Recently I read an interesting article by Cal Newport about Analog Social Media. He describes it as ”organizations, activities and traditions that require you to interact with interesting people and encounter interesting things in the real world.” Joining this initiative means re-learning how to socialize.
Learners are interesting and fascinating people. They are attentive to everything, everyone says. They respect the time to listen, being silent (which as the same letters as listen, only in a different order). They are humble in their views and always willing to show up and be there when you need.
Re-learning to socialize means you have to move, take action and look with your eyes fixed on others. While digital social media controls your eyes and what you see, analog social media allows to experience self-control of your eyes and attention.
To involve yourself in analog social media, you have to get out of your comfort zone and that is the best attitude for learning.
In digital social media, you may try to spread an idea, but it is through analog social media that you make it happen.
Every social media reality has its place. The problem is when you replace one for the other. And we may think our need to re-learn how to socialize means the recognition that humanity gave a step backward in our cultural evolution. But I don’t think so. Now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to find the rightful place of things undervalued in the past and use it to mature into a brighter future.