Is Social Media Really an Innovation?
When we look at the rapid rise of social media and online networks, it may seem like a purely technological phenomenon. However, its roots lie much deeper, in human nature itself. Social networks are a natural outcome of the evolution of human desire.
From the earliest stages of human development, connection existed primarily within the family. It was a simple and natural form of connection based on survival and continuity. Families grew into small communities, villages, and eventually cities. These, in turn, developed into nations. For most of history, a person lived within a very limited social circle and rarely felt the need to go beyond it.
Only a select few—rulers, merchants, or explorers—established connections between distant places. These connections were not driven by a desire for unity, but by egoistic needs for trade, power, knowledge, and resources. As the human desire to receive pleasure grew, it pushed us to expand our connections beyond our immediate surroundings.
This is how commerce, cultural exchange, and later political ties developed. Roads were built, trade routes were established, and people began interacting across continents. Still, these connections remained external and limited.
A major shift occurred with the invention of printing. For the first time, ideas could be shared widely without direct personal contact. Knowledge became accessible to the masses, and a new form of virtual connection emerged. This was followed by newspapers, which created a shared awareness among large populations.
Then came radio, which broke the limitations of distance entirely. People could receive information instantly, without physical connection. Each technological advancement reflected the growing human desire to connect, to know, and to be involved in a broader reality.
The Internet is the culmination of this process. It did not emerge randomly. It began as a tool for scientific collaboration, which let researchers share information efficiently. However, very quickly, it expanded into a global network used by everyone. Its rapid adoption shows that humanity was already internally prepared for such a connection.
Today, the Internet, and especially social media, has become a central part of our lives. However, we still use it in a very primitive way. We exchange information, opinions, and endless content, but we see how we fail to receive any kind of meaningful fulfillment from all this activity. We feel that something is missing.
The reason is that external connection alone is no longer sufficient. Humanity approaches a new stage of development where the connection needs to become internal.
Our desire continues to grow. It no longer seeks just information or entertainment. It seeks a deeper and more meaningful connection, which goes beyond words and images. We want to feel others directly, to understand them effortlessly, and to be part of a unified system.
This is why the current form of social networks feels limited. We are still “playing” with connection, like children experimenting with a powerful tool. We send messages, share content, and accumulate hundreds or thousands of “friends,” yet we lack a meaningful and fulfilling connection. A person is naturally capable of maintaining meaningful relationships with only a small number of people. The rest is an expression of an inner desire that has not yet found its optimal form.
This desire points to the next stage of human development, which is a spiritual form of connection. In this state, connection will not depend on external platforms or devices. Instead, it will be an inner network where thoughts and desires flow freely between people. We will feel each other as parts of a single system just as we feel the organs of our own body.
Social media is a transitional stage toward this deeper connection. It helps us approach the realization that we are interconnected, but it does not yet provide the means to fully experience it. As humanity continues to evolve, the need for a deeper and more meaningful connection will only grow stronger. We will gradually realize that external networks cannot fulfill this need.
The next step is to learn how to develop an inner connection between people, a connection based not on egoistic benefit, but on mutual understanding and unity. When this happens, we will experience a completely new level of existence, where humanity functions as a single, integrated whole. Such a form of inner connection will completely fulfill us, and we will experience a newfound harmony, peace, and happiness the likes of which we have never felt in our present lives.
Based on “Social Media & Social Networks, Part 1 of 2 – Jtimes with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.” Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
