MC301 Contributors
Has dinnertime been overcome by digital devices? Do we share more information online than we do face to face? Is social media making us more anti-social? With all the convenience provided by the Internet and social media,
does it come at the cost of interpersonal experience?
According to pewinternet.org, the number of Americans that own a cellphone of some kind is 95 percent with 77 percent of those users owning smart phones. This makes obtaining and sharing information instantaneous but is this helpful or hurtful to the overall social health of society?
Have you ever observed someone on his or her cellphone and/or mobile device become distracted from real life? How many times have you seen someone walking and looking down at his or her phones at the same time? According to dmv.org, texting and driving has now become even more common, and just as dangerous as texting while driving. Statistics show that 26 percent of all car crashes in 2014 involved cell phone use. At least nine people are killed every day due to distracted drivers.
Mobile devices are powerful tools, and while part of the issue, the actual content displayed on the phone plays a factor in our social activity. As with all things in life, social media has pros and cons. The question is, has it affected the way we communicate with one another?
“The ability to access the Internet through mobile phones to check social media websites has turned places like coffee shop and cafes into non-social areas. People are also using social media to feel connected to others without being around them or knowing them personally,” stated Briana Knox, senior biology major from Vicksburg, Miss.
Knox added, “People no longer need to be able to communicate properly because the Internet is doing it for them. The ability to access the Internet through mobile phones to check social media sites has turned places like coffee shops into nonsocial areas.”
Carmen Frison, a junior business management major from Atlanta, Ga. agrees.
“This generation is more prone to being less social in the physical state because we’ve always had technology to help us communicate in a way that doing it in person would be impossible to do,” said Frison.
Frison added, “While being social online, we have forgotten how to be social in real life. I do believe social media makes people less social. We have become so custom to talking to someone behind a screen that when we do itin person it’s awkward.”
Jakarri Donley, a senior in elementary education from Greenwood, Miss., being social or antisocial is a matter of choics.
“If you already a social person, you are going to be social on and off social media,” said Donley.
Bobbie Brown, a senior psychology major from Cleveland, Miss., believes that social media gives shy individuals a platform to reach out to other individuals and discuss ideas they are not open to discussing in person.
“The confidence one gains online may give them the confidence to interact in person with others,” said Brown.
Bonnie Jackson, a professor at Jackson State University, believes constant social media interaction can be detrimental.
“It (social media) gives you the ability to hide who you are. You can go online and impersonate someone else” said Jackson. “We are losing our ability to sympathize with people and we have become more judgmental. It is making us a much meaner society.”
Regardless of one’s personal view, it is fair to say that social media has caused a change in the way we communicate. Like anything in life, it has both advantages and disadvantages. Social media for many members of society connects them with friends, family and professional connections. From spreading news to sharing memories social media has had an effect on almost everyone in some form.
Though the way we communicate with one another has changed, whether or not that change is detrimental is objective. Social media remains a tool to communicate with others whom we may not see every day, or stay up to date on the latest news or trends. Whether it is used for entertainment or a bridge to social connectivity, the impact of social media is present and not likely to go away any time soon.
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