How Social Media Discourage Face-to-Face Interaction - Essay Example

Social Media Essay By Social Media Essay Introduction Social media revolution has been at a higher rate for the last two year, people have seen the invention of Facebook, twitter, my space and now Smartphone technology, with its application. It is good to understand that, this technology is there and it will grow more and more powerful. Hence, many people have hoped that it will bring positive impacts in the way people interact and socialize. Cultures, business ideas, education among other things have become easy and fast to adopt since they are readily available online and through this social media (Crumlish & Malone, 2009). The aim that I make this research is to critically review how social media such as Facebook, chat rooms, websites, blogs and smart phones discourage face to face interaction and alter ones sense of self presentation. Nowadays, some people who have some hobby could share his or her experience through some social network sites. Additionally, social media even could change some people’s life. For instance, sometimes, some people make some remonstrance by social media (King 2015). For me, using social media in order that connecting my friends or family, which is the most opinion in current. However, those who are extremely engrossed by technology tend over-judge others, claiming that they have lost all friends yet. They themselves do not realize that they are contributing to lose of friendship by not creating time for those friends. It means social media cannot replace FTF, which keep the relationship with my friends. On the contrary, people could have some complaints, because they have not met for a long time. With emergence of social media, one does not need face-to-face communication to feel social or part of a group. In fact, I am shunning away from it, since I have not enough ability to give other a good impression when I meet somebody face to face. As a result, I have joined social media in a virtual network, because it could gives me the opportunity to talk about the right utterances after thinking and express my right self. In doing so, one misses the intimacy that comes when I converse face-to-face (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). However, human relationships are very complicated, which need plenty of skills and experience to keep this kind of relationship. The step of realize other’s background, which is difference between social media and face-to-face commutation. As an undergraduate, I must get this ability for smoothly communicating in real life. Too much virtual life could bring anxiety when I communicating with other face to face. Computer-mediated communications are interactions between people which occur through connected or networked telecommunication system or electronic devices. People spend much time interaction with technology than they interact with other people (Kietzman, 2011). Take for instance, my friends and me talking together but who are constantly interrupted by messages or calls from our mobile phones. In such cases, one will have to receive the call or respond to the message. Computer-mediated communications makes one develop the attitude of they must always be available for online others, which indirectly decrease our FTF time. Statistics has shown that social media like Facebook connects people together enabling them to share ideas, though it is associated with alienation and addiction. Alienation is a state in which a person becomes isolated from others. He or she does not find time to interact with other people but finds pleasure interacting with them when chatting in Facebook or through other media like chat rooms (Horst, 2013). Research conducted in the U.S has shown that people, who are strongly addicted to social media, spend a lot of time in them. The study people spend too much time online and spare less time to interact with others leading to less of face-to-face communications. However, it is undeniable that it can be better if people cannot see each other in communicate aspect (Thurlow et al. 2004). For example, some socially disadvantaged group such as disabled, ethnic, etc., could be discriminated during face-to-face communication. Therefore, online communication could avoid this problem well. Additionally, positive messages which form virtual world could change individual mood in real life. It means communicate by social media show greater intimacy than face-to-face. During social interaction, people frequently present themselves while concurrently reading the presentations of others. Depending on ones character, an individual will fine-tune part of their presentation in accordance to the feedback and appearance of those around them (Hogan, 2010). Social interaction often takes place with little mindful thought; people contentedly interact with one another, revealing what is suitable while reviewing what information is being given. What people create or express to others is not essentially the same as their inner perception of self. The social personality is what individuals use to interact with and relate to others (Ellison, 2007). Yet, it is the inner self that one is continually matching up to others in a social setting. In order to socialize, people take definite aspects of their inner self, project it into their social identity and use this to create a presentation that will allow them to discuss social situations. In the long-run, this creates a multiple notion of identity: the internal true self and the altered social self. The world now has gone corporate and people would want to change how they look so as to impress management. One would adorn their online profile with false information regarding their educational, ethnic and marital status backgrounds. People do this so as to frame others about their personalities and potential (Lewis, Kaufman & Christakis, 2008). The degree in which one can change this however depends on the person. On can decide to hide everything that portrays them negative and reveal only information that projects their positive self. Online etiquette (netiquette) refers to the code and conduct of how should present themselves online. One should never forget that online community is real and therefore one should adhere to code of conduct as they would in the real world. It is therefore advised not to use flaming language and in case of flame wars, one is advised to assist in keeping them as low as possible. Netiquette also demands that people interacting online should not snoop around people’s privacy and should make themselves look good (Hilton & Chris, 2000). Furthermore, people use false information on their profiles. They do this in order to get social attention, hide their true self, or because of corporate reasons. As a result, presentation of their self is altered. The way society understands them by the virtue of reading their profile. According to Johari self disclosure window, self or an individual can be categorized in to four different categories: open, blind, close and unknown selves respectively (Goffman, 2002). The open self is ones information that is readily available to others, especially in face to face communications. The blind self are manners of a person which one is not aware of. The closed self are characters of a person that the person is concealing from other and the unknown self are hidden insights of a person. With this in mind, people tend to change their open and blind self in order to impress management and strange people and Facebook has provided such a platform. Conclusion As to conclusion, social media have a lot of impact on how we interact with one another. It is true to say that, social media has enabled people to connect and interact with a lot of people but it has limited the ability of man to meet with the many friend he or she has connected with and have a face-to-face interaction. In addition to that, social media has altered the sense of self presentation of people. People who have a lot of social influence use social media to hide or reveal characters that do not belong to them. In doing so, they conceal their true self. One is therefore urged not to allow emergence of social media destroy the face-to-face human interaction since they are vital components of human existence. Finally, extreme reliance to mobile technology and internet for communication leads to development of futile relationships. That is relationships which have no face to face interactions. References Crumlish, C. & Malone, E. (2009). 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