Social Media: Friend or Foe? Social media is all the rage these days. People of all ages flock to some sort of virtual friendship account to feel connected. We can connect with people around the world in the blink of an eye. Seems like a good thing right? Does it harm us in any way? William Deresiewicz, an English professor at Yale University states in his essay, “In retrospect, it seems inevitable that once we decided to become friends with everyone, we would forget how to be friends with anyone.” It seems he is onto something. Social media does allow you to keep in contact with long distance relatives and such, but is it taking away and replacing core
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No matter where you are, or who you are around, it is always there, urging you to browse it. It is taking experiences out of life. No matter how much fun you are having, whether with people or an experience, you will always check it, or post and ignore the people around you. I go out to eat once or twice a month with a group of friends. When everyone arrives it is pretty chatty and then everyone starts “checking-in” to the restaurant we are at. It goes downhill from there. They are all constantly on Facebook and when they make conversation after that, it is usually about what has been said on social media. They will even go as far as commenting on the “check-in” and having a conversation on the site with the people they are physically with, instead of talking to them in person. The constant urge to be a part of social media is distracting. It is hurting the relationships we have with others. Taking away our skills to communicate in person, while also taking away personal experiences and fun times that should be shared and putting it into short sentences for the world to see. There seems to be no more “quality time” with the ones you care about. You cannot acquire or keep a real connection with another, if you are always distracted by social …show more content…
It seems that people are too enamored with irrelevant thing about others’ lives, or the attention they get from social networking to realize what really matters. We are replacing deep meaningful connections for shallow conversation and expecting ourselves to not feel lonely. The lonelier we feel; the more validation we are seeking from social networks. It is a vicious cycle that seems that will not be stopped. Although, social media does have its benefits like keeping in contact with relatives or old friends that are not easily accessible, the risk of it damaging you far outweighs the benefits. Jasper Burley, Sam Gardner, and Blake Robinson wrote in The Newcastle Herald that, “Teenagers’ personal lives are also being effected negatively due to not as much face to face and physical contact with parents and friends, prompting shyness, and weakening relationships.” The younger generations are the future of our world, and social media is essentially ruining their communication skills. It is also giving everyone the impression that we have meaningful connections but in reality it is all superficial. You cannot really know someone just because you have them as a friend online. They choose the way they portray themselves. To really know and connect with someone, it takes time, and human interaction that is not based off of technology. We as humans, seem to be forgetting
No matter where you are, or who you are around, it is always there, urging you to browse it. It is taking experiences out of life. No matter how much fun you are having, whether with people or an experience, you will always check it, or post and ignore the people around you. I go out to eat once or twice a month with a group of friends. When everyone arrives it is pretty chatty and then everyone starts “checking-in” to the restaurant we are at. It goes downhill from there. They are all constantly on Facebook and when they make conversation after that, it is usually about what has been said on social media. They will even go as far as commenting on the “check-in” and having a conversation on the site with the people they are physically with, instead of talking to them in person. The constant urge to be a part of social media is distracting. It is hurting the relationships we have with others. Taking away our skills to communicate in person, while also taking away personal experiences and fun times that should be shared and putting it into short sentences for the world to see. There seems to be no more “quality time” with the ones you care about. You cannot acquire or keep a real connection with another, if you are always distracted by social …show more content…
It seems that people are too enamored with irrelevant thing about others’ lives, or the attention they get from social networking to realize what really matters. We are replacing deep meaningful connections for shallow conversation and expecting ourselves to not feel lonely. The lonelier we feel; the more validation we are seeking from social networks. It is a vicious cycle that seems that will not be stopped. Although, social media does have its benefits like keeping in contact with relatives or old friends that are not easily accessible, the risk of it damaging you far outweighs the benefits. Jasper Burley, Sam Gardner, and Blake Robinson wrote in The Newcastle Herald that, “Teenagers’ personal lives are also being effected negatively due to not as much face to face and physical contact with parents and friends, prompting shyness, and weakening relationships.” The younger generations are the future of our world, and social media is essentially ruining their communication skills. It is also giving everyone the impression that we have meaningful connections but in reality it is all superficial. You cannot really know someone just because you have them as a friend online. They choose the way they portray themselves. To really know and connect with someone, it takes time, and human interaction that is not based off of technology. We as humans, seem to be forgetting