As Facebook and many other social media platforms market, “Stay Connected!” However, are these websites really bringing us together?
Well, when you can digitally stalk someone instead of taking the time to get to know them, I think not. Yes, I’m able to stay in contact with old friends I made back in
2009 but what does that mean if we don’t continue to see each other in person? Not only has my presence on social media cheapened the bonds I already have but it's also impacted my relationships in real life. The internet may be a place that savors connections and creates life-long ones but I would argue that socially, it does more harm than good.
Using these platforms damage the chance of success for in-person connections. For instance, I'll meet someone at an event or a coffee shop and we’ll hit it off. Complementing each other, figuring out that we have a lot in common, talking about making plans, I mean, really vibing off each other's energy. Only, to follow each other on Instagram where all of these short-lived relationships go to die. When “connecting” with someone digitally, you automatically see what’s going on in their lives. You no longer have to send a message to check on them when you can just visit their page. And instead of meeting up in person to enjoy someone’s company, you end up watching their story or commenting on their post. Leading me to believe that...
Once you've friended someone on social media that sense of obligation to follow up with a potential mate becomes lost. Causing them to be the girl who always “likes” your pictures rather than a friend you have over for dinner.
Noa Gafni Slaney’s position on the topic in her editorial “Online Connections Can be Superficial, but the Examples of That Are Outliers” that “These platforms mimic — not alter— our real-world behavior” is flawed. These platforms do mimic a social environment, however, that replaces the need for human interaction which inevitably alters our real-world connections, creating a dependency on social media, dating, and friend-making apps because it has gotten so hard to connect in real life.
The internet has changed communication beyond our screens entirely. Take me for example! I use to be a social butterfly. Now, on the contrary, I cringe at most human interaction and even developed a subtle stutter for a while. Between longing for friends and getting accustomed to having a small circle over the years, I no longer know how to function in social environments. When someone shows a genuine interest in me I become so overzealous I try cramming four years of loneliness into one conversation. Naturally, I’m an extrovert but slowly I've transitioned to being an introvert. So much so, that I've been in my own sort of social prison and you can thank the progression of the internet for that. In addition, I’ve become more irritable. Whether at work, in class, or at the supermarket, things people did in the past that wouldn’t have bothered me really pushes my buttons today. That is because-
Online you can pick and choose what you engage in. Surrounding yourself with all the things you like hence the concept of virtual realities. However, once you step outside your door you can no longer filter and control your environment like you do on the internet.
And this builds conflict for myself and many others once submerged in society.
So, do the pros of online connectedness outweigh the distance created by our presence on social media? Personally, I love being able to look at images of my best friend and her baby who live in New Hampshire, it brings me great joy. As well as sharing my own pictures and receiving positive feedback. However, there is a flip side. Emerson Csorba's claim in his article “The Constant Sharing Is Making Us Competitive and Depressed” that “The relationships we form are superficial at best, and the social comparison that these connections fosters can be psychologically damaging.” is a valuable one because it points out that although we may be forming relationships online they’re often frivolous, not being worth venturing around the psychological battleground of the internet. Unfortunately, catfishing, social media trolls, and cancel culture exist. In addition, platonic and romantic relationships are heavily affected as well, starting off great until they’re tested by the web. Whether it’s a spouse becoming jealous over “likes” or a friendship that falls apart because of the facades we put up on social media. Ultimately, it pulls people further apart rather than bringing them together making our online endeavors counterproductive. Even though the internet can unite our loved ones all in one place, the benefits of being connected online don’t compare to the social ruin it creates in the real world.
Since we’re now able to get everything we need from within the comfort of our homes. It takes away the meaning of something as simple as human interaction, causing more disconnectivity than connectedness.
Friends and family lose touch because their form of contact shifts from being in person to primarily or completely online. Having long-term effects on our face-to-face interactions like sadly I’ve noticed in mine. With that, where does the aftermath of lockdowns and social distancing lead us?
Craving more human interaction? Or, further into our own virtual realities...
#anxiety #socialmedia #mentalhealth #socialdistancing #virtualreality #effectsoflockdown #socialmediaeffectsonmentalhealth #wisewellnwoke #wisewellandwoke
Sources:
Csorba, Emerson. “The Constant Sharing Is Making Us Competitive and Depressed?”, The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/11/28/is-digital-connectedness-good-or-bad-people. Accessed July 30, 2019
Slaney, Noa Gafni. “Online Connections Can be Superficial, but the Examples of That Are Outliers”, The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/11/28/is-digital-connectedness-good-or-bad-people. Accessed July 30, 2019
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