Skip to main content

Thinking about Online Connectivity and being 'Always On'.

Just wanted to share an article in the Harvard Business Review co-wrote by one of my instructors -

When I returned to work after my undergraduate program one of the things that I was unprepared for was how ubiquitous social media and internet communication technology (ICTs) would be in my work-life. I was working 24/7. Over and above working 15hr work days, I still had colleagues texting me on weekends in preparation for meetings on Monday (I learned to shift such meetings to Wednesday subtly, to buy everyone who desired some form of boundary, some time). 

I don't know about you but honestly, social media is draining and sometimes counterproductive. It's draining because we are forced out of etiquette to reply to everything - to respond, to provide input. It does not help that these applications are engineered in some way to facilitate this interruption. Notifications, chirpy ring tones, addictive mechanisms like 'likes' and 'shares' that not only compel individuals to perpetually scour for the next hit comment/ tweet/ post,but also respond to the things they share.

It's counterproductive at times mainly because of the way we curate our online identities. No one, or at least without it being frowned upon, posts a tragedy online continually (deaths in the family seem acceptable) - but facing rejection at work, love, life tend to remain in our offline spheres of life. The online is the realm of faraway escapades and gorgeous sunsets. When I was at work, I found myself feeling less and less grateful about what I had - looking at all these smiling faces and seemingly perfect lives. Reducing my social media activity has made me such a happier person that I think I might never return in force to the facebook platform (this was my predominant platform in the past).

I shared the article because, like me, I think that there are many others susceptible to being burnt out from being constantly online - the networked life indeed. The three points in the article are useful -I use at least two of them (setting boundaries is very important but not always possible) - to managing ICTs and keeping networks from being fretworks. - (Dad joke at the end). 

Comments

  1. Omer Arslan28 May 2020 at 18:27

    Hmm.. I think I need to bookmark that resource as I've seen it here (https://charliebislt.blogspot.com/2020/05/reflection-setting-boundries.html), too. Actually, I've read it as I've seen it on other blog post, but your perspective also resonated with me. Also, Erin's Blog has a very similar post this week here (https://ehajduklearning.blogspot.com/2020/05/on-social-media-fatigue.html). Sounds like we all feel in that way at certain points in time, as you've noticed in your last paragraph!

    Last week, I also felt overwhelmed and just gave permission myself to feel in that way as we're not only dealing with social media nowadays. Lots of uncertainties are going on.. Your perspectives on online identities are also interesting. When I was taking this course last summer, I've come across a paper on grief in which the authors examined a forum where people shared their griefs. I think what you're looking for can change based on where you're in your life span, and maybe there're people out there who is sharing their griefs and pain but it's not relevant to us, hence we don't see them, at least at the moment. I don't know, your post also made me think about it. *pondering*

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mooper28 May 2020 at 19:31

    "we don't see them, at least at the moment." - I think this really quite true Omer. I guess it's a human thing - we only hear the good stuff hahaha!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I'm back - Part 2 of 2

Building on what I mentioned in the last post on developing a community of practice for investment. I can think of just a few ideas, based on my reading of the subject. Essentially, I would argue that the community requires at least three main elements. Firstly, a common agreement or set of guidelines that dictate expectations on investment advice shared in the community can help to make clear two things - the possibility of success or profit as a result of said investment (namely that no investment is comes without risk) and, the expectation of adherence of advice between investors (namely, only you decide what you invest in - do not wildly trust others).  Secondly, a method of arbitration and moderation of disputes and information posted in the community. I would imagine that this is necessary to ensure that (1) fake news is not posted in the community that could harm it and, (2) to help ascertain veracity in disputes between investors/ members of the community. The main issue of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Building a Shared Knowledge Base for your Organization!

On that train of thought - talking about knowledge sharing here - I've been trying to compile a list of articles to do with developing a community knowledge base. Now in my previous post, I was talking about knowledge sharing in an organization that does not have the infrastructure for a thriving internet community. This post is really to share two articles I found regarding the creation of a shared knowledge base. The first, I found on a blog called quandora that talks about the 5 benefits of knowledge sharing within an organization.  Here is the website: https://www.quandora.com/5-benefits-knowledge-sharing-organization/ As a summary, the five benefits are: Re-use the organization's best problem-solving experiences.  Improve decision-making. Increase growth and innovation. Improve customer service. Reduce the loss of tacit knowledge. Now the second article is more detailed, pertaining to a specific case - building self-service for customer support.  Here is the website:...
Post a Comment
Read more

Data analytics - My repository of useful knowledge

Hey all! I still have knowledge sharing withdrawal so here's another knowledge repository that I am slowly crafting on data analysis and the like. So here we go! 1. Why Big data? http://www.industriuscfo.com/7-benefits-using-big-data/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/11/06/five-benefits-of-big-data-analytics-and-how-companies-can-get-started/#2dfc29ef17e4 https://www.sas.com/en_sg/insights/analytics/big-data-analytics.html https://www.dataversity.net/many-benefits-big-data-company/ https://www.newgenapps.com/blog/importance-benefits-competitive-advantage-big-data/ Potential reading list for big data -  https://solutionsreview.com/data-management/top-25-best-big-data-books-on-amazon-you-should-read/ 2. Examples of Big data done right https://intellipaat.com/blog/7-big-data-examples-application-of-big-data-in-real-life/ https://builtin.com/big-data/big-data-examples-applications https://www.datapine.com/blog/big-data-examples-in-real-life/ 3. P...
3 comments
Read more