I am really not all that thrilled about people's social lives primarily being conducted over the Internet rather than face-to-face. Without human contact, people will lose touch with reality. Everyone sitting in their own little room staring at a screen all day is creepy and it makes me sad. I realize social networking is a way to communicate and stay in touch with large groups of people, but there is something not quite right about living life on the Internet as many people seem to do.
When someone creates a web page using a social networking web site such as face book or my space, they can make themselves out to be anyone they want. All you can know about someone you are "friends" with on the Internet is what they tell you, whether it is true or not. You can not really get to know someone until you spend quality face time with them. Communicating via the Internet does not allow true personalities and feelings to come through. Without hearing the tone of someone's voice or watching their body language, you do not get to fully know and understand a person.
Obviously there are some very good uses for social networking sites. My band has a my space account to spread the word about shows and allow people to listen to samples of our music. Businesses advertise using social networking sites, and people can be reunited with old friends they have lost touch with. For these reasons and many others, social networking is a great tool.
It is when people become obsessed with updating their pages and posting every thought that ever crossed their mind that I start to feel uneasy about the popularity of social networking sites.
The fact that employers and strangers can have access to your private life and can find things out about you that were never meant to be shared, really bothers me. Instead of someone putting their personal life out there for all to see, they should go out and meet real live people and share common interests and activities outside in the real world. This way they can share the right information with the right people. For safety and out of self-respect, no one should indiscriminately share all of their personal information with everyone.
I fear people will lose much of what makes them human if they become too dependent on computers. If someone only learns to make friends and have relationships at a distance over the Internet, they will be missing out on human contact, and with it, much of the beauty and joy of life. Social networking is a wonderful tool but it is being completely over-used and abused to the detriment of the human race.
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I actually agree with you in the sense that pretty soon, we won't be able to do anything without the use of computers. It's sad but true. I also don't like the fact that they can use my profile on my space or facebook to research me as they stated in the video by a potential employer.
ReplyDeleteGinette, You said "I fear people will lose much of what makes them human if they become too dependent on computers. If someone only learns to make friends and have relationships at a distance over the Internet, they will be missing out on human contact, and with it, much of the beauty and joy of life. Social networking is a wonderful tool but it is being completely over-used and abused to the detriment of the human race" - you are so very right. Everything in moderation is what we need to do - we are made up people who are over indulge in all aspects -almost gluttonous in effect. Nothing is done in moderation - it is always taken to the extreme - when this is done, so much is lost! You are so right - great blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree, too.
ReplyDeleteI have witnessed students sitting in the same room, interacting via text and IM.
However, do they know what it was like before Facebook?
When I was growing up, I remember my mom refusing the get an answering machine because "if it is important, they will call you back". I also remember teachers taking away notes and reading them aloud in class. Now, parents are taking cell phones away and trying to keep kids away from the Internet.
Things have changed, but have they really?
I agree with this comment "The fact that employers and strangers can have access to your private life and can find things out about you that were never meant to be shared, really bothers me..."I think it goes to show, that even if a blog, social networking site, etc may be a form of self expression...you never know who may be looking at it so that is an important thing to consider when posting, designing, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like that you have posted real concerns about social networking rather than just the 'yea it's great to be able to get in touch with people all the time'. I think that we do become disconnected to the world in some sense with all this technology. Sitting in front of a computer is not going to solve every problem in life. It is nice at times just to spend some quality time with friends without them taking out their cell phone or computer while you are talking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting!
I shared your blog posting with a colleague of mine... It made an impact and she deleted her Facebook account. She explained that she thought she was becoming too reliant on it and wasting too much time.
ReplyDeleteSince that time, she told me she has become "freed" from the constant checking and updating she used to do on Facebook.
Take a look at this link:
http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/200904/28721.asp
Do you think this feeling will happen soon?
This was a really great article. Reading the horror story about the man who mistakenly thought he was only writing to his ex-girlfriend, but ended up exposing all his thoughts and feelings to anyone with a computer, made me happy all over again that I do not participate in the mess that is facebook. The author of the article sends out a strong reminder about how nice privacy can be!
ReplyDelete