Social Media and Emotional Intelligence: Building Authentic Connections in a Digital World
Social media and emotional intelligence have become crucial aspects of everyone's life. Being very indulged in our lifestyle, it's high time that we also need to make connections in the virtual world.
Undoubtedly, social media is a double-edged sword. One edge helps you to stay connected with your friends and family to keep in touch, discover new interests, and stay updated with the latest news. On the other hand, it is a breeding ground for superficial interactions, envy, inducing comparisons, and online bullying.
Emotional intelligence comes to the rescue on the other side of the edge.
Emotional intelligence is the understanding and managing emotions, including empathy, self-awareness, and navigation ability in sensitive social situations. It is undoubtedly very helpful to establish some good virtual connections too.
Let's take a deep dive to explore the connection between social media and emotional intelligence.
- Self-awareness in the digital Realm: Know yourself – Before making any connection, whether virtual or real, take a moment to reflect on your emotions. What kind of feelings are you experiencing? Are you happy, inspired, and joyful for others, or are you in a state of loneliness, envy, or inadequacy? With self-awareness, you will be more sound to your emotions and can make the right choices about your online behavior.
- Be your own best friend first – Humans are their own harshest critics. We are human, and it's okay to have imperfections and all. So before diving into the virtual world, practice self-compassion and avoid comparisons from others. Every human is walking down with their own story. With their social media life, you will understand one part of the story or small parts of many levels but not the whole story.
- Understand the power of words – Online conversation can never match the charm of face-to-face conversation. Having a conversation with someone without facial expressions can generate miscommunication. So it is important to think and understand before hitting the "send" button. It takes a few kind words to spark kindness and positivity in someone's life.
- Embrace vulnerability – The magic of being real is real. People try to be the best version of themselves on social media, hiding and tempering their vulnerabilities. But they should know that their vulnerability is a powerful tool that maintains the authenticity of their personality. Don't fear to share your fears, struggles, true emotions, and triumph. Let your true self shine out and build a firm connection that can correlate with your story.
In a tech firm, the social media team handles customer complaints on platforms like Twitter. One user complained regarding some technical issues in the comment section. An emotionally intelligent manager responds to a frustrated customer by empathizing with his issue, apologizes, and offers a personalized solution. This approach helps build a positive perception of the company, enhances customer satisfaction, and fosters trust in corporation's customer support.
Conclusion
Building a connection is the art of framing your words and understanding others' emotions. It is a beautiful blend of empathy, vulnerability as well as self-awareness. The art becomes more challenging when it is virtual. But all you need is some good words to brighten someone's day, inspire a positive change, and develop a lasting and impactful bond. It's high time that we should embrace the charm of emotional intelligence and focus on authenticity in the digital world to connect hearts with minds.
About the Author
Dr.Anju Chawla
Dr.Anju Chawla is a passionate EI practitioner and is on a journey to enable people use their emotions to run their lives and not ruin it.
