Daily Times

The Millennials are possibly the most examined generation of our time. They are best characterised by their short attention span, which renders them unable to commit to anything long-term. Thus their day-to-day lives are reduced to nothing more than a focus on instant gratification.

Consider, how a typical urban hipster twenty-something begins the day. First is the clumsy reaching for the smartphone as soon as sleep fades away and consciousness sets in. This is the virtual portal through which they live their reality. Maybe they are checking Whatsapp for work-related updates. Or maybe it is Facebook that they are browsing every ten minutes to see who has done what and where. Or else they are busy stalking the hippest folk on Instagram. And they never get out of bed before applying the latest Snapchat filter required to ready them to face this brave new world. In short, a life void of interface engagement is a life not worth living.And herein lies the crux of the problem.

Above all keep one thing always in mind: Snapchat’s reindeer filter isn’t meant to be used in every situation possible

In our previous incarnations we used to go out into the world to live. Back then, having a job meant getting out of bed and dressed. Someone’s birthday would involve perhaps going over in person to celebrate or else, when that was not possible, telephoning in one’s good wishes. Or even simply sending a birthday card.

In short, we focused on spending time with those we cared for. And in the real world this held currency. People just dropping in was the thing. Now it’s all about event hopping and the number of likes and shares and retweets we can muster.

This is how the Millennials measure their self-worth. And this is why they effectively lose their marbles when even one social media network goes down. They feel disconnected, quite literally. Imagine their horror, for example, when on holiday and they can’t put up their ‘envy posts’. This is what consumes them rather than the actual soaking up of the experience, the experience of making memories.

It has now reached a point where there are now actual stories about the awful things people do to themselves just to look good on Instagram. This includes, but is not limited to, stealing, faking it in terms of appearance or social standing. Psychologists have already recognised this as a disorder. We need to be very careful about its long-term effects because in the real world – where you have to work to earn money – we cannot switch jobs at the click of a button or un-friend someone at another click without very real consequences. Neither can we benefit from the cloak of online anonymity that affords us the passing of vicious judgement without risk of fisticuffs that we have all become so used to.

So here is some advice for you, my dear readers, switch off once in a while. Yes, you heard that right. Switch off for entire days at end and pamper yourself with a little detox that goes by the name of real life. And always remember to lead your online life exactly as you would your offline. Meaning, think before commenting. And, above all, please understand that not everyone – heck not even ten percent of us – can just zoom in and out of life whenever the fancy takes us. We all have to put in hard work and we must do so on a consistent basis, regardless of skill set.

And above all keep one thing always in mind: Snapchat’s reindeer filter isn’t meant to be used in every situation possible. Oh, and neither do you think or behave or live like Rumi – so kindly please stop the philosophical I’m-so-poetically-profound-that-my-life-is-one-never-ending adventure of pure wanderlust. Because here’s the thing. Nobody actually falls for any of this.

The writer is the CEO of MindMap Communications. His passion for creating new narratives through technology is surpassed only by his love of nature photography