Commencement speaker Barry Meyer: Don’t confuse social media ”friendships” with life’s truly meaningful relationships

Barry Meyer gives the commencement address at the ceremony on Sunday, May 17.
Barry Meyer gives the commencement address at the ceremony on Sunday, May 17.

To illustrate his message to Case Western Reserve University graduates and their friends and families Sunday, commencement speaker Barry Meyer recalled a magazine cartoon that stuck in his memory for years.

The strip showed a casket at the front of a funeral parlor that was nearly empty, with a woman—presumably the widow—commenting: “He has over 2,000 Facebook friends. I was expecting a bigger turnout.”

Meyer’s point: Technology may allow for immediate, far-reaching communication. Social media might help connect and network. But don’t mistake digital “friendships” for in- person ones, or allow them to substitute for life’s truly meaningful relationships.

“(They are) something that has been of great value in my life and career, and something that is arguably on a slow, inexorable, downward slide,” he said. “…What I’m referring to are direct, up-close personal relationships. Not simply connections—not contacts—but real relationships.”

Meyer (LAW ’67), former Warner Bros. CEO and chairman, shared experiences and unconventional decisions that shaped his 42-year career in the entertainment industry with about 2,000 students who received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at 2015 commencement ceremonies at the university’s Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center.

Graduates, family and friends filled the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center for the Sunday morning ceremony.
Graduates, family and friends filled the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center for the Sunday morning ceremony.

Another estimated 3,500 family members and friends of the graduates filled the center for the convocation before dispersing for separate diploma ceremonies by discipline campuswide.

Meyer, who guided Warner Bros. during the release of countless hit television shows and such critically acclaimed films as The Blind Side, Argo and the Harry Potter series, advised graduates and their guests to sincerely invest in the people who really matter in their lives—now and those they will meet personally and professionally.

“You can tweet, post, like, check-in, friend, unfriend, pin, periscope and follow anyone or anything with little to no effort. You may even be doing it right now. If you are, that’s Meyer…M…E…Y…E…R,” he joked. “No doubt, digital technology giveth a lot. I want to talk a bit about what it may taketh away.”

Real relationships—both positive and negative—require knowledge, understanding, depth and work, he said, not simply a connection.

“One can argue that use of social media can extend relationships—even deepen them,” Meyer continued. “It can help you find new ones, renew old ones and stay in touch regularly with a great many more people than you might have otherwise thought possible. But here’s what it can’t do: It can’t replace having a meaningful conversation with someone, or looking (him or her) straight in the eye.

“The nature and quality of what you’re communicating is just as important as the means and quantity,” he said. “Technologies will continue to run the cycle of introduction, evolution and obsolescence. The people who really matter in your life will not.”

Meyer was also one of four special guests to whom Case Western Reserve President Barbara R. Snyder presented with honorary degrees to recognize excellence in human endeavor, including scholarship, public service and the performing arts.

The other recipients were: Norman Augustine, former Lockheed Martin Corp. CEO and chairman; Stanley Bergman, Henry Shein Inc. CEO and chairman; and Adel Mahmoud, professor of molecular biology and public policy at Princeton University.

President Snyder also bestowed the 2015 President’s Award for Visionary Achievement to the Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust and its trustees William B. La Place and Phillip A. Ranney (LAW ’61). Smith (CIT ’17) co-founded Lubrizol Corp. and served as a trustee for his alma mater as well as its interim president for from 1958 to 1961. In 1972, he and his wife Thelma created a philanthropic organization to make a direct and positive impact on priorities—among them higher education, the environment and other organizations that benefit this region. The foundation has supported Case Western Reserve in myriad ways, such as endowed professorships and support for the Kelvin Smith Library, the Kent Hale Smith building and the Tinkham Veale University Center. President Snyder created the award in 2008 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves through exceptional philanthropic service to the university, the world and humanity.

In addition, Robert C. Elston, the Amasa B. Ford, MD, Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Distinguished University Professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, received the Frank and Dorothy Humel Hovorka Prize. The prize is awarded annually to a faculty member whose exceptional achievements in teaching, research and scholarly service have benefited the community, the nation and the world.