Don't Hide Behind Your Computer Screen

As a student in the communications industry, I’ve been dabbling in social media for a few years now. It seems to be all the rage. At every conference and workshop I go to, there’s always at least one mention of social media.

Although I fall into the category of “digital native,” I have to admit I wasn’t the first to jump aboard the social media express. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend why anyone would care about my answer to the question, “What are you doing?” and the first time I logged on to LinkedIn I was quite intimidated.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is forgetting about the ultimate goal of social media participation—meeting in person. Anyone can make a Twitter account and follow 12,000 people, but just because you sent someone a Tweet doesn’t mean much if nothing comes of it outside cyberspace. Now, sending someone a Tweet and referencing it when you run into that person at a conference is a great conversation starter and a way to break the ice.

Social media isn’t about sitting behind a computer screen pounding away at the keyboard and “liking” everyone’s status updates—that’s actually more anti-social. In reality, a lot of people are quite different behind a computer screen than they are in real life, which is why it’s important to maintain good face-to-face communication skills in addition to being social-media savvy.

What do you think? Have people’s interpersonal skills been put on the back burner because of social media? Is it more important to have skill in one area than the other?