Digitally Connected Teens Seek a Time Out

Digitally Connected Teens Seek a Time Out

Breaking news alert…teens need a break from…being social…that is digitally social. Surprised? I am…but then I am not. After all, these kids have been in the digital space from the moment they were born.

It takes a lot of work to maintain the consistent effort to be socially active and keep the online relationships going. Not the mention how much pain their fingers endure after sms’ing, Facebooking, Tweeting, Foursquaring, Pinteresting, What’s App’ing and the list goes on.

Let’s be honest. The digital age is exhausting. Constantly being attached to your smartphone, tablet, computer (am I missing anything?) and staying active online takes dedication…a lots of it. After all, how else will you know what everyone is doing, where they are, and who they are with? Without this valuable information, it is quite easy to be left behind.

Or is it?

“…a majority of survey participants say they prefer to chat face-to-face instead of text or tweet. One-third of teens actually desire time off from the Internet. Around 36% of teens who responded said they wish “they could go back to a time when there was no Facebook.”

I expected this type of comment to come from any age group but teens and younger. However, it makes sense.

My next question is…what does this mean for the future of all social…how will it be viewed? Did technology move too quickly? Will there be a backlash? Or better yet, crash and burn?

It makes me think of companies like Klout that rate an individual based on online reputation and influence. In order to have a high score rating, it is important to dedicate your time being digitally entrenched and active.

Is this going to be the expectation for future generations to come? Will there be a time-out that all can feel comfortable taking without risking a lower Klout score to losing followers on Twitter?

Seems to me that we are more social with our gadgets than our peers. Perhaps these teens are telling us something we so quickly forgot about life…that relationships exist far beyond that of the screen.

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