English 201 B
Ms. Wanzo
October 13, 2011
Social Media vs. Personal Communication
In today's world, social media plays a major role in each individual's every day lives. It has its advantages and disadvantages; however, it is doing more harm than good because society is losing its ability to communicate on a personal level.
Some advantages in the use of social media would be that it's an excellent tool for gathering/obtaining information. A good example would be the medical field: If you're travelling out of town/out of the country and you're hurt, doctors are able to pull up your records to obtain vital information in your medical history. For example: it may list medications you're allergic to and/or it can assist in ways to treat you. Another advantage would be the ability to connect with family and friends everywhere. Most computers have web cams attached to them. With this capability, all parties are able to see and talk to one another. For example: my family sets dates and times in advance so that my brother at college, my father who travels extensively abroad and family members at home are able to get onto their computers and we're able to see and talk to each other. This method is called skyping. Another method now available is the ability to “tango” (doing the same thing but through your cell phones). People are now able to telecommute which allows people to work comfortably from home. Telecommuting also reduces traffic on the streets and well as the elimination of stress/tension due to traffic and/or time constraints (getting to work on time). Lastly, social media is an essential learning tool in that students can do all of their research for their classes online, take courses rather than attending classes on campus, communicate with your professors online and, thus, increasing the abilitly for all people (including stay-at-home moms) to progress educationally.
Social media can be viewed negatively in quite a few