Work recently started back up for me.
On Zoom, colleagues and I will sometimes have side conversations in the chat.
For example, I posted a visual I sketched. Someone "liked" it with a heart.
Then I felt the urge to go through what they had posted. I felt obligated to reciprocate the acknowledgment.
Pausing, I realized that social media had trained me how to interact with others online!
This is mindless technology use. It's when I allow the environment, the systems, and the tools to influence my behavior. As Newport notes in Digital Minimalism, these light interactions can replace deeper discussions with others.
"Digital communication tools, if used without intention, have a way of forcing a tradeoff between conversation and connection. If you don't first reform your relationship with tools like social media and text messaging, attempts to shoehorn more conversation into your life are likely to fail."(Page 146)
People deserve more than a like. Like me, they crave authentic relationships.