Why are we so bad at communicating when we live in a hyper connected era?

As we all know, it’s quite obvious the progress we made and the advance in social media during the last 10 years. That can also be related to post pandemic time, where during almost the whole lockdown, social media was the only way of communicating with each other. We almost forgot how it was to speak to each other in “real life”, and lots of us felt uncomfortable when starting to go out in public again.

The pandemic has not only impacted all our social relationships, but mainly the younger generation that were growing up during this time. For this article, I did some personal research analyzing the impacts of social media in our current generation, known as the “Gen Z’s”.

The Gen Z social way of life! 

Many of the Z’s enjoy visual communication. According to The Economist, Gen Z often prefer text over voice messaging, using social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, and also prefer online shopping. 

As social media advances more everyday, looking 10 years from now, it honestly sounds a little scary. With things like “FOMO”- acronym that stands for “Fear of missing out” –  and anxiety, not being connected all the time could also be scary. When our phone dies or runs out of battery, we immediately get anxious and worried, because we rely so much on our devices. That can contribute to anxiety and even panic attacks for some people, almost as an “addiction” effect. 

For members of Gen Z who were in their teens during the pandemic, an event like this at such a sensitive age will shape their identity and worldview for the rest of their lives. They will soon make up more than a quarter of the global workforce by 2030, their communication style will impact the future of workplace. 

Dating is easier behind the screen…wait,  is it?

Dr. Michael Rosenfeld, a sociology professor at Stanford University, shared his opinion on dating nowadays and where it can lead to. “What could be more damaging to people’s dating and relationship prospects than a fear of any kind of physical intimacy, even just talking to another person face-to-face”. 

Rosenfeld believes that many people are still recovering from the loss of two or three years of dating experience, which has been especially hard on teenagers and young adults.

“It’s going to take them a few years to recover and build up that social experience, They need to be comfortable dating and experiencing.” 

That will leave an imprint on our generation from now on, and the way we interact, date and communicate to each other. If the issue is not resolved, it will create a much bigger problem in the future. 

What to expect now?

Are we ever going back to a place where “face to face” interactions feel better? To be honest, a scenario like that seems very difficult since many of our generation hide behind the screen, avoiding difficult conversations, or even ignoring what we don´t want to deal with. 

The problem is right there: we are shaping ourselves in a way that we can, in fact, avoid difficulties in our lives and not face them as they should. 

Here´s a reflection for us, Gen Z readers, to start facing our social issues and don’t hide behind the screens. 

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The article above was edited by Camila Lutfi.

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• #GenZ
• #life
• #social media
• communication
• generation z