Gary Turk

'Everyone should watch this at least once.'

'This short video by Gary Turk is a reminder of the effects of social media on our society. By connecting online, we are disconnecting offline. What are we missing from life as a result? What critical moments do we miss that we didn't even know passed us by? Be sure to watch this entire video, especially the ending.' 

    

   - A powerful message written at the start of the webpage, just above the video.  'By connecting online, we are disconnecting offline' - no truer words have been written this day.  This shows that more and more people are realising the effect that social media has on our mind, body and soul.  Give the video a watch and see how you react, I know that I was completely overwhelmed and nearly shed a tear for all of those missed moments.

The video is entitled 'Look up', something which many people choose to ignore as they are glued to their smartphones 24/7.

Below are some quotes which I took from the video, each one hit deep inside my heart and made me feel quite angry at our modern stupidity;

- 'The media we call social, is anything but'.

- 'A world where we're slaves to the technology we mastered'.

- 'We all share our best bits but leave out the emotion'.

   - It is often difficult to express true feelings via social media, people only really see the best bits as it is easy to hide the hurt behind a computer screen.

- 'Talk to one another, learn to co-exist'.

  - I find this line extremely absurd, it's as if the creation of technology has pulled us apart and taught us to forget the natural instinct of co-existing.

- 'We're a generation of idiots; smart phones and dumb people'.
  

- 'When you're too busy looking down, you don't see this chances you miss'.
  - The question which people fear the most, 'What could've been?'

- We spend hours together without making eye contact.

  - I often find myself sitting with friends or family and realising that I have barely said two sentences or even looked at what they're wearing that day.

- 'Stop watching this video, live life the real way'.

  - This is the key line of the whole video.  The constant rhyme throughout makes it become addictive and almost impossible to stop watching until the end.  I also find it interesting how Turk assumes that his message has fulfilled it's intention and promotes the fact that people shouldn't watch his video anymore, once you've had the 'epiphany'.  Personally, I feel the hard hitting truths of the video would find a place in any social media users' heart.  

This video has helped to change the way I view the use of Social Media and encouraged me to enjoy life offline.