Does the Internet Strengthen Social Connections - Research Paper Example

Does the Internet Strengthen Social Connections? Whether the internet strengthens social ties or damages them is a very controversial topic. Many gurus believe that the benefits achieved from it more than just outweigh the possible damages that can be caused by its use. The internet provides various ways of staying in touch with your family and friends like voice chat, video chat, simple chatting and social networking. There are a lot of soft wares which aid such technologies and the most prominent ones include Skype, MSN messenger, Oovoo and Facebook. Alongside its benefits are its shortcomings. It is widely believed that the internet has alienated people from their surroundings. It has led many people to stay home and chat with their friends online rather than going out with them in person. Other than that the internet has been exploited by the sex industry. Free pornographic images are put up online which corrupt people’s mind and children often become the main target of such an action. On an overall basis, the internet has given us a lot to gain from it and social networking without any doubt has bridged distances between people and brought them together. There aren’t many people who wouldn’t know about Facebook. It has been the most famous social networking site of all time as it allows almost 600 million people across the globe to be socially connected to each other. Famous social networking forums on the internet do not only allow people to talk to each other, rather it enables them to share a lot of vital and important information. The creation of organization wide pages on Facebook allows workers to socially reach with each other – something that they don’t really get much time for while they’re at work. Facebook has gained so much popularity that many people think that Facebook is like a new worldwide telephone network; only difference being it carries personal connections and profiles instead of voice (Feenberg, pp. 222-240). Another famous social connection tool is Skype. This software allows its user to make free Skype to Skype audio as well as video calls. Internet technology has no doubt reached great extremes as soft wares like Skype allow two people from across the globe to be socially connected to each other by making calls without even paying a single penny. This software has also enabled businessmen to schedule important business meetings online and thereby save on important time and costs. With technologies like Skype, parents worry less before sending their kids to study abroad knowing they can see them and talk to them whenever they want (Stadler, pp. 29-42). Social connectivity has without doubt reached great extremes with the advent of internet related software. There aren’t many people who say they know they know all about social networking and don’t know about MSN Messenger. Not only does this software provide a common platform to chat with relatives and mates throughout the world, but it also comes with a lot of other exciting options for entertainment. It allows its users to play games with each other, do voice and video chat and set common backgrounds. In this fast paced world, the internet has done a lot to keep people close to each other and software like MSN, Facebook and Skype have defined what we call the twenty first century social connectivity. Had it not been for the internet, it would take the current world company CEO and presidents ages till they get to meet their family, given the fact that they’re always engrosses with tons and tons of workload. The critics of internet as a means of social networking come up with many arguments. One study available regarding the negative effects of internet on teenagers states, (Web) “The proliferation of pornographic materials is undeniably one of the alarming things that has brought about by the Internet. It does not only corrupt the minds of the young people that are exposed to them but also it paves the way for the degradation of human dignity. It also strains the moral make up of society. The Internet also alienates the person from his social self. While most think that talking to loved ones through the computer screens allows or offers the same satisfaction of social needs just like engaging in conversations personally, there really is a big difference between the virtual self and the social self.” However I think the person who made the above statement didn’t really do much research before making his point. I completely agree when he says the internet has been used by the sex industry to corrupt the mind of young people. However there are a lot of programs available that can be used to block particular websites or all the sites of a particular category. Other than that, parents need to place the computer at such a location that they can easily keep a view a check on what their children are doing. According to Top of Form According to "The Internet As Magnifying Glass: Marital Status and On-Line Social Ties." Peace Research Abstracts. 41.4 (2004), online study courses are a waste of time as the according the writer, there can be no social interaction between the student and the teacher over the internet. However I completely disagree with the writer’s view. In this busy world a lot of people don’t even get time to have food properly, let alone taking classes. In such cases online classes come in really handy as they allow people to take classes from the comfort of their home or at their workplace, alongside doing their routine work. As far as “social interaction” is concerned, previously only recorded class sessions could be viewed on line. However, these days teachers and teacher’s assistants are available online at specified times so a student can always login and discuss queries online. According to According to Top of Form According to Top of Form Top of Form Turow, Joseph, and Lokman Tsui. The Hyperlinked Society: Questioning Connections in the Digital Age. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. Print. , “The Internet also alienates the person from his social self. While most think that talking to loved ones through the computer screens allows or offers the same satisfaction of social needs just like engaging in conversations personally, there really is a big difference between the virtual self and the social self. This could further lead to addiction, which could hamper a person’s way of living and those who are directly in contact with him.” I totally strike down the writer’s views here. The internet doesn’t alienate a person from his own self, rather it brings him closer to others. Facebook and various other social blogs are used by people to keep in touch with each other and discuss important issues. However to an extent I would side with the writer when he says it hampers a person’s way of living. Research has shown people who spend hours online find it difficult to interact with others in person. I would like to conclude by saying the internet is a very useful tool for people of the twenty first century. It allows all of us to be socially connected to each other at very little cost (the cost of using the internet service of course). However like other things, it does have it pros and cons but its pros definitely outweigh its cons by a huge margin! Just imagine where we would have been had there been no internet and you’ll start thanking God for this blessing! Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bibliography *Matei, Sorin. "The Internet As Magnifying Glass: Marital Status and On-Line Social Ties." Peace Research Abstracts. 41.4 (2004). Print. *Turow, Joseph, and Lokman Tsui. The Hyperlinked Society: Questioning Connections in the Digital Age. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. Print. *Coburn, James. "Teaching Oral English Online - Through Skype (VOIP)." Acta Didactica Norge 4.1 (2010). Web. 24 Mar. 2011. http://www.adno.no/index.php/adno/article/view/109/133>. *The Negative Effects of Internet By : sumitra dutta, Consultant,Keanehttp://webupon.com/web-talk/the-negative-effects-of-internet Copyright©2011TooStep,13 March 2011. *Feenberg, Andrew. Community in the digital age: philosophy and practice. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. Print. *Stadler, Josephine. An Investigation into Skype Technologies S.A. GRIN Verlag, 2009. Print. Bottom of Form Read More