Balancing Social Media and Social Interactions

With the constant growth of social media, we are learning to send messages rather than call our friends and family. We take walks and spend our time scrolling through newsfeeds rather than enjoying the outdoors.  We communicate with more people online than we do in person and the sense of community is declining.

Meetup.com is a website where anyone can organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting face-to-face. More than 9,000 groups get together in local communities each day, with the goal of improving themselves or their communities. Groups range from the South Bay Rock Climbing Group to the French Bulldog Meetup Group.  I believe that companies like Meetup will do well because it incorporates  social media, while helping communities learn to make time for face to face interactions. I see generation Y’s using and talking about websites like Meetup, and I believe that they will quickly become more popular.

Finding activities you enjoy and joining a group will help you make it a reoccurring part of your schedule. In a society where we are so attached to our phones and other electronic devices, I feel it important that we find ways to create space in our lives and escape from our emails, apps, and newsfeeds from time to time. I find my escape through both running and yoga and I strongly encourage others to try and find activities that allow them to create time for themselves.