Are People Becoming Less Social Because of Social Media?
Social media represents interactive computer-mediated technological services that are used by people to create and share ideas, information and to generally express themselves.
Therefore, for any given platform to be considered as social media, it must be an internet-based application, must depend on user-generated content, must provide users with opportunity to create their profiles, and use these profiles to connect the users and at the same time facilitate the development of online social networks.
Is social media making people less social? I do not think so. Although this question may be difficult to answer, the response usually depends on an individual’s perception of “social.” I believe people are still talking and sharing ideas and issues like before. The significant change that can be attributed to social media is the fact that it has made communication easier and offered more and different communication options. For that reason, social media seems to have supplemented social interactions in a society where new and innovative ways of social forming develop (Kaplan, Andreas, and Michael Haenlein, p. 59–68).
Therefore, it is through such services and overall technological advancement that social media has completely changed society and how people interact. The way people connected started to change as soon as social media took over, consequently affecting them both positively and negatively. Those that had family and friends in distant places view the impact of technology especially social media positively because they can now reach each other on a regular basis. On the negative side, social media meant less direct talking between people thus affecting personal relationships. The instant news and other forms of communication that came as a result of social media resulted in bad habits where people ignored social relationships around them in favor of what the internet offered.
Being social or anti-social is human behavior that cannot be blamed on social media (Putnam, Robert. p. 41–51). Because social made has brought a lot of information that we would not ordinarily have at our fingertips, I believe it has in many ways made people more social since they know what their friends and relatives are doing even if they are continents apart. Social media also gives people things to talk about, for instance, when new games come out, even strangers can engage just because they share such an interest.
It can be established that social media has been a support factor of social relation. This is apparent in the manner in which it has enhanced communication through the creation and maintenance of new relationships both locally and internationally. Therefore, since communication forms the backbone of any social interaction, and social media eliminates the distance factor which had been a barrier to communication for a long time and allowed people to reach one another anywhere and anytime, I believe social media has contributed a great deal in making us social beings. The world we live in cannot operate without the internet and social media. It offers a quick and efficient way of spreading information.
Work Cited
Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media.” Business Horizons 53.1 (2010): 59–68.
Putnam, Robert. “Social capital: Measurement and consequences.” Canadian in Journal of policy research 2.1 (2001): 41–51.
