Social Media Is Making People Uninteresting

What stories will you tell at the end of your life?

You’re standing in front of the Sydney Opera House, but instead of looking at it, you’re searching for the perfect spot to turn around, hold your phone at arm’s length, and take a selfie with the sails in the background.

Then you walk away.

Will you remember how you felt at that moment? Did the magnificence of the scene make an impact?

I’m willing to bet you won’t remember. You’ll see the picture when it comes up in your “Memories” a year later, and you will know you were there, but your thoughts about it will be vague at best, just another moment you captured to seek approval.

There’s an argument that obsessive selfie-takers are narcissists. I don’t know if I believe that, but I do think that selfie-taking is a distraction that keeps you from living the life you’re portraying.

Instead of being in the moment, your life revolves around where you can capture the best selfies. The beautiful sights become a mere background as you search for the perfect spot while deciding what props to use or pose to take.

This scenario will hamper any attempts to talk about your trips with others. The best you will be able to muster is, “Look! I shot a selfie here and here!”

Your selfies aren’t unique, anyway.

How are pics of you in front of the Eiffel Tower going to be any different than the millions taken every year? They won’t. And sadly, your selfies will also have a short shelf life. People will see your posted images and forget all about them one moment later. Your life will solely exist to feed the beast; nothing is interesting about that.

In addition, the only skill social media teaches is how to be good at social media. All your conversations will be about something you saw online.

Excuse me for a moment while I stifle a yawn.

AI is not helping.

AI convinces people not to learn a skill or craft, like drawing, painting, or photography. Why should they? You can make astounding images from mere words now and post them every day. However, will anyone be impressed because you can give commands to a bot? There will be no story behind any of your pictures.

If you use AI to write, you can spew information without learning anything, so how will you be able to talk about it?

Again, dull city.

Even physical products and skills are beginning to lose their value online. With 3D printers, CNC machines, and laser engravers now priced low enough for hobbyists, your feed is likely filled with products that all look the same since everybody steals ideas from everybody. There are few original designs to be found.

You won’t make much money from this anyway. People are starting to believe they shouldn’t pay more than IKEA prices for these ‘handmade’ items.

Social media is also taking away interesting opinions.

Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you fall on, you’re more likely to spout the party line than form an opinion of your own. This will lead to conversations that sound like the unmovable object meeting the irresistible force.

You know what the other side thinks, and they won’t change their mind, so why bother?

So if you can’t talk about social issues, and you can’t tell great stories from your trips, and you won’t learn a craft or skill, what will you say to your grandkids? “Hey kids, gather round so I can tell you how I got good at taking selfies!”

You probably know what I will say next because you’ve heard it and ignored it before.

Turn off your screens and go outside and play. Explore the world with your phone turned off. Learn a skill from a class and not an online course you won’t finish.

Only then will you have stories to tell.