Social Animals in a Digital Cage

Though humans are said to be social animals by nature, the majority of our invocations lately are drawing us towards the other direction, and I can't help but wonder if we will still be regarded as social animals in years to come or if we will have been a complete shadow of ourselves. This I said due to the constant wave of technology innovations that promote online interactions, engagement, and service delivery over the contemporary ones we're used to. To be fair and honest, it's no lie that this innovation has been great and helped us in many ways beyond our comprehension, and that's why today I'll be talking about that extensively.

_{Image generated using Gemini AI}

It's not surprising that basically everything we used to do socially in the past has now evolved, and most can now be literally done online. From job and service delivery to working from home, even dating in social events can now be done online via different social media platforms. Making friends is no exception; unlike in the past when you needed to step out to make friends, nowadays you can stay in the comfort of your room and still make lots of friends, all thanks to social media. But is this great for humans, or would it ultimately take a toll on our lives?

The truth is that although it might have its downside, we can't disregard the fact that this transit into the online generation has its positives. For instance, as an introvert, you'll mostly be indoors and probably depressed due to an inability to converse with people, but nowadays they can be indoors and still get entertained via different content online or from making virtual friends.The same is the case with games, which even seem more profitable than contemporary games because some online games bring rewards due to their play-to-earn nature. Online jobs are another thing with their positivity, from saving you the cost of transport to lowering your risk of getting into transit dangers or inhaling toxic gas from moving vehicles; the positivity just seems endless.

Despite its many positive aspects and impact, it's worth noting that I believe if this continues—that is, if everything goes to being done online—it might lead to years of decay for humanity, whereby we might remain stagnant or even regret it due to many getting engrossed in online activities to the point where they'll be charged to delve into research, exploration, and the like, which usually brings about progress, discovery, and development for humanity. As we all know, the majority of the above can only be achieved when we have many social interactions and ditch the temptation of online distractions, so for us to not regress, we must be ready to do the needful that'll bring us more innovation.

And that's not even all. We all know that the more we move out, walk, and socialize, the better our health and the greater the flow of blood around our body system. So, peradventure humanity moves to a point where basically everything is done virtually, we might get to a point where all humans will regress health-wise due to various illnesses that'll arise from too much screen time and fewer social interactions and activities. For the survival of humanity, we mustn't let ourselves get overwhelmed by the online innovation; we must remember our place as a social animal and continue in that trend even if it is just to make sure we manage our time well so we won't solely be focused on online but merge it with some physical activity, exercise, and the like so as to strike a good balance.

All photos are taken and edited on canva, except stated otherwise.