How Social Media Affects Human Relationships - Assignment Example

How Social Media affects Human Relationships Social media has a revolutionized in the way people communicate as well as how they socialize. These days, communication has become very easy and so is making friends. From Twitter to Facebook, the world has become densely networked to the point that almost all individuals are turning to social media, which has become an essential or a major source of information for both individuals and businesses. Despite that social media has made socializing easier, research indicates that the world has never been lonelier than it currently is. This implies that most of the effect has been directed towards interpersonal or human relationship, as most people are tending to use social media more than they engage in face-to-face conversations. This has resulted in both mental and psychological illness in society these days. While other scholars have maintained that there are traces of positive effects on human relationships, this is highly debatable through research. Therefore, although social media has improved communication, human relationships have been affected negatively. Scholars maintain that social media has created less actual society and redefined friendship. Stephen Marche, a novelist composed an article, “Is Facebook Making us Lonely” in which he maintained that Facebook has made a lonelier society in spite of the improved connectivity and the potential to communicate with people from different walks of life. Most people have become very lonely when staring at the computer screens and their smart phones waiting for a reply. The connections that social media allows have been embraced in place of conversation. This is because conversations should involve the physical touch of facial expressions and gestures, which are not present online. This is what one of my interviewees, Eric Markwardt, would miss because he favored social media for the mere fact that it became easier for him to make friends. Research also indicates that the modern society is living in a world filled with fast contradictions the more connected people become, the lonelier they get (Marche). Eric Markwardt’s case also fit in this scenario because the more that he makes use of social media, the lonelier that he becomes and might realize it when it is too late when he begins experiencing serious problems when interacting physically or becomes dormant in physical interactions. It is not advisable to over-rely on social media for interactions since one’s self-esteem may drop significantly without them noticing. This implies that their human relationships are being affected negatively the more interactions that they make through social media. In the article, “The Flight from Conversation”, Sherry Turkle, a professor at M.I.T and a psychologist, provides adequate information to support the claim that people have sacrificed conversation and favored a connection in its place where the community has embraced a new phenomenon of being alone together. At home, families sit together reading email and texting and that leads to increased loneliness although they are in the presence of other family members. This is a clear indication of addiction and coincides with my third interviewee’s case where Sarah Walters acknowledges the existence of addiction among her students and even in herself as she finds it hard to refrain from using social media. The devices that people are using to interact through social media are very powerful not only to connect individuals immediately but also to change whom they are (Turkle). This also coincides with one of my interviewee’s case, Carrie Reynolds, who maintains that she could stay up even during late night when answering emails and would at times get distracted when sitting together with her family mostly because of the content of the messages that she received. These are some of the reasons why she maintains that online friends are not the best type of friends and because they always prefer friends who support them. This is because the highly productive way of communicating is being ignored for a mere connection and most people cannot realize the effects. Nowadays people can customize their lives without knowing whether it is for good or bad through controlling where they focus their attention. Even in offices, people are too busy on their phones and others on their email waiting for and replying to receive messages. The young people are becoming illusive to think that social media would teach them the right ways of conversations. The silence of connection has befallen universities and other educational facilities such as libraries (Turkle). When people use social media, they lose the benefits of the connection. The information provided by Turkle coincides with one of my interviewee’s, Sarah Walters, who maintained that approximately 50% of her students are addicted to social media. She adds that they have problems concentrating during lectures. In the article, “Is Social Media Destroying Real-World Relationships?” Sam Laird provides statistical data showing that an average person in the modern society uses social media for a lengthy period to the point that real world relationships have been jeopardized by social media. Research indicates that Facebook users spend approximately 10.5 billion minutes per day browsing the Internet (Laird). This adds up to a collective of 20 years that people live online instead of living offline. On average, American users spend at least 20 minutes on social media every day. In addition, a significant number of social media users prefer socializing online instead of offline. This coincides with the issue of my first interviewee, Eric Markwardt, who did not care about being addicted since he had been blinded by the ease of making friends online to the point of abandoning real life interactions. This is a clear indication that the healthy offline relationships are being neglected for online connections, which is a negative effect on human relationships. The more time that people spend online, the more the definitions of relationships change. In the article, “Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society”, Arnold Brown who is the chairman of Weiner, Edrich, Brown Inc., provides adequate evidence to ascertain that social media has changed the definitions of families and relationships and traditional beliefs are being abandoned in favor of technologically motivated practices. Some people changed the way that they interact, which affects even the traditional beliefs of a community. For instance, for many years in India, relationships had been determined and arranged by families, which has changed since the emergence of social media (Brown 29). Specifically, online dating websites have begun to change the traditions, as people are now meeting and getting married through social media. This coincides with one of my interviewees, Carrie Reynolds, who claims that she had dated people she had met on social media websites. Although this might seem like a positive change, it is not because traditions that used to define the most appropriate relationships are being disused. In addition, Carrie Reynolds reports that she was heartbroken by a lover that she met on Facebook. This shows that although the online relationships are easy to establish, they are similarly easy to break up. This indicates that social media is attracting people into it where human relationships have been abandoned and a new style or protocol in loving, living, and belonging have been introduced. A counter argument may claim that some people’s lives have improved with regard to interaction such as what happened to Eric’s life. While this might be true, the form of interaction that they are engaging in is virtual and far from physical interaction. This implies that it does not provide the benefits that can be realized through offline relationships such as the physical touch. Considering both primary and secondary research, social media has a negative effect on interpersonal or human interactions. In conclusion, social media has changed the way people interact and communicate by introducing easier ways of socializing. While this could be a positive thing, it has led to negative ideas such as those regarding effect on human relationships. The more connected that people have become, the lonelier they have become. This is because the way that people used to interact has been redefined eliminating the benefits of the physical integrations. Physical integrations are very important in that they facilitate a psychologically healthy populace due to the physical touch that ensures that people recognize the undertones in conversations, which are usually detected when individuals engage in physical interactions and may include information hidden in voice tones. Works Cited Brown, Arnold. “Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society.” The Futurist March – April 2011: 29-34. Print. Laird, Sam. "Is Social Media Destroying Real-World Relationships? [INFOGRAPHIC]." Mashable. 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. http://mashable.com/2012/06/14/social-media-real-world-infographic/ Marche, Stephen. "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 02 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Markwardt, Eric. Personal interview. 22 Apr. 2014. Reynolds, Carrie. Personal interview. 20 Apr. 2014 Turkle, Sherry. “The Flight from Conversation.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 21 Apr 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Walters, Sarah. Personal interview. 21 Apr. 2014. Read More