Build for connection, not for optimisation.
I just read this and despaired.
https://kottke.org/18/02/digital-dating-and-the-content-commitment
facepalm.
How quickly our common sense and community-building behaviours are unravelling at the seams.
“What if he’s not on instagram, how do I build a relationship?”.
It’s a question that should never be asked.
We are becoming so overly reliant on measures we can objectively count (likes), rather than creating ways to understand each other in ways which are nuanced and complex.
I went to a children’s silent disco a couple of weeks ago, and watched in horror as 75 kids danced together in the same room, yet all having ‘on their own’ experiences.
What are we designing for any more? What are we trying to create where ‘social’ networks optimise rather than connect?
I know big data is attractive, but its the gaps between the zeros and ones where the interesting things lie. This is not the fault of technology, this is the fault of lazy humanity. Quick hit fixes, rather than investment in time and curiosity.
I have never been one to advocate digital detox, I think ‘switching off’ from digital is the wrong answer. Extremes never help any situation.
We need to learn how to better integrate the new and make it additive, not replacement. Augmentative, not dependancy.
It’s Sunday today — I hope you’re all making good use of today to be curious, connected and community-building.
