That well known publication (in Huffington anyway) the Huffington Post, carries an article by Daniel Sieberg with his 'Declaration of Disconnection. He is severing all his on-line links with Facebook, Twitter et al. In carrying the story on its own site, the BBC mentions a Netherlands-based site, the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, where you can extract yourself from all of your on-line accounts through a few simple strokes of the keyboard. The site has so far had some 90,000 people commit virtual suicide!
Now the point of all this is that many people develop compulsive addictions to interacting with their on-line friends. These are people that they have never met, probably never will meet and only know about them from the perspective of what they post on-line. At the end of the day, these are generally superficial relationships that, it is argued, detracts from the real-life relationships that people have with family and friends. Will the suicide site encourage a kick-back from our virtual communication? Unlikely for most, probable for some.
The key to all this is why do you want to interact with total strangers in the first place? From my perpsective, as with many of my Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter friends and followers, it is to promote creative output, professional services or expertise. Sites like those and many others, provide the opportunity to gain recognition quickly and cheaply. As a business adviser, I often suggest to new businesses that they use these social networks in moderation in order to build up their professional profiles. For a start up business (or even in the current climate, existing ones) social media provides an immediate and very cost-effective way to promote a business.
Yes, if your life has moved from reality to virtuality, you may wish to reassess your relationships and commit virtual suicide but if you have a purpose for all this, think again.
