Disconnect to Connect? Happiness in the Age of Social Media

“While I am writing this, the brightest thing is the moonlight… the power was off 20 mins ago, and I was sitting in the darkness. Helpless and bored for a while, I was annoyed by mosquitoes in the room, so I opened the door and went outside.”

This is a quote from my diary on June 30, 2018. I was in a remote Ugandan village in the middle of Lake Victoria in Africa. It was normal to have power shortages on this island, internet was unstable and food was the same everyday. I worked for a non-profit and spent a whole month in the field, taking photos and interviewing people. As an intern there was also homework that I needed to finish each week which required the internet, and the unstable connection didn’t make the time easier. However, lacking certain access to technology did not seem to hinder the Ugandan people enjoying their lives. Afro beat music was played every night in the courtyard, kids were dancing in circles while their parents doing the chores. In the evening, especially during the night of the longest power shortage, I could easily spend hours setting up my camera to shoot the night sky and stars or to read my book with a flashlight. There was little distraction from electronic devices, most of my battles were with mosquitoes and bugs. I was “disconnected” to the “civil” world by modern standards, but deeply connected to my coworkers, the villagers, and health workers that I interviewed, since human interactions could not be replaced by technology. Most importantly, I felt deeply connected within myself, without the constant urge to check my phone.

People on their phones in Guangzhou metro

The contrast was huge when I went back to China after 3 months in Uganda. No doubt, it was a relief for me at first to be back to “civilization” — high speed internet, mobile payments everywhere… from buying train tickets to ordering food, everything could be done by the touch of a button. However, on the metro, everyone was staring at their screens, no one seemed to care about the crowds around them when they were on their phones...Then school started again and I was back in Wisconsin. In the US, technology also dominates student life. Everyone was constantly on the phone, everything should be “shared” on social media, as if whatever is not shared online has not really happened in real life. My friend Sophie from Germany once said during our monthly FaceTime: “There are so many ‘influencers’ these days trying to be Instagram famous and share their “perfect” life on social media. One girl asked me where did I go during the summer and I told her about my internship in Saudi Arabia. She asked ‘Why didn’t I see it on your Instagram?’”

“Because I don’t have an Instagram! And why do I have to share it on Instagram to prove my experience?”

It’s true. We lived and evolved before cellphones and social media existed. And many of my friends from Europe are similar to Sophie. They only use WhatsApp and Facebook messenger for texting, they don’t have an Instagram. Living in the moment is more important than sharing it online. Whenever I find myself spending hours scrolling through Instagram and comparing myself to the people online, I questioned myself, “should I delete all my social media since comparing myself to people online actually makes me unhappy?”

But I don’t treat social media as my absolute “enemy”. Since platforms like Facebook and Twitter are owned by big companies, they are inevitably designed to be addictive - the more a user spends on these platforms, the more profits these corporations make. However, as a business tool it could be used in professional settings to help organizations grow their voice. Looking back to my time in Uganda, I was also working on social media to share contents for the non profit. It can be a powerful tool to inform people of what the organization is doing and to promote awareness on social issues. Being a communicator does not mean letting social media take control of my time. On the contrary, I am being a critical user of these platforms, setting clear goals for my posting agenda. Whether you like to admit it or not, the choice of sharing information online will continue to increase, just like decades ago when computers first came out and nobody would have imagined its prevalence today.

I am glad to use social media professionally to share photos I have taken for the non-profit organization in Uganda, and learn from so many other photojournalists who share their works on social media. Here is the link to my documentary project in Uganda:

It will be an ongoing mental battle for our generations to find the balance between online connection and real world interaction, since social media has become the reality that we are living in. But instead of going against the waves, we could ride the waves better, to promote the positive side of social media — a powerful communication tool — and use it to solve the problems of the 21st centuries, together.

“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them the tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”

—Steve Jobs in 1994: The Rolling Stone Interview

Reference:

Goodell, J. (2011). Steve Jobs in 1994: The Rolling Stone Interview. The Rolling Stone. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/steve-jobs-in-1994-the-rolling-stone-interview-231132/.