Human beings have been developing and evolving communication
since their ancient beginnings. From primitive gestures and elaborate
vocalizations to writing, a our ability to interact and communicate with
one another is deeply engrained into our existence. a But when
another form of communication that breaks into our well developed
social-cultural structures and interactions, normal social interactions
become confusing. Social media is a fairly recent and incredibly
popular form of social interactions that literally dismisses our long
engrained methods of communication and disassociates us with the
people we are attempting to connect with. .
A few years back, my sister started to get upset when no one would
comment on her pictures or posts. She was about 16 then and my
mom jumped in and put a stop to that. According to mom (an
anthropologist who literally looks at everything according to human
evolution), human beings naturally crave approval of others because
when we lived as small bands of hunter/gatherers, we needed to
belong, to have the acceptance and approval of those in the group. It
was our survival. a Homo sapiens didn’t stand much chance of survival
without each other. So we developed a drive to get the approval of
others, a to aim for things that would make us belong. a Its also possible
that its also the reason that we struggle so hard when we are alone or
left out by others. Rejection, in our early existence as a species,
meant death.
Now we have a conundrum of archaic instincts vs. 21st century
technology. When we look into the computer screen we still see the
human side of ourselves and expect others to see that too. However
when we read or connect with individuals we are not familiar with, a
we have a difficult time see that they too are human. a We disassociate
with their being a “like us" and become more of an not quite human
“other". Its easy to lack empathy when you don’t really understand
That you are talking to an actual living being. a Yet, vice versa, a the
detached comments or complete silence of those same faceless
entities can render us crushed or distraught. The way our brain
evolves and this completely new way of communication have not
caught up to each other yet.
References
Vince, G. (2018). Evolution explains why we act differently online.
