In the essay Isolated by the Internet, the author Clifford Stoll argues about negative influences of the internet on our social life. According to Stoll’s argument, the internet harms and weakens people’s social relationships. Moreover, Stoll quotes the research of psychologist Kraut and Lundmark which concludes that, “greater use of the Internet was associated with small but statistically significant declines in social involvement as measured by communication within the family and the size of people’s local social networks, and with increases in loneliness and depression” (225). The internet only provides weak social ties between people rather than deep ones. However, in my opinion, the internet does not negatively affect social relationships.
…show more content…
When I was about to attend University of California, Riverside, I was seized with fear of studying abroad for the first time. In fact, I completed all education from kindergarten to high school diploma. I was afraid not only with adapting to a new environment but also with making new relationships. While preparing for the new environment, one of my teachers suggested me to search for a Facebook group of the college. Fortunately, I was able to find the group for Class of 2018 and Korean international students. Then, I joined both groups and contacted several students through Facebook. Since I know how to build a relationship with Korean, I was more likely to contact with members of the group for Korean international students. Moreover, I could find the graduate, named Noah Kim, from my high school who went UC Riverside a year ago. Thus, I had contacted him and met him before I went to UC Riverside. As a result of making several relationships through Facebook, when I arrived at Riverside, I could adapt to the new environment much easier than I thought; Kim helped me a lot with adapting to new cultures and making friends. Interestingly, I am now getting messages from post freshmen of UC Riverside about our school, and environment, since I became a well-adapted sophomore and an executive member of Korean Student Association. As shown above, social medias definitely provide diverse ways to find new relationships. Indeed, social medias are gates of the place where people can build new social ties regardless of distance and
When I was about to attend University of California, Riverside, I was seized with fear of studying abroad for the first time. In fact, I completed all education from kindergarten to high school diploma. I was afraid not only with adapting to a new environment but also with making new relationships. While preparing for the new environment, one of my teachers suggested me to search for a Facebook group of the college. Fortunately, I was able to find the group for Class of 2018 and Korean international students. Then, I joined both groups and contacted several students through Facebook. Since I know how to build a relationship with Korean, I was more likely to contact with members of the group for Korean international students. Moreover, I could find the graduate, named Noah Kim, from my high school who went UC Riverside a year ago. Thus, I had contacted him and met him before I went to UC Riverside. As a result of making several relationships through Facebook, when I arrived at Riverside, I could adapt to the new environment much easier than I thought; Kim helped me a lot with adapting to new cultures and making friends. Interestingly, I am now getting messages from post freshmen of UC Riverside about our school, and environment, since I became a well-adapted sophomore and an executive member of Korean Student Association. As shown above, social medias definitely provide diverse ways to find new relationships. Indeed, social medias are gates of the place where people can build new social ties regardless of distance and