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Is Social Media Anti-Social?

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john.quinn

john.quinn

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Dec 2, 2009
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#1
Been thinking quite a bit about Social Media lately (how can you not???). In conjunction with a very interesting discussion with a Generation Y "representative" on DR, I'm wondering if this up-and-coming generation or two faces real challenges and/or dangers as a result of this (absurd??) proliferation of social mobile media.

We had to fire our recent Gen Y Sales hire. NICE young man! He did a marketing internship with us his final semester in school, and really wanted to sell cars -- just LOVES cars, and wants to make automotive a career.

Just has no interpersonal skills. Eye contact, body language, speech -- all need a lot of work. Just not confident in front of people -- maybe the best way to describe the situation: unnatural around people.

But he has over 1000 Facebook friends. To read his posts and view his pictures, he's vibrant, and warm, and popular and bright -- just the type of All American Boy-Next-Door you'd want to rep your product.

Bottom line: can't interact appropriately with real people.

Seeing that the Gen Y rep mentioned above wrote that Gen Y views good eye contact and a firm handshake as "salespeople gimmicks," and seeing some interesting related phenomena over the last couple of years, I really have to wonder. Certainly something I'll be conscious of with my own kids.
 
#2
John, I've been thinking the same. I even took a few minutes this weekend to explain and teach my 8 year old son the value of a firm handshake. I do fear a little for this GenY. But is technology all to blame? Parents too need to play a role in making sure their children don't turn into online social hermits. Each Generation has something to say about the next, while forgetting their somewhat to blame. The issue you / I have is the interaction of GenY with ours and older generations. But if and when it's a GenY world, will is be such an issue? Will the eye to eye contact matter or will it only matter via webcam?Will the first hand shake matter or will the proper use of emotions out weigh? I don't know - I sure hope not. We keep telling ourselves these things matter. And they do to us, but will they to GenY?
 
#3
Its not Gen Y, so much as it's a young lad that needs to learn how to "cut the cord". Social skills come naturally to some and to others it's an uphill battle all the way. The kid you canned sounded a lot like me back in the day.

That being said, The young lad has to "want" to bust out of his bubble. You can't teach "want".

You can lead a horse to water...
 
#4
I agree with you guys (Jeff & Joe) 100%. While it's kinda fun to throw jabs at Gen Y :D, applying these lables to an entire generation cannot be entirely appropriate. It will always come down to individuals -- and, of course, how those individuals are raised.

Still, there seems to be an added -- is "danger" too strong a word? -- with this brand-new level of "social" interaction. Can you imagine your parents having to have a discussion with you in the 9th grade about "sexting?" And if your news feed is anything like mine, then more than once you may have asked yourself, "Doesn't she have 3-4 kids? How can she update her facebook page every 20 minutes EVERY day?" At the least, there's certainly a new dynamic in play at home.

Jeff, when I think about the larger implications of what you describe: eye contact via webcam, and cyber-social becoming the "real" social, it's a sad thought. Joe --didn't Woody Allen take a poke at similar futuristic concepts in one of his movies?

Because one thing I can tell you with 100% certainty -- despite what all the software vendors and marketing experts and social gurus et al will tell you, this (automotive) business is still a "people" business first and foremost. The formula/basis/foundation for success has not changed one iota: treat your clients better than the next guy and you win! Tools change, sure. No doubt they will continue to do so. But this business is all about people. Although it seems to get harder and harder to remember that...
 
#6
Maybe the future will shape dramatically the way we interact and we are experiencing the beggining of it. I used to come back from school and play in the streets all day until dinner or homework time. I played with dozens of other kids. Now as I live in the suburbs my 8 yo and my 3 yo barelly have a few friends in the street to play a couple times a week. My 8 yo already knows how to use a PC, a DVD, ondemand, a cell phone, etc.
 
#7
Like with everything else in life a good balance is important. For the past 2 years I have spent 75% of my awake hours in front of a laptop screen, im sure ive lost some of my people skills but theres still a little bit left because I had them developed before I became a digital hermit. The thing that stuck out to me was the neighborhood part. When I grew up I was outside with every kid in the neighborhood playing street hockey or basketball. All of the parents knew each other and watched each others kids. These days there are very few kids playing in the neighborhood and honestly I only know 1 of my neighbors. I think you are right a lot of socializing is happening through online mediums such as facebook and other social tools. It a little bit sad for the inperson skills but man it makes a powerful statement as to why Social Medium is a medium that is worth tapping since that is where people are talking these days :)

-LouNeo
 
#9
Hi, I know this is a very old post which I noticed today but I could not help replying back to this, sharing my thoughts. Before judging if social media antisocial I would like to see what antisocial is?

Antisocial behavior can be generally characterized as an overall lack of adherence to the social mores and standards that allow members of a society to coexist peaceably.

See, I view social media as a very good medium to interact with others and share your opinions and views without any boundary. So, for me social media is not antisocial. This all depends on the person who is using this, the way he has been brought up, his education and his religious and personal views towards life.
 
#10
Sara,

Thanks for bumping this thread. May I note the lack of "GenY" comments...

I don't think of any social media outlet to be different from face to face interactions in the big picture. Everything is a personal interaction. Moreover, interactions in person are memorable to those present at the moment and those hearing the recounted subjective story; web based actions are there for all to see, indefinitely, in and out of context.

Those that have met me can attest, I am the same person no matter where we've interacted.

Lack of interpersonal skills are not indicative nor exclusive to GenY.

Just wanted to represent my generation in the thread...back to work I go!
 
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