SOCIAL media has affected the way we communicate and how we conduct our friendships.

Now it’s the influence behind a new stage show visiting the Liverpool Empire this week.

Performed by five young circus performers, Traces is based on the idea that the meaning of life is judged on how we chose to spend it and the traces of that we leave behind.

“When you live your life considering that – how you effect people, how you share with people, how creative you are, how responsible you are toward the world, the planet and the people around you, it becomes the meaning of your life and this stays in the trace you leave,” explains Gypsy Snider, creative director of 7 Doigts de la Main, the company behind the show.

“So there’s the idea of them performing as if there were no tomorrow that has to do with them leaving their traces, trying to touch people, trying to express themselves in very simple terms.”

The hour and 20-minute show is set in a bunker at the end of the world, where the action is split between energetic acrobatic performances and monologues.

“It’s a place where there’s no stimulation, it’s baron cement, broken down, they have no real tools to be creative on stage so it’s really about being as creative as you can with as little as you can,” says Snider, who has worked with Cirque du Soleil.

“We tried to create a very contrasting atmosphere for them to perform in because that creates a tension for them throughout the whole show.

“There’s no flashy video elements, beautiful costumes or special effects, it’s all coming just from them.”

The social media influence is in the monologues – or confessions, as Snider refers to them.

“They have these simply-written pieces, which is why I call it a Facebook form of communication, to say ‘this is who I am, these are the things that are important about me, and if you wanted to get to know me this is what I would have to say’,” she explains.