Social Media

Social media plays a huge role in our society. Social media is a rapidly growing industry, with approximately 56% of the world’s population using some type of social networking sites as of 2012. Social media is the means in which people interact amongst others through creating, sharing and exchanging information and ideas on virtual communities or networks. The fact that social media is all around us, it makes our everyday lives easier and more convenient. The downside of having too much social media in our daily lives is that it interferes with the social development of our society. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter allows its users to exchange thoughts and have online conversations with people they may have never met before. Our society uses such websites to have conversations with one another that maybe critical or rather personal; which leaves people being unable to have a real conversation face to face. These types of online interactions weaken our social skills and may in fact harm the intelligence of the future generation. Although, social media is a huge factor in our current society, it does not have to represent who we are as individuals. Therefore, social media hinders the development of social skills because it diminishes the authenticity of intimate conversations, it weakens basic verbal skills and it causes internet addiction.
Social media plays a huge role in our society, causing intimate conversations to diminish because of the many facilities of social networking sites that are available at one’s disposal. Intimacy is the closeness of two individuals ranging from an emotional sharing to a physical sharing, as individuals we acquire a great deal of love and affection from one another. In a world full of social media, our basic nature of human interaction is being severely diminished as we are no longer able to have intimate conversations. The fundamental aspect of an enduring intimate relationship with a loved one, requires that people speak to one another about their issues with the relationship, they must have eye to eye contact regularly and some sort of physical contact to enhance the authenticity of the relationship. However, social media allows people to escape confrontations in a relationship. Back in the 1950’s and 1960’s; before the internet and cell phones were created, the only way people could speak to a loved one was through face to face contact. With the internet, people are losing the legitimacy of having an intimate eye to eye conversation because they are hiding behind a screen that gives them the courage and ability to say certain things that they may not have been able to say directly to a person’s face. Not only does the internet play a role in the lack of intimate conversations in our society, but cell phones are also a negative factor affecting human development. People are now dating, breaking up, and communicating solely via text messaging. Researchers have found new studies that advocates, 67% of relationships fail due to the lack of face to face communication. Social media allows us as human beings to escape reality and say things we might be too nervous or shy to say otherwise. With that being said, our society relies solely on that “other reality” behind a screen that gives our ego’s a chance explore possible situations that may never happen in reality. Social media is causing human deprivation of a basic skill that we have attained through thousands of years of human development.
Verbal communication is an important aspect in human development. Verbal skills are the ability to think in words and use language to express meaning. When communicating with others face to face, it allows one to enhance their verbal skills not only by speaking, but through developing words and grasping concepts from others. In our society, there isn’t much face to face contact because of the ease of using social networking, instead of direct contact with others. Body language is a skill that is requires little to no rationalization but it helps others to grasp a sense of emotion from the person they are communicating with. When an individual uses social networking sites to meet others and have conversations, they start a reality behind a screen. An individual losses the ability to communicate face to face or even through a telephone because of this “other reality” we heavily rely on . In order to be successful in life, we must be able to communicate with our own kind. Many jobs require conversations with strangers, and with the lack of verbal skills in our society we are unable to maintain jobs and sustain relationships. Another basic verbal skill that we as a society are lacking is the validity of confrontation. It is human nature to fear confrontation. Not only do we fear it, but we are now able to speak our minds behind a screen but on the other hand we are unable to face the consequences of our actions. For one thing, humans where already having a tough time with verbal communication skills; now that we have sources to hide behind; we are suffering tremendously, which will in fact affect us in the long run.
Social media is the latest iteration of internet addiction. Internet addiction is the excessive use of a computer that interferes with daily life. Social media most commonly comes in the form of social networking sites, which allows people to interact with one another online. In recent years, the percentage of internet addicts has risen due to the prospering advancement of social media. Children as young as three years of age are using the internet to watch their favorite cartoon characters online. At three years of age, toddlers should be learning their ABC’s and 123’s. Not only are toddlers becoming victims of internet addiction, but many teenagers are finding the internet as an escape from reality. Human development requires young minds to interact with others to broaden their horizon to face the real world as they get older. Many teenagers are at home using the internet when they should be out exploring life. Not only are young ones targets of internet addiction, but adults also suffer from the same problem. The internet is a way for people to escape their problems and be whoever they want to be online. Furthermore, social media has become a negative gateway to the rising number of internet addicts in the world.
Social media is a huge part of our society to the extent that it even hinders the development of social skills. Social media does not represent who we are as individuals, but we should be able to benefit from it. Social media was created to be a tool to enhance technology and to make our lives more convenient. We should be using social media to develop skills instead of letting it become a weapon of destruction. Online interactions should be kept to a minimum so that we are able to face confrontation as well as online and through face to face contact. The development of our society shouldn’t be neutralized because of social media and the impact is has on us as human beings. Nonetheless, social media is a rapidly growing industry and will only get bigger and better from this point on.