The Illusion of Connection
What we share online and what it might be doing to us
Today I’m curious about what we share online and the impact it has on others.
Most of my life isn’t online. When my sister has a birthday, I send her a message, post her a gift, or talk to her on the phone, sometimes all three but I don’t put it on social media.
When I bought a car , a car I funded through a coaching programme I launched purely because otherwise I would have been carless I didn’t post it online. Even though when I fetched it there was a fanfare around it, balloons and big reveals and all the rest.
Running a business of my own, I know we have to gain trust from an audience. We have to show that we are credible. Often I see this as business owners sharing pictures of fancy cars, houses or holidays. I assume it’s meant to inspire the audience to work with them indirectly promising the same luxuries if they adopt their approach.
However, after 13 years as a business owner, I know that we are all super unique and while we can take advice from others, which in many cases accelerates potential success , it is by no means a direct route.
It may inspire us to take action. But how do these shares actually make us feel?
Today is Valentine’s Day. So many posts online. Sharing the love of partnerships for all to see. Yet again I don’t understand why we have to take something so intimate and move it online. Is it that partners don’t feel seen unless it is recognised publicly? Or is it something else?
I don’t know the answer. But I feel disconnection rise within me when I see a lot of this content.
When life appears full of fancy houses, holidays, cars and loving partners highlighted on the regular, surely that cannot be healthy for those who would love to live that life but, for whatever reason, don’t.
Online sharing is shallow because it only shows a snapshot. Yet when do we, as consumers of that content, step into the awareness that we are only being invited into a slight peek into someone’s life. without any real depth?
Celebrities do this constantly. And often, behind the scenes, everything is falling apart. But in the moment, when someone is scrolling, all they see is the perfection. Comparison can be a painful place to be.
I want to highlight today how important it is to connect with other humans at a deeper level than social media allows. I also want to invite you to consider why you share what you share.
Does it really add value to the world to constantly show how amazing your partner is and how shiny your new car looks after your ideal partner washed it, ran you a bath and dropped rose petals around it?
I exaggerate. But hopefully you see my point.
Life has ups and downs. Social media is not life.
We think we are so connected because of it, yet I would argue it has led many of us to feel more disconnected, lonely and disheartened.
Like Hearted Leaders and my expansion into the Like Hearted Community is my way of counteracting what I see happening. I believe we need to deepen our conversations. To really open up about what it is actually like to be human in today’s world.
I want to create more opportunities for people to gather in community with like hearted people.
Community will save the world.
And I’m here for it.