With a billion Facebook users worldwide, over 250 million twitter members, and new social networks emerging every week; social media has never been so popular. But is social media actually making us anti-social?
Yes – Jamilia
So often I see groups of friends out together in a bar or restaurant but instead of chatting to one another, they are all tapping away on their phones. It seems such a shame that rather than enjoying one another’s company, they are talking to people that aren’t even there. I find it really rude if I’m out with a friend and they whip out their phone mid-conversation. I’ve even been out for a meal with friends and they insist on taking photos of the meal to put online – it’s ridiculous!
I think children in particular are losing important social skills because of so-called ‘social’ media. Instead of playing with friends, they all seem to prefer sitting in their bedrooms using their computers. Not only are they missing out on real-life friendships but they are missing out on fresh air and exercise too. In addition, it seems that social media is very competitive – it’s all about how many ‘likes’ or ‘re-tweets’ people can get. I don’t think this obsession with gaining approval from others is healthy and it would be much better to invest time in real-life friendships which are much more supportive.
It seems ironic that so many people are happy to spend hours typing messages to people they don’t even know over the internet but then say they don’t have the time to visit their relatives. Real-life relationships are being sacrificed at the expense of virtual friendships that simply are not fulfilling or built to last.
No – Jan
My granddaughter taught me how to use Facebook and quite honestly, my social life has never been so busy since I started catching up with my friends online. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve had invites to lots of different social occasions in real-life that might not have happened without social media. At the age of 62, it can be hard to track down old friends but social media has made it really easy. I can talk to people that I was at college with and even keep in touch with friends who have moved to the other side of the world. Without social media my circle of friends would be so much smaller.
Social media provides a great support network for people of all ages too. When I was going through a difficult time recently I was able to find people on the internet who had experienced similar challenges in life and they provided the help and support I needed. Without social media, I would have felt very alone. I’m sure there must be lots of young people going through difficult times who can find help through the internet too.
The best thing about social media is that it gives me a way to chat to friends and relatives on a weekly basis who I probably wouldn’t get chance to call or visit. It keeps the lines of communication open with people that I might otherwise drift away from. Social media has definitely made me more sociable – in the real world as well as the virtual world.
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