“Personal” space in today’s world

Everyone wants their space; everyone enjoys being alone sometimes and having at the minimum some time to focus on themselves – or at least everyone deserves such a “space”.

by Scott Bruce – Guest writer – see his CV here

In today’s world “space” isn’t as freely available as it used to be.  I’m not talking about physical space-well, not entirely.  People are constantly connected today, most people are never in essence “alone”.  Perhaps you are home alone – lucky; but thanks to the ever welcome advances in technology, there is a plethora of devices for you to choose from –and a billion friends on the other side of *twilight zone music*.  For most people, getting a hold of one of their friends or family members is literally as easy as making a phone call or sending an email message; making things easier yet less special and far too frequent for some.

When was the last time you wrote or received a letter?

People do not take the time to write letters anymore and I understand why.  Letters are tedious – and not everyone has the best penmanship – but everyone’s typing is legible.  For some, the personal touches are left out all together.  Finding your soulmate or “play mate” (to be serious) is as easy as downloading an application and finding the nearest heart-beat.  People have met their soul mates, been dumped by way of a text message, and lost all their dignity through a “sext” scandal – and they didn’t even leave the house.

The world is a scary place, and thanks to our own desire to communicate incessantly, we have invited the scary world into our homes – and into ourselves.  A recent survey conducted in the US reveals that today’s youth are being bombarded with irrelevant information from their smartphone. The survey revealed that 51% of Millennials cannot go more than three hours without checking their smartphone.

Some may even argue that the current generation is addicted to being “always connected”, constantly being able to find the answer to almost any question; sharing every situation and capturing it all on video – this is the world we all live in.  Due to the constant use of technology, people are becoming overwhelmed with information, connections and personal files.  A photo used to have meaning but today we take thousands of irrelevant photos on a monthly basis, which we “share” with people we do not even know on the Internet for the  gratification that people “like” you.

We live in a world of constant information; important information has become clouded with trivial bits and pieces of others lives – 50 or so years ago one would receive a letter addressing the important details of someone’s life – however, today we no longer have the “gap” of distance. People update each other on their every movement, like and dislike – constantly.

This constant connection subtracts a great deal from the “personal” factor of life.  Slowly but surely people are moving along a path of similarity, losing what makes us individuals. 

We shape our lives based on what is considered appropriate by the rest of the world; peers matter, yet with technology growing at the rate it is, as well as Social Media becoming an integral part of everyday life, your “peers” are no longer your family and friends, but rather the whole world – you’re connected.  Constant comparisons are made; we see what others are doing and we strive to do the same – why? – because everything sounds amazing in theory on social media.