Etsuko Yasunaga came from Japan to Australia with a suitcase, a little savings and a little English. These days she is happy to call Inverloch home. By Etsuko Yasunaga
ADVANCED technology changed many aspects of our lives in the modern world. It brought many positives of convenience and effectiveness, perceived connection with others and a culture of sharing. The world is virtually right in front of us, just a click of the finger away. We can search pretty much anything and get answers instantly.
I can’t disagree with the positives that the technology has brought to our modern lives. However, I sometimes can’t deny the feeling of detachment, disconnectedness and shallow emptiness, especially in many social media sites. I feel its instantaneous nature encourages superficiality. I have several social media accounts, although reluctantly. The introverted nature of my personality is revealed strongly in those social networking sites. My accounts are often inactive as I don’t post much on those.
ADVANCED technology changed many aspects of our lives in the modern world. It brought many positives of convenience and effectiveness, perceived connection with others and a culture of sharing. The world is virtually right in front of us, just a click of the finger away. We can search pretty much anything and get answers instantly.
I can’t disagree with the positives that the technology has brought to our modern lives. However, I sometimes can’t deny the feeling of detachment, disconnectedness and shallow emptiness, especially in many social media sites. I feel its instantaneous nature encourages superficiality. I have several social media accounts, although reluctantly. The introverted nature of my personality is revealed strongly in those social networking sites. My accounts are often inactive as I don’t post much on those.
I’m not a conformist. I like to figure things out in my own way through my personal experience. Therefore, I’m little cautious when I come to jumping on the bandwagon. An example I’m talking about is Facebook. Ever since I made an account, I have been on and off this particular social media site for over thirteen years. Unlike the teenagers of the modern era who grew up with it, our generation was introduced to this new form of social networking later in our lives. Mine started innocently via an email invitation from one of my friends who had just joined Facebook. It went like this - such and such has joined Facebook and sent you a friend request. Would you like to accept? I clicked an accept button. My act was purely out of curiosity. Many were talking about this new form of social networking back then, and I guess I wanted to find out.
I enjoy finding out good news of dear friends – success in their career, achievement and social celebrations. The familiar smiles of close friends often light my heart up. Lovely pictures, beautiful video clips and thought-provoking articles posted and shared by friends are my favourite, and I embrace the diversity of circles of friends I have. However, I found Facebook can be the great time-waster, and some updates that appear in the news feed are quite trivial and insignificant. Small talk tires me out, while I crave for deeper conversation.
All the stuff choking the feed and the endless scrolling - is that all there is to social networking? I became increasingly dissatisfied with Facebook. I loathed the voyeuristic and exhibitionistic nature of this platform. Curiosity killed the cat and the bottomless news feed suffocated me. Enough was enough. I deactivated my Facebook account on summer solstice 2018.
My final post before deactivation quoted - I have decided to deactivate my account from summer solstice to autumn equinox. It's just an experiment I would like to carry out to bring more space in my life. Less noise but silence, less information but more intuition, less small talk but more reflection - that's what I would like to cultivate. This post may not appear in your news feed, and most of you don't even notice my quiet exit. I may not create a ripple, but my decision is firm. You know where I live, my number and where to meet me without Facebook. Happy summer solstice, everyone!
Have I missed much? Was I socially isolated? Did my friends forget to invite me for social engagement? Did I miss Facebook? The answer is no, not at all. The truth is I enjoyed deeper connection with people about whom I cared most. I continued to engage with my friends individually via emails, text messages and simply a talk on the phone. I observed I didn’t have a pressing need to share my life with others online all the time. Digital technology floods our senses with visual stimulation and keeps our minds busy. Many would agree that it is so easy to waste time scrolling down a page or click on to the next site that we fancy - the comment liked, photos with lots of thumbs up, the article shared, and a video clip gone viral. Everything is so fleeting, yet we are obsessed with it.
Time wasted is time never recovered. Let’s forget about the preoccupation with the self. Put down the smartphone and appreciate the real world whenever you can. Pay attention to people right in front of you wherever at work or at home. Be present. If we all start to focus on others more, and engage in creating authentic deep interaction with those people who matter most, the connection will be real and genuine. In the process of connecting with others authentically the true reflection of who we are will emerge like a beautiful lotus flower.
“May we exist in muddy water with purity, like a lotus.” – Zen verse
I enjoy finding out good news of dear friends – success in their career, achievement and social celebrations. The familiar smiles of close friends often light my heart up. Lovely pictures, beautiful video clips and thought-provoking articles posted and shared by friends are my favourite, and I embrace the diversity of circles of friends I have. However, I found Facebook can be the great time-waster, and some updates that appear in the news feed are quite trivial and insignificant. Small talk tires me out, while I crave for deeper conversation.
All the stuff choking the feed and the endless scrolling - is that all there is to social networking? I became increasingly dissatisfied with Facebook. I loathed the voyeuristic and exhibitionistic nature of this platform. Curiosity killed the cat and the bottomless news feed suffocated me. Enough was enough. I deactivated my Facebook account on summer solstice 2018.
My final post before deactivation quoted - I have decided to deactivate my account from summer solstice to autumn equinox. It's just an experiment I would like to carry out to bring more space in my life. Less noise but silence, less information but more intuition, less small talk but more reflection - that's what I would like to cultivate. This post may not appear in your news feed, and most of you don't even notice my quiet exit. I may not create a ripple, but my decision is firm. You know where I live, my number and where to meet me without Facebook. Happy summer solstice, everyone!
Have I missed much? Was I socially isolated? Did my friends forget to invite me for social engagement? Did I miss Facebook? The answer is no, not at all. The truth is I enjoyed deeper connection with people about whom I cared most. I continued to engage with my friends individually via emails, text messages and simply a talk on the phone. I observed I didn’t have a pressing need to share my life with others online all the time. Digital technology floods our senses with visual stimulation and keeps our minds busy. Many would agree that it is so easy to waste time scrolling down a page or click on to the next site that we fancy - the comment liked, photos with lots of thumbs up, the article shared, and a video clip gone viral. Everything is so fleeting, yet we are obsessed with it.
Time wasted is time never recovered. Let’s forget about the preoccupation with the self. Put down the smartphone and appreciate the real world whenever you can. Pay attention to people right in front of you wherever at work or at home. Be present. If we all start to focus on others more, and engage in creating authentic deep interaction with those people who matter most, the connection will be real and genuine. In the process of connecting with others authentically the true reflection of who we are will emerge like a beautiful lotus flower.
“May we exist in muddy water with purity, like a lotus.” – Zen verse