A big debate among people of all ages
and backgrounds is whether social media is making us more or less social as a
society. There really does not seem to be a definite answer as to which side of
the argument is more right. More arguments have been made that it makes us less
social, but I will play devil’s advocate and say that it helps us be more
social.
Webster’s dictionary describes the adjective “social”
as follows:
“ : relating
to or involving activities in which people spend time talking to each other or
doing enjoyable things with each other
: liking to be with and talk to people: happy to be with people
: of or
relating to people or society in general”
This definition
had me thinking. None of those specifically say having one-on-one conversations
in person with people. Many will claim that social media, such as Facebook, is
an excuse to not physically visit or call friends and family. While, that might
be true, that doesn't mean this makes people anti-social. They still make
efforts to communicate and maintain relationships with those friends and family.
If they were truly not social, they wouldn't be friends on Facebook or talking
to people in any way. I personally have family members that do not have any
form of social media and I only hear from them when I see them at family
gatherings and even then they don’t seem like they want to be there. These are
the types of people I consider to be anti-social.
The part of the definition
that helps my argument the most is the last part “of or relating to people or
society in general”. These days it is rare when someone does not have a
Facebook account, even more rare when they do not own a cellphone. This rarity
is because society as a whole is using these social media platforms, then the
people that choose to not involve themselves with social networking sites or
apps seem like social outcasts to the rest of us. Society evolves more and more
over the years. When we are all connecting on the same media, we develop
relationships, therefore we are still being social. That is not to say that
people without internet or smartphones are not social people, it is just that
they are making harder efforts of making conversation and relationships with
people than they rest of us that chose the easy and efficient way.
One of the main arguments against social media is that when people
are in a room together, they often end up on their smartphones and not talking
to each other. What do people usually do when they are on their phones? They
are usually being social with other people that are not there with them.
Society has become more social, just in different ways. You can still have
meaningful conversations and not be right next to the person. As someone
currently in a long distance relationship, I have become a big advocate for
maintaining relationships not based on physical presence. Of course, it is hard
for a relationship to not have reassuring physical aspects, but a relationship
should not be based solely on physical interaction. It makes you feel closer
when you talk about your fears, dreams and goals with someone who actually
cares. On the reverse, you can be sitting next to someone and not say anything
but still show that you’re being social by physically being with them. Part of
the definition simply says “happy to be with people”. You wouldn't physically
stay around someone if you were not happy or at least comfortable to be there.
Some of my friends try to make the argument that they are not social because
they have trouble with phone conversations and would rather type something out
than say it in person. This does not come off as not social to me. If they were
not social, they would not care about trying to convey a message to someone or
not want to connect at all. These friends are also in a club on campus. Saying
that you are not social but becoming part of a club is ironic. A club is the
epitome of social, people of similar interests coming together to connect. They
may not physically interact and have one-on-one conversations with these club
members, but being there and enjoying activities together is social.
Molly Reynolds,
a writer for the Huffington Post, made a good point in an article she wrote
over this topic. “Reading or hearing about something will never (and SHOULD
never) replace really connecting with others through shared experiences. New
social media networks are starting to pick up on this trend -- using their
platform as a tool to allow people to have real life experiences.”(Reynolds)
Some of these new platforms include an app that allows people to connect with
people nearby in their area that show similar interests, a social exercise app
that allows people to connect with their friends to show weight goals and
updates when your friend is working out or has achieved a goal to get you
motivated to complete your goal and encourages exercising together. There are
many social apps like these that help people connect in real life.
I
also believe that without social media, many people would not have friends. It
is hard to connect with people in your area when you have nothing in common
with the people around you. Social media helps people with similar interests to
connect, which usually ends up with them meeting in person. Once people of a
certain fandom or lifestyle have found others like them on the internet, the
next thing they want to do is meet up. Society is not spiraling into an anti-social
abyss of loners that don’t want friends, it is always changing and finding ways
of connecting and being social in different ways.
Reference:
No comments:
Post a Comment