Cause and Effect of Social Media

The 21st century is defined by its obsession and advancements in technology, the younger generation in particular. Technology plays as a key factor in most lives, social media especially. Among the most popular of social media are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, all with the main purpose to share or view personal information and experiences, communicate with others and meet new people on social or professional grounds. There are several positives and negatives effects associated with social media, making it a topic of debate whether it is creating more good or harm for today’s society. We use technology as the number one means of communication, and social media has made communicating with each other even easier. We have the ability to stay linked to the world and available at all times with a simple email, text message or social media post. Because most of our conversations are through a tablet, cellphone or computer, face to face interaction is decreasing. More and more people are isolating themselves and losing the ability or desire to interact with real people in real life. It is becoming easier to go through life with less personal confrontations and conversations. This is a problem because we are social creatures and as human beings, that face to face, in person interaction is necessary. One of the main reasons social media was created was to link up with old friends near and far. In present day times we also use social media to form connections with new people. Through the use of forums and specialized pages on Facebook, you can connect with people who have interests similar to your own that you would not necessarily meet in real life and business connections also. Many people go on to build real friendships and even relationships with people they have met on social media. Only negative to this is that you never really know who you are talking to. Someone can claim to be one person, but in reality are lying to you about their identity the whole time.