There is no doubt about it, we are more connected and able to communicate than ever before however; do we use that ability sensibly and moreover, are we now simply ‘slaves’ to communications technology?

Today we are some of the most active social networkers in the world – sharing our party pictures, our music playlists and our deepest secrets with hardly a moments thought. More than 60% of online users actively maintain a Facebook profile, and social networking is our favourite activity online in terms of time spent…(bbc.co.uk)

Look around any cafe or bar and you see groups of people, all continuously checking for new content on their prefered communications equipment. Frantically tapping away at their laptops, tablets and smartphones, people sit in a social void of reality, oblivious to the conversations around them. Constantly updating their Facebook profile and Tweeting mainly inane tosh to a virtual world, totally fixated on their electronic devices.

Mobile and social media are the driving forces of the next wave of digital change. But these advances are reducing our attention spans and creating new dilemmas for the way we live and work. Limiting ourselves to 150 carachters or text speak etc is missing out on so much that is to be valued in face-to-face human interaction.

Related articles

• Study finds social networking taking up toilet time (technology.inquirer.net)
• Social Media Strategy for Small Business 2013: A Totally Honest Look at Social Networks (amsterdamprinting.com)
• 5 Ways to Use Mobile Social Apps to Influence Customers (itmashable.com)
• Jealous Of Your Facebook Friends? Why Social Media Makes Us Bitter (patrickwatts7.wordpress.com)
• Why do we love our smartphones so much? (conversations.nokia.com)