A little Sunday afternoon opinion piece – interested to hear your thoughts…

Social media’s a party right? It’s fast, fun and free and everyone’s invited. It can even shift power from the traditional heavyweight to the little guy. But are we sleepwalking towards a day when shunning Facebook and just saying no to Twitter is deemed socially irresponsible? Could being a social media refusenik make you invisible to society and ultimately render your citizenship void?

Social media’s efficacy could hold the seeds of something quite dark, a tipping point where an individual feels it is less an option and more an obligation to be present on a social media platform. Could it effectively become compulsory – if not in law then in civic and practical terms – to join in the ‘conversation’?

Local and national government, the emergency services, schools and the health service will increasingly communicate instantly and comprehensively via social media, passing on vital information at a single click. This how we will vote, be educated and diagnosed. In this environment, the bright conviviality of social media looks a little less sunny: a demand rather than an opportunity. Deepak Chopra has described social media as the ‘next phase of humanity in which we are not just connected but inseparable’ – that may feel like a stranglehold to some.

One disturbing aspect of a brave new world in which we are forced to connect is that many simply can’t: illiteracy and technological black holes mean that much of the world’s population is unable to take part. In future these people may not hear information essential to their health and well being nor have their voices heard.

There have always been those who shun the orthodoxy of society, living in forests or in caves, surviving off grid. Could it be that soon, simply by turning off your computer and your phone, or by living beyond broadband’s reach, you become one of them, an outsider, hearing nothing, not being heard? If you’re not at the party, where will you be?