A flipbook project for FILM 260, or something like that

1. iFriends: One
Connection for
Another
By Robert Chiu
Photo: winterofdiscontent

2. Photo: Defence Images
The digital age has changed the face of our interactions.
Constant connectivity is the norm; everything from texting
to tweeting serves to put us in touch with our friends in just
an instant.

3. And we are getting
Photo: Robert Thomson
younger and
younger
when we first connect.

4. Photo: Mrs. Magic
Our generation has been born into a world far different than
that of our elders, particularly when it comes to our idea of
intimacy.

5. …is a thing of the past.
Photo: Alan Cleaver

6. Social networks compel us to outsource our lives online,
Photo: boltron-
opening everything we share to potential scrutiny.

7. A German study released last year suggests a negative relationship
between Facebook use and general life satisfaction…likely due to the
“envious” and “insidious” feelings the platform inspires.
Thoughts of social comparison—and competition—are inevitable.
Photo: Government Press OfficeSource: Science Daily

8. Photo: Barbo Uppsala
Nonetheless, we choose to provide
friends and strangers alike
with a constant window
into our lives.

9. For better or worse, this means
our physicaland digital
personas
Photo: flyzipper
are gradually melting
into one.

10. Photo: Matthew Burpee
Whether we pick up on these impressions or not,
everything we do online
is treated as a testament to our identity.

11. With the eyes of the
internet on our every
move,
the pressureis on
to keep our lives
looking as
picturesque
as possible.
Photo: Khanh Hmoong

12. Photo: andy z
Yet for all the time we spend practicing picture perfect
expressions, we are learning less and less about how to read
them.

13. Photo: Derpunk
Only 7%of
communication
is conveyed
through the
things we say.
The other 93%
consists of non-
verbal nuances
we can never
truly deliver by
digital means.
Source: AccuConference

14. Photo: k.landerholm
“Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn
how to have a conversation”
- A 16 year old texter
Source: New York Times

15. Photo: pedrosimoes7
We are attached at the hip to our devices.
We are constantly retreating to our screens,
giving ourselves an excuse to ignore the world around us.

16. Photo: Coal Miki
Access to each of our
friends rests at our
fingertips, yet genuine
interactions seem to be
moving beyond our reach.

17. Photo: PistoCasero
How can we be expected to
foster realrelationships…
…when so much of our
lives has been rendered
virtual ?

18. Photo: glennharper
Dunbar’s number holds that humans can maintain, at most,
150 stable social relationships; yet Facebook allows for friend
counts of up to 5000.
Source: MIT Technology Review

19. Photo: IntelFreePress
Perhaps that’s why 26% of people
do more socializing online than in
person.
Source: DigitalTrends

20. Photo: JB London
Our human connections are far more important than our
digital ones, yet sometimes we seem to neglect the former in
favour of the latter.

21. Photo: Montage Communications
But balance is key.
Used with care, each of these digital platforms can be great
tools for nourishing our personal relationships.

22. Photo: Khanh Hmoong
Just remember that it never hurts, every now and again,
to hang up the cameras, put away the computers,
and make conversation.