Social Media Can Be Distracting
Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Interaction
Hey, friends! I recently found out that the first "tweet" from Twitter went up on March 26, 2006. What a crazy ride it's been since then, right? In some ways, I feel like I missed half the craziness of 2020 because I'm not on social media — and that's a relief for me.
I'm definitely not one of those people who believes I'm "superior" in some way for not using social media. I think there are plenty of benefits to social media along with plenty of drawbacks. For example, while I enjoy writing these newsletters and connecting with you, I also enjoy a great level of privacy. And when it comes to getting friends and family updates, in some ways, you could say I already benefit secondhand from social media. My wife uses some social media, so I get updates from her.
As mentioned in my very first newsletter, the foundation of my career has always been the personal relationship and trust I build with our dentists and their staff members. Besides privacy concerns, another drawback of social media is that sometimes a simple post is sent without much thought, and it does not have the human connection effect as face-to-face interaction, a handwritten note, or even a phone call would have. Whether in person or in print, I make sure the interactions I have with you are meaningful and genuine. That is why I eliminate all distractions when I write these newsletters to all of you each month.
Social media can be a big distraction; it's important for me to maximize my time and to control what I focus on each day. Just like what I do to make sure each of your cases are delivered to your office before your patients' scheduled cement appointment, or how I block out time on my calendar to get my newsletters finished for you. Although it takes a lot of thought and work, I truly enjoy writing these cover stories each and every month. It is a valuable use of my time, because it is very important for me to always keep in touch with you.
I've learned that everyone has complicated feelings about the recent invention of social media. I'm sure the past couple of years have made you consider the impacts of social media and whether those impacts have been good or bad.
Despite my lack of social media experience, I'm not convinced that it is necessarily bad. Yet, learning about the first "tweet" did make me curious — what do we know for certain about the impact of social media?
First, I've learned that social media has become nearly universal in American society. In 2005, a study showed that only 5% of U.S. adults used a social media platform (such as MySpace). By 2019, that number grew to 70%.
Second, a lot of people criticize social media for replacing quality time with family and loved ones. Apparently, research shows that the fear of social media replacing face-to-face communication (aka social displacement) has existed for at least 100 years or more since the invention of the telephone. "No matter what the technology is, [there will always be] a cultural belief that it's replacing face-to-face time with our close friends and family," says Jeffrey Hall, Ph.D., the director of the Relationships and Technology Lab at the University of Kansas.
But how does social media, in particular, actually affect our time with our loved ones? With so many people on social media today, could it be that most people don't replace social media time with face-to-face interaction?
I looked into this a bit and the Global Web Index revealed that 54% of social browsers use social media to research products. That means that social media isn't only an important part of our social lives, but it's also become a new virtual area for "storefronts" and getting information about products and services.
I've been interested in starting a social media front for my business for years. Although this newsletter is great to connect with you in a personal and meaningful way, I am definitely considering using social media to reach more dentists. This will help me to reach my 2021 goal of meeting and helping a handful of new dentists who are a perfect fit with our lab. If you have any great tips for me or would like to use a particular social media platform together, please reach out to me. I'm looking forward to continuing our connection through these newsletters, or in the future, possibly through a new social media platform — but still nothing beats face to face!
Thanks so much for reading. See you next time!
Social Media Can Be Distracting
Social Media Can Be Distracting
Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Interaction
Hey, friends! I recently found out that the first "tweet" from Twitter went up on March 26, 2006. What a crazy ride it's been since then, right? In some ways, I feel like I missed half the craziness of 2020 because I'm not on social media — and that's a relief for me.
I'm definitely not one of those people who believes I'm "superior" in some way for not using social media. I think there are plenty of benefits to social media along with plenty of drawbacks. For example, while I enjoy writing these newsletters and connecting with you, I also enjoy a great level of privacy. And when it comes to getting friends and family updates, in some ways, you could say I already benefit secondhand from social media. My wife uses some social media, so I get updates from her.
As mentioned in my very first newsletter, the foundation of my career has always been the personal relationship and trust I build with our dentists and their staff members. Besides privacy concerns, another drawback of social media is that sometimes a simple post is sent without much thought, and it does not have the human connection effect as face-to-face interaction, a handwritten note, or even a phone call would have. Whether in person or in print, I make sure the interactions I have with you are meaningful and genuine. That is why I eliminate all distractions when I write these newsletters to all of you each month.
Social media can be a big distraction; it's important for me to maximize my time and to control what I focus on each day. Just like what I do to make sure each of your cases are delivered to your office before your patients' scheduled cement appointment, or how I block out time on my calendar to get my newsletters finished for you. Although it takes a lot of thought and work, I truly enjoy writing these cover stories each and every month. It is a valuable use of my time, because it is very important for me to always keep in touch with you.
I've learned that everyone has complicated feelings about the recent invention of social media. I'm sure the past couple of years have made you consider the impacts of social media and whether those impacts have been good or bad.
Despite my lack of social media experience, I'm not convinced that it is necessarily bad. Yet, learning about the first "tweet" did make me curious — what do we know for certain about the impact of social media?
First, I've learned that social media has become nearly universal in American society. In 2005, a study showed that only 5% of U.S. adults used a social media platform (such as MySpace). By 2019, that number grew to 70%.
Second, a lot of people criticize social media for replacing quality time with family and loved ones. Apparently, research shows that the fear of social media replacing face-to-face communication (aka social displacement) has existed for at least 100 years or more since the invention of the telephone. "No matter what the technology is, [there will always be] a cultural belief that it's replacing face-to-face time with our close friends and family," says Jeffrey Hall, Ph.D., the director of the Relationships and Technology Lab at the University of Kansas.
But how does social media, in particular, actually affect our time with our loved ones? With so many people on social media today, could it be that most people don't replace social media time with face-to-face interaction?
I looked into this a bit and the Global Web Index revealed that 54% of social browsers use social media to research products. That means that social media isn't only an important part of our social lives, but it's also become a new virtual area for "storefronts" and getting information about products and services.
I've been interested in starting a social media front for my business for years. Although this newsletter is great to connect with you in a personal and meaningful way, I am definitely considering using social media to reach more dentists. This will help me to reach my 2021 goal of meeting and helping a handful of new dentists who are a perfect fit with our lab. If you have any great tips for me or would like to use a particular social media platform together, please reach out to me. I'm looking forward to continuing our connection through these newsletters, or in the future, possibly through a new social media platform — but still nothing beats face to face!
Thanks so much for reading. See you next time!
Darrell Lee
Darrell Lee has been a key part of Berkeley Dental Laboratory for over three decades. After starting as an employee in 1992, he purchased the company from its previous owners in 2008 and has built it into what it has become today.