I believe that social networking does more good than bad for intimacy. The fact that people can connect with eachother in seconds is a big deal, I think. I feel like people who are shy can finally find that ounce of courage to carry a conversation with someone that they have admired from afar. It may sound a bit like something every stalker has been waiting for, but that is up to the general population to be smart and approach social networking with caution. For instance, with facebook you can have your profile contain any information you'd like and choose who can view it. If someone is pestering you, its just a simple mouse click to block that person and continue on with your life. Personally, I met my girlfriend on facebook. I had no idea she was also a nursing major and that she lived so close to me until we became friends on Facebook. With a site like Facebook, the user can have more time to think before responding and feel more comfortable with the idea that the conversation doesn't have to be rushed. Sometimes all a person needs is that few extra seconds to come up with a witty comment that lands them in someone's good graces, which is why I feel social networking does a lot of good.
Another social networking platform that seems useful is called OkCupid. It's like Facebook, but it's geared more towards dating and finding someone that shares your same interests and personality. This site has you make a profile, then gives you the option to answer questions so it can point you in the right direction toward a possible significant other. The more questions you answer, the better your search can be narrowed down. Regardless of the social networking platform a person uses, I feel like they give hope to people that have nobody else to talk to and can give them a feeling of closeness to something other than their cat, for instance.
I agree that Facebook gives some people a voice, which is great in some cases. This a great example of when someone having a voice worked in their favor. I know some instances where people can hold a conversation through text messages or Facebook, but as soon as you meet them you can't get more than a "hi" out of them. Another wrong turn that can come from Facebook is that people have a voice and use it in the wrong way. There are many people who are brave behind the keyboard and will say whatever mean thing comes to their mind. There are pros and cons to social media.
ReplyDeleteThere are many advantages to Facebook that aren't often explored. Many like to dwell on dehumanizing aspects or stalkers like you mentioned. But don't we encounter similar aspects within real life? I remember when the show Catfish came out, and many people became scared of internet relationships. Well, this can happen in real life too, but it happens a bit differently. Actually, it happens in the opposite way. Online a picture is posted of a person that may appear attractive, but they aren't really the person in the picture. In real life, the person may look like their picture, but their personality can actually be very misleading and quite disturbing. There are risks in real life and online.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Samuel Sutton's comment. A person shows what they want to show. Usually, this is only the good things. A doubt a girl will post a picture of herself if she is feeling extremely ugly that day and has 5 pimples that morning. So some people can be really artificial and come off as a totally different person. This reminds me of that country song by Brad Paisley. His songs explains how he's so much cooler online and how he is pretty much a different person! I rarely listen to country but this topic had me singing this song.
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