Over the years, the nature of social interaction with one another has undergone several changes and evolved into what we see presently. In all the different changes that have happened, one thing still exists as the core, it is what is called the ‘social’ which can be said to imply ‘society’. This surely means that interaction with one another is definitely what we can never do without, naturally. Social media is an evolution of the social interaction we see today.
Basically, the term is used to refer to platforms that allow for inter-activity by leveraging the Internet to share information. In other words, they are built on top of the web. The social media we all know include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. to mention but a few. But wait a minute, I want to believe you know that Hive has the element of social media.
Chatting: Changing Lives
Chatting is the term that answers the ‘how’ in the way we interact on social media. You know how in just a few clicks and maybe “some copy and paste”, in seconds your message has reached its destination, and now that is chatting. Through chatting, I have gained access to more information than before. In a way, information is (or seems) free and readily available but there are some things that are only available to a handful of people and it is actually through chatting that it is transmitted to the other party. For example, I was actually formally introduced to Hive through chatting, even though Hive has been mentioned to me before amidst some talks. You know, there are some people who may not want to know but are readily okay with sharing key things. A large chunk of those who educated me on scholarships, online courses, and career paths were those I met by actually having a private chat with them.
In a way, chatting which can be interpreted as engagement here on Hive has financial benefits. Personally, for some months now and among the other social media platforms, Hive has had a higher proportion of the time spent. Quality engagements here have made me know more people than ever before. And it has helped to understand better the contents a particular author publishes. Very well, the little comment curations that come in are also part of the thing that's people on their toes to do more.
Social Interaction In Danger
However, there is never an entity in this world of ours that only has its advantage. Chatting and social media are not left out. In as much as information gap has been bridged and communication barriers have been removed, chatting could have an adverse effect on us. It is worth noting that those who built these social media strategically did that so that we can be online perhaps every time. This, in some ways, help them generate revenue, e.g Facebook. Now, there is a very high chance for one to be addicted to that. And in the case of non-addiction, our level of true social interaction has greatly reduced. In the physical world, we see a family for instance after the day’s work, are all glued to their phones chatting most times, instead of taking some time to talk and bond together. With the rise of more activities on social media, the rate of chatting will definitely go higher too, I seriously hope we do not lose the importance of physical social interaction. I do hope!
In conclusion, chatting and its mother – social media- are not in the balance sense a bad thing but like they say, in all things moderation. There should be a borderline to things except in the case of having an online business when you would have to serially chat with customers. But still, there is a closing time too. Right?
This is my entry for the Hive Learners week 30 edition 2 topic which you can check out here.