“The Lonely American” Do you ever find yourself with absolutely no one to talk to about just the “normal” or the most important issues in your life? Well, I do, and I’m not the only one according to an article called “The Lonely American” from my Sociology textbook. For as long as humans have gathered in groups, it seems, some people have been left on the outside looking in. America in particular the idea that loneliness intrudes a portion of society has been a near constant (Giddens).
According to the sociology textbook, a great number of people were surprised to read news reports in June 2006 that “Social Isolation is Growing in the U.S.” (Vendatam 2006) and “The Lonely American Just Got a Bit Lonelier” (Fountain 2006). You would think …show more content…
The main importance of this study is language in analyzing the social world. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. It can be debated that Facebook and other social networks have contributed to the development of symbolic interactionism and its individual components to a certain extent. Meaning, language and thought are perceived as three basic components of symbolic interactionism. The role of meaning in social media and Facebook, etc. is different from the role of offline interaction. Unlike being face-to-face to someone, messages posted on Facebook are accessible to everyone, and other users and even the person being communicated with can misinterpret these. Secondly, language is perceived by symbolic interactionism as a set of symbols to communicate and negotiate meanings with others members of society. Although Facebook doesn’t have a limits in terms like lengths of messages, and posts, which is an advantage, it is very difficult to determine exactly how the person is truly feeling, or what exactly is being said making it a huge disadvantage. Thirdly, thought is associated with the modification of meaning for each individual according to his or her own interpretation of communication through language. Facebook can be effective for society to create their thoughts and meanings. Social media provides the opportunities of talking through status updates, pictures, videos etc. but the disadvantage is people use this way of communication as an alternative to one on one conversations. Even though Facebook and other social media websites are used as an effective tool to most users, it often may be distant from the true personality and character of the individuals involved ("Social media and symbolic
According to the sociology textbook, a great number of people were surprised to read news reports in June 2006 that “Social Isolation is Growing in the U.S.” (Vendatam 2006) and “The Lonely American Just Got a Bit Lonelier” (Fountain 2006). You would think …show more content…
The main importance of this study is language in analyzing the social world. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. It can be debated that Facebook and other social networks have contributed to the development of symbolic interactionism and its individual components to a certain extent. Meaning, language and thought are perceived as three basic components of symbolic interactionism. The role of meaning in social media and Facebook, etc. is different from the role of offline interaction. Unlike being face-to-face to someone, messages posted on Facebook are accessible to everyone, and other users and even the person being communicated with can misinterpret these. Secondly, language is perceived by symbolic interactionism as a set of symbols to communicate and negotiate meanings with others members of society. Although Facebook doesn’t have a limits in terms like lengths of messages, and posts, which is an advantage, it is very difficult to determine exactly how the person is truly feeling, or what exactly is being said making it a huge disadvantage. Thirdly, thought is associated with the modification of meaning for each individual according to his or her own interpretation of communication through language. Facebook can be effective for society to create their thoughts and meanings. Social media provides the opportunities of talking through status updates, pictures, videos etc. but the disadvantage is people use this way of communication as an alternative to one on one conversations. Even though Facebook and other social media websites are used as an effective tool to most users, it often may be distant from the true personality and character of the individuals involved ("Social media and symbolic