(Source:https://bindugopinath.com/2017/01/04/social-media-or-anti-social-media-my-new-year-resolution/)
Social media isolates individuals.
Nedra Reynolds highlights an interesting observation where the advent of cell phone technologies, as a new form of talking and writing, contributes minimally to an increase in social distance between individuals, and in fact, satisfies the need for closeness in a culture of distance. As instant connections between individuals become extremely simple, more people engage in frequent self-reports of his or her movements and actions to their friends and family in their everyday life. This then fosters a sense of closeness and intimacy between friends and family members, which was unachievable in the past.
Yet, I believe while this observation seems reasonable on the surface, it misses the underlying behavioral message of such actions. The act of frequent self-reports, or on a broader sense, communicating personal information regularly to friends and loved ones through such new technologies, can actually be seen as an avoidance of real face-to-face social interactions. The thinking that the exchange of digital information could enhance, or even replace physical interactions, results in the over-reliance of it. Consequently, this leads to a reduction of the frequency of our natural way of human interactions that we developed for millennia. This form of interactions is not just about the exchange of information, they are rooted in many forms of non-verbal and non-written communication such as body language, physical touch, and covert expression of emotions. As a result, while there is a sense of a greater “connectedness” between individuals, we often feel that the relationships built on these new technologies are in fact superficial, and therefore more distanced.
Wong Kin
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