifying way to connect with others. Social media such as Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp have millions of users around the world. No doubt they offer us an audience and immediate attention. It allows to maintain daily contact with people who are geographically far away, and can help combat feelings of loneliness.
The Internet has offered many, a convenient way to locate, reconnect and reactivate relationships that might otherwise have been lost.
How has the way of relating changed?
Many times we see families sitting in a restaurant and they are all connected to mobile phones. Where before there would be an interaction about the place, what we are going to eat or the atmosphere of the place, now it is transformed into a mere wait, each one connected to his world, from which he only moves away for the action of eating, as if fulfilling a procedure . The long aftermaths of yesteryear, are being replaced by light conversations that always end up showing a video or something we have seen on the net.
There are families who live badly these changes and for other families, technology is the invention of the century, because it brings them closer to their children, to their interests, they see what they like, and they can have conversations about it. And even teach things that parents are interested that children see, with educational values, music or habits and customs of other times, so that their children know them better.
Normalize the use of social networks and technology
In the world Forty-two billion messages are sent every day on WhatsApp. We can say that, at the level of communication, it is a revolution. The immediacy of the arrival of the data that we send, as well as the immediate response we receive, helps us to interact in a world where the important thing is to have the information at the moment.
It is true that its improper use, to gain popularity, or use it as a means of extortion to others such as cyberbullyng, Snapchat's anonymity, identity theft or blockage in social groups, can create anxiety and isolation in people , and we are all susceptible to it. We must be attentive to the signs of any rarefied behavior in the children, or the couple, in order to help them and know what may be happening.
We must understand, and make children understand more than prohibit them, the folly of live broadcasting our lives, because it can cause problems that, more and more often, the police must solve, because of the risks that someone does not have. desired, know all our school routines or where we live or work.
The truth is that social networks and technology have come to stay. And as in every beginning, it will be a while until people know how to interact with it in a way that is useful and rewarding, without depending on it.
How to find the balance between social networks and relationships
Technology and social networks are not as bad as they are painted or as good as they would have us believe.
To include social networks in our lives with common sense and balance, experts advise:
1. Limit the connection spaces inside the house limiting wifi or data at certain times.
2. Create schedules in which nobody can connect: breakfasts, lunches, dinners and other family events
3. Create shared family leisure spaces where to go by bicycle, go swimming, make board games or cook, are activities with which we interact without technology in sight.
4. Educate by example. Adults should check their mail at times when children do not see that they are waiting for email or social media messages.
To find the perfect balance each family must maintain the spaces of emotional connection with their children, because the transmission of values requires dialogue and closeness. If this can only be produced through social networks or viewing photos or videos that they like, it is important to create bags of time in which you can talk about what you have seen before while eating as a family, without any connected device, for example .
Using technology to seek information about the interests of children to comment later, can also be a way of approaching and narrowing ties, which perhaps due to lack of time, or because of the difference in interests, we would not have.
Relationships are fragile and you have to take care of them, giving them the time and dedication they deserve. Blaming all the ills or the lack of communication or the isolation suffered by the family, social networks or technology, suggests that you should look for the primary reason for the emotional disconnection that you are trying to hide under the umbrella of virtual connection .
Store Roser. Master's Degree in Chiropractic and Life Coach. Specialized in family, health, natural birth, breastfeeding, and maternal coaching.
