The increase in technology and
social media in recent years has had a profound effect on our lives and
relationships. Most of our younger
generations would vehemently argue the benefits of all of this. I’m not denying that there are benefits from
increases in social media and technology, but I see a lot of negatives
too. It is true that technological
advances such as cellphones and email and social media sites such as Facebook
and Twitter have helped people to stay in touch and meet new people that you
otherwise never would have, but how connected are you really?
I have to admit, I have resisted
society’s pressure to take part in things like Facebook and Twitter so I don’t
have personal experience, but I don’t believe online relationships replace
face-to-face, in-person relationships.
They are a great way to meet new people and stay in touch with old
friends, but you can’t have a real, intimate, and personal relationship with a
friend or loved one over a computer. For
me and my closest friends, we make sure we make time to get together from time
to time because nothing replaces being in the same place at the same time as
your best friend. Sure, I could stay
more up to date if I was constantly checking their social media but that
doesn’t really foster the quality of our relationships.
You could meet your significant other through an
online dating site, but eventually you are going to have to meet in person to
sustain and further develop the relationship.
Social media may help people in long distance relationships to stay in
touch, but being apart is still extremely hard on most relationships. It is nearly impossible to maintain a close,
intimate relationship over a screen. We may
have a great quantity of relationships due to social media, but what is really
happening to the quality of most of our relationships? I’d take quality over quantity any day.
Your post got me thinking of the many ways that people use social networking. It seems to me that you would be use it as a way to keep tabs on people and know a little of what is going on in their life. For me, I use it was a way to create a time to meet up. Facebook's chat is the feature that I use the most, although I don't usually have a full conversation. I generally do the whole, "hey, what's up," and then go right into making plans to meet up. I think that if you look at social media as a way to assist face to face interaction then you can view it as more beneficial to social intimacy.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you discussed the positive and negative aspects of social media. I understand that you do not like social media as a form of communication. However, unless you and your friends do not have a career, it is unlike that you have a personal relationship on a regular basis. There is no way to catch up on everything in a short visit with a friend. This is why social media is helpful because you don’t have to spend majority of your time looking at common thing like vacation photos. When you can easily view it online, this give you’re the opportunity to talk more about your daily lives instead of looking at pictures. I still believe that social medial is a best and easy way of communication.
ReplyDeleteI admire the fact that you try to not conform to the society's pressure, this is something many could not do, including myself. I agree that online-dating does not replace face-to-face interaction. I think that online-dating has helped with the face-to-face interaction, if people find it easier to get to know someone online and then see each other, how is that not still personal intimacy? Like you said there are still downfalls of the online-dating, the biggest issue it sustainability of a online relationship after the "honeymoon" phase of the relationship dies down. I am torn between agreeing to online-dating or disagreeing all together.
ReplyDeleteSocial networking and the use of electronic devices has definitely fostered relationships but, like you, I agree that many of them are not genuine relationships. Dating sites should be specifically used as an initial interaction, it may help people get over the initial shy/awkward phase. However, it should not be the replacement of a real time relationship. I do have Facebook, the only social site I use, I mainly keep in touch with long distance relatives and see pictures of the kids growing up. As far as fostering new relationships, I refuse to try that over Facebook and Facebook only. Even for this blog, yes we all introduced ourselves but I do not consider any of my classmates people I know or understand.
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