Social is the new normal, as experts suggest and the masses demonstrate, and it operates on an even more precious commodity than exposure. That currency is trust. While advancements bring new opportunities, they bring with them dangers, as well. For that reason, more than ever before, we need to proceed with caution.
What is ultimately at stake here is a priceless element of our reputations and lives -- the trust factor. We extend trust to others in hopes they will also extend trust to us. This exchange helps us to determine the type and quality of our personal relationships. But be warned, while social media can position you in the right place at the right time, you might unwittingly find yourself in a more vulnerable position than you had intended to be.
New technology changes our views and affects how we think and feel. It can even change our culture. These broader cultural changes happen with or without our consent, but we do have control over how we incorporate new technology into our personal lives.
A few of these changes we don’t even think about anymore; we’ve simply become resigned, even complacent. First, in many metro areas, we are being watched all the time. It’s even been said that we are always on camera, whether it’s a traffic camera, a security video, or even in the background of the local news B-roll. We are being watched all the time. Second, so many people today are equipped with cameras on their mobile phones, and can at any time take our picture, or perhaps more intrusively, record us on video, anywhere, at any time.
Yet these changes hardly ever cross our minds. We walk around with our guards down. Not a good thing. With platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, nothing is hidden, or rather protected, from the public eye.
Just look around you—in a restaurant, shopping mall, or airport—chances are, more people are looking at their smartphones than those having actual face-to-face interactions. They are too busy being social on social networks to be personal in person. Let’s be honest with ourselves here; the "they" I have been referring to is us. We’re all guilty of this disconnection from time to time; however, we’ve got to keep in mind what is at stake at all times.
Namely, the essential elements that contribute to the construction or destruction of our real relationships.
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Just like the money we exchange for goods or services, the social currency we exchange in order to build and maintain meaningful relationships is trust. If we lose that trust with each other, what do we have?
Mike Muhney is the CEO of VIPorbit Software and the co-creator of VIPorbit Mobile Relationship Manager app for iPhone and iPad. VIPorbit.com
