According to Louis CK: "Everything is amazing and nobody is happy". Are we humans overwhelmed by witnessing Moore’s Law in action? Has Social Media and it’s accessories left us technologically rich but spiritually bankrupt? This panel will explore the effects Social Media is having on us as humans and spiritual creatures in three areas: -Our Evolution: Humans have spent millions of years hunting and gathering but just the past few pointing, clicking and tweeting. What effect is Social Media having on our development as human beings? Is it ushering us into the next stage of human evolution or is it just making monkeys out of us? -Our Relationships: Facebook is being cited by divorce lawyers as the next big catalyst for marriage break-ups, but it can also connect us with amazing people we never would have met otherwise. And what about our relationships with ourselves when we can’t even sit quietly alone because we have an iPhone? How can we use these tools to become actual friends and not just Facebook friends? -Our Spirituality: Social Media can connect us with some truly transcendent moments (Paul Potts singing opera) and these moments can make the human spirit soar. But, in the long run, is it just dumbing us down with instant gratification and vibrating Twitter notifications? This panel will explore how we can use our embarrassment of technological riches to become better and more content people.
Daniel Hope is a Counselor who focuses on the effects social media is having on our relationships. Daniel started his first company, Employee Insider (an employer-rating social network) in 2003 and has had a fascination with social media ever since.
In 2007 he formed Tracksuit CEO, a Social Media consultancy, and spoke at SXSW Interactive 2008 and 2009 about the flawed yet vital role of social media in the workplace.
Daniel is now a supervised Counselor at New Life Institute, offering low and no-fee counseling to clients in need. He is currently in the counseling program at Seminary of the Southwest where he also serves as an administrator.
Seeing first-hand the positive and negative impact that social media is having on individuals and relationships, Daniel now focuses his counseling and consulting efforts on harnessing that power to improve lives and relationships.
Technology geek. Psychology major. Vegan. Web entrepreneur (AwesomenessReminders.com, CompassionPit.com).
