Is Social Media - Social?

[galmal]

With all the ways to connect us, social media, at first glance, would seem to be this wonderful way to make us more social. But, instead, we see people becoming less and less social. You'll see a bunch of friends out together, but instead of interacting, they're all on their cell phones. Or someone takes a great picture of their family, then posts it to facebook, without ever knowing if anyone actually looks at it.

So is social media really connecting us - or disconnecting us??

 

[AUFred]

I don't necessarily blame social media as much as the computer, camera, rolodex, calendar, flashlight, search engine, GPS that used to be a cellphone. I walked in the local Starbucks one afternoon there were probably 40 people inside, not one actual conversation was going on among all the patrons.

 

[KingKong]

Yeah I think phones have a bigger impact than social media as far as reducing social contact in day to day.

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

I think social media is fine for some people, but not for others. Some people do nothing but work on the computer and work on their phones.

 

[Gemma]

Sometimes, I think some people use social media as a way to keep in touch without meaningful interaction. Many of my facebook friends are people who I like to know they're okay and out there somewhere but I don't actually want to go out to dinner with them. They're acquaintances or relatives or people from my past that I don't have much in common with. I'm okay with only liking their posts occassionally or commenting on a photo. That's enough.

I've had friendships damaged though when we were communicating on facebook but not getting together in person or talking in other ways. It's just too distant to really feel close. It gives me the illusion of contact. And I'm introverted enough that interacting on facebook fills my quota for human interaction...but I sometimes feel lonely interacting that way. It's just not the same.

 

[Mockingbird]

Illusion of contact is exactly right. You might think that someone is right there with you when you are tweeting out your thoughts as they happen and snap chatting every single thing around you. That is the danger though, it feels like you are sharing every moment, but in reality you are in fact pretty alone. While it might serve as some fuel for conversation when you do finally get together it is hardly the glue that binds. Real conversation gets boring and you will want to go out and find more stuff to comment on.

The phones are really bad, I know of people that have their priority just wrapped around by the phone ringer. I have watched grown adults that should no better walk away from a business meeting to answer their phone. Seriously what could be more important then your job? Slaves to the beep.

 

[sidney]

Social media really makes communication easier, like my dad does not even have to buy prepaid credits to be able to talk to his siblings abroad, and he now just uses Facebook chat and Viber. So it really has made communication and connecting much easier.

As for the negative aspect where people are more becoming glued to their phones rather than interacting in person, not everyone does that. I remember the last time my friends and I went out, we were busy chatting with each other. No one was glued to their phones. So that aspect is personality dependent, in my opinion.

 

[gata montes]

Although I think that social media may well be a contributing factor - I too am more inclined to think that its the devices or rather the phones that are having a greater impact on the lack of human interaction these days.

Particularly as - apart from the fact that wherever you go there is always one begging for attention and asking to be responded to or there is someone shouting into one and having a loud inane conversation that you really don't wish to hear the details of - I really do think that they discourage human interaction and are very definitely a conversation stopper - especially as no one seems to listen or even talk to each other anymore.

In fact I very often see the prime example of this - like for instance - when people who have clearly arranged to meet up with each other for an evening out and have even got dressed up for the occasion - instead of communicating with each other - they spend the whole time that they are with each other sat round a table glued to their phones which I have to say makes me wonder what was the point of getting dressed up and meeting up in the first place - if you are not going to communicate with each other.