Social Media vs. Face-to-Face Interaction

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It was not until the 21^st century that the internet became the almighty powerful tool. Before the world was introduced to the internet, the only ways that people could communicate with one another over long distances was through mails and telegram messages. Even then, it took a long time for messages to be passed to the recipient and often, these messages were lost along the way.

As we enter into the post industrialized age today, it is evident that communication has improved significantly, mostly due to improvements in technology and new inventions like the internet and smartphones. Social networking sites are sprouting out online, allowing people from various parts of the world to connect with one another.

As a result of the wide-scale usage of social media and social networking sites, there is a growing concern that more people are spending time to communicate online, rather than engaging in meaningful face-to-face interaction. This controversy has sparked arguments about how the social networking sites are replacing real time face-to-face communication among social networking users. Some have argued that mediated technology, including the use of social networking sites are causing users to be more isolated than before. In the light if this debate, I would like to offer my opinions regarding this subject.

To start with, I do not believe that social networking sites cause users to be isolated. There are a couple of reasons why I believe this is so.

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1)  Social networking sites are platforms for users to communicate with their friends and loved ones. It provides an alternative venue for users to foster healthy relationships online which may not be possible through face-to-face interaction due to differences in geological proximity.

2) Besides maintaining relationships, social networking sites are meant to encourage users to socialize online and widen their social network. As a result, users are able to reconnect with their friends whom them have not met in a long time and get introduced to new friends online. The six degrees of separation phenomenon can be used to explain how individuals can end up getting to know a friend of their friends who also happen to be a close friend of another friend of theirs. This contributes to wider and richer social networking ties. 

3) Getting to know more friends online through various social networking websites may lead to better quality conversations in comparison to face-to-face interaction. For some users, especially those who are socially awkward and introverted, conversing online is an outlet for self-disclosure. Some users may feel uncomfortable approaching someone and start a conversation with them. Social networking sites therefore opens up more opportunities for these individuals to discover new friends and communication techniques. Users may feel more encouraged to start offline conversations with others once they feel comfortable talking to them online. From this perspective, networking sites serves to encourage more participation and face-to-face interaction.

4) Social networking sites are not the main cause of isolation. It does not mean that people who participate in activities involving social media engage in less face-to-face interaction. The primary factor here is time management. Individuals who have good time-management skills would not find it challenging to handle both kinds of communication and hence, will not feel isolated. On the contrary, they would feel less isolated because of the high amounts of socializing activities they are involved in.

To conclude, I feel that it is presumptuous to assume that using social networking sites directly causes isolation.  Of course, social networking sites can threat opportunities for individuals to engage in meaningful face-to-face communication; however, I believe that this only happens when a user has poor management skills.