After watching a video clip in class about the social networking site Twitter, I began to more deeply think about an issue currently being addressed in our society. The issue in question is whether online social networking sites are damaging the quality of America’s communication. Are we losing the personalization people once shared in our culture? Social networking has become such a large and important part of our lives that most of us either have our own page or at least an opinion about its effects. It seems the obsession began as an innocent way to connect with individuals across the globe, but has now morphed into somewhat of a way of life for some. I myself have a Twitter and a MySpace profile, and I admit that while I rarely log on to my MySpace account, I’m definitely not immune to the addictions of Twitter. I have found myself spending countless hours on those sites, sometimes just surfing without even any conversing. Social networking can be wonderful to use to reconnect with old friends or talk to your loved ones around the world, but sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter can also be a downfall by decreasing the number of people’s face-to-face conversations. Even if you don’t have many conversations on those sites, the time you spend on them can be valuable time wasted that you could have spend in person with someone. When I’m at home and a friend lives just blocks away, is trying to adequately express my emotions through a computer screen to them the best way to do so when I could just go over to their house or even at least pick up a phone? By tweeting, messaging, and commenting on people’s pages, we lose the spark of having special, personal relationships with people, while maybe also blossoming more long-distance relationships.
This is not just an American issue, but also one that is worldwide. What will our world become when we don’t even feel the need to meet and have real conversations with people anymore? The power of social networking can ultimately lead to the use of technological for every single aspect of life. For example, if this online fixation continues, our President may no longer not feel the need to personally meet with rulers of other countries, professors could post lectures online so students wouldn’t even have to bother attending schools, and pilots would be out of a job when planes can be flown with the push of a button. Other technological-savvy countries such as Japan are especially upgrading quickly. Do we want our world to be completely run by computers until we become satisfied never leaving our house and speaking through an electronic device? Spending quality time with those we love is so important, shouldn’t we be able sacrifice some of the hours we spend online to do so? Social networking is so major today, arguably in a good or bad way, whether or not you’re personally involved. If you’re aware of these sites, which most of the country and probably the world is, maybe you’ve wondered: is social networking cheating us out of better quality friendships and relationships?
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