I was at a Dave Matthews Band concert the other night. I was enjoying the moment then a temptation to send a Snapchat took me over. But instead I kept my iPhone snug in my pocket.
It’s not that I don’t believe in sharing the joy I was experiencing with others. It’s that I knew that’s not the reason I would be sending a Snapchat.
These days there’s this automatic feeling that I should make sure others know I’m doing something cool.
But it’s a way of the world I refuse to give into.
It’s because I’m still in experimentation mode when it comes to social media. It’s put me on a mission to constantly fight against being affected by the negative effects of the virtual world.
This means working to enjoy the moment more than making sure others know I am enjoying the moment.
Is It Too Late for Our Youth?
While waiting at a sports bar for the concert to start, a glimpse of a video appeared at the end of the Notre Dame game. A college-aged boy carried through a large crowd of students stole the screen.
His position struck me as odd. His neck cranked around to get the right angle, making sure to capture the crowd in the background. This young man, as he’s carried across a swarm of fans, held his smartphone front and center.
The reason that he put himself in this compromising position (assumed to be posted to TikTok or Instagram) didn’t, however, surprise me. As seeing people with a smartphone in front of their face is just an everyday occurrence.
I thought about how being the late millenial I am, I may have just missed this being a part of my entire life. Luckily I got to experience amazing moments in my past that never had the option to be shared with the virtual world. It makes me glad for myself and terribly sad for young people.
I thought about how a moment like that in my college years would’ve been just that – a moment. And to this day I can recall moments like that because I wasn’t distracted by my phone.
I felt bad for the boy. This thrilling experience wasn’t enough. He was automatically drawn to record it. It would feel incomplete unless he did.
He would feel a void.
I know because I felt that for a few minutes when I refused to do the same at the concert.
The Cost of Sharing Everything Online
I analyze the gains and costs of most of my actions these days.
The gain of stopping some of our joyous moments on one end is the spreading of that joy, on the other end is the gain of clout or literal gain of likes online.
The cost, of course, is the distraction from the moment and the possibility it’s ruined by the feedback gained online.
When we share too much online, our experiences seem to only be as good as how others tell us they feel about them.
I cringe thinking of the day when my children grab for the smartphone to showcase where they are at for the sake of clout, likes, the creation of fomo.
Will children as young as mine never experience the joy of simply living in the moment, or will they always strive to record it?
Choosing to sit back and enjoy the moment at the cost of not gaining clout is a decision I have to consciously make.
The fact that it is a decision at all continues to irk me.