The Impact of Social Media on Connection
Everyone agrees that social media have significantly affected the modern-day world. The primary purpose of social media sites is to keep loved ones connected regardless of the distance between them. For instance, currently, it is easy to stay in touch with a loved one who is miles away, even in another continent via social media. Such things did not exist years ago, and people experienced challenges trying to connect because the only available method of sharing a message with a loved one was via the use of letters, which took a long time to get to the intended recipients. Social media revolutionized the way people connect because sharing a message does not even take a minute for the recipient to get the message and respond. With this technological tool in place, one would expect that relationships would become stronger as people are better connected than they were in the past. However, ironically even though people are living at the center of a world in which they are perpetually in contact, constantly communicating, and boundlessly informed, they are not using their vaunted access to remain truly connected in the sense of the word. Social media affects connection negatively because it leads to addiction, enables anonymity, and it amounts pressure on users.
Social Media Addiction and its Impact on Relationships
When one mentions the word addiction, some people think that it could only be concerning drugs. The number one sign of addiction is the victim continuing to use a substance or engage in an activity even when there are obvious adverse effects (Miller 418). Social media has many adverse effects, but people continue to use it because they have become addicted. Like other types of addictions, such as drug addiction, social media addiction leads to separation between loved ones in different forms. One of the ways in which social media affects relationships is making people fail to notice what is happening in their surroundings. In the old days, neighbors would genuinely know each other and form meaningful relationships because they are the only ones that people could see and talk to frequently. However, in the modern-day world, social media have isolated people from those they are closest to, especially the neighbors (Miller 479). Social media makes people feel as if they are not lonely, and as such do not need more friends, which makes it hard for people to try to form relationships with people they are physically close to. Apart from creating divisions among neighbors, social media affects people in romantic relationships negatively. Currently, it is hard for people to go out on a date and spend the whole day without touching their phones. Even on dates, people still want to know what others are up to. Also, when on dates, people take pictures and post them on social media, which keeps them engaged answering comments and reviewing the likes that a particular picture has gotten. This means that people on a date cannot even connect at a deeper level due to social media.
Anonymity and its Impact on Connection
Another example of how social media addiction affects relationship is that it creates physical separation. People who are addicted to social media nowadays have their special rehabilitation centers. When addicted people agree that they have a problem, they go to a rehabilitation center whereby they do not use any technological device as therapists try to help them reconnect with real life (Miller 419). This method helps to deal with the addiction. Definitely, a physical distance would result when someone goes to a rehabilitation center leaving his or her loved ones behind. Therefore, social media truly affects connection among people, especially when it leads to addiction.
Accountability and the Negative Effects of Anonymity
One of the things that social media have enabled is people to type whatever they want to comment, anonymously. Plato, while talking about the Ring of Gyges, observed that human beings are inherently evil, and the only reason why they act responsibly is the knowledge that behaving otherwise may lead to adverse effects. Plato stated that human beings would misbehave if they had a ring that made them invisible. Social media has become the modern-day Ring of Gyges because it allows someone to relate to others anonymously, which means that one can type whatever he or she wants without the fear that he or she may be held liable for such actions. This lack of accountability makes people use social media to propagate rumors, hurl insults and troll others anonymously. Accountability is the only reason why people behave justly, without it everyone would act unjustly (Zhou). Some social media sites enable anonymity by letting people use pseudo names instead of real names while opening accounts. This enables cyberbullying, as the perpetrators know that their victims would never find out who they are. Due to anonymity, even people who pretend to be friends in real life attack others online because of jealousy. Therefore, instead of enabling connection some social media sites allow cyberbullying, which leads to isolation. The worst part about cyberbullying is that it lowers the victims' self-esteem. With low self-esteem, it means that one cannot manage to form meaningful relationships even in real life because of the insecurity highlighted on social media by trolls. Some victims end up committing suicide when the situation is overwhelming. Therefore, social media negatively affects connection by enabling anonymity that leads to people becoming trolls and hurting others without fear of facing the consequences for their actions.
The Pressure of Fake Lives on Social Media
Social media enables people to portray fake lives, thereby amounting undue pressure on others. When social media was unheard off, people took time to make friends with others and understand them at a deeper level. With social media, people know only as much as account owners allow them to know online. For instance, rarely do people, especially teenagers and young adults, post the struggles they go through in life every day. Mostly, young people post pictures of them having fun in the best of places. For instance, when a young person goes on a trip, he or she will post a picture of such a place for others to see how good he or she is doing in life. The same person does not post when he is struggling with a lack of money to do something. Therefore, the people who follow such a person on social media would only see the best parts of his life. This is the kind of things that young people are bombarded with every day. If one is struggling and he or she sees a former friend enjoying life in the best of places, it is only natural for him or her to feel as if life is unfair to him. Such thoughts lead to pressure. Also, such a person may feel as if he or she does not fit to be a friend of the person who is enjoying life. The struggling person might then decide to avoid relating to the former friend, which creates division. Therefore, instead of establishing a connection, as was the primary purpose of the introduction of social media sites, they sometimes end up disconnecting people.
Conclusion
Some people might argue that social media creates connection even among people who did not know each other initially, which allows the formation of movements for the welfare of a nation. For instance, #BlackLivesMatter campaign received attention worldwide due to social media (Miller 426). Even though this is true, social media affects connections with people that really matter, such as family. There will be many movements for one to join, but one only has one family, and he or she should not let social media affect the attention the family deserves.
Concisely, social media sites are an excellent way of helping people to keep in touch. When used appropriately, they can boost relationships. However, due to the inherent evil nature of human beings, they tend to abuse the sites instead of using them for the welfare of the masses. When abused, social media sites create division among people. Social media affects connection negatively because it leads to addiction, enables anonymity, and it amounts pressure on users.
Works Cited
Miller, James S. Acting Out Culture: Readings for Critical Inquiry. St. Martin's, 2017.
Zhou, Julie. “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt.” New York Times, 29 November 2010, late ed., p. A31.
