Monday, January 23, 2012

Is It Time to Log Off?

Dear Stephanie Rosenbloom,

I would like to thank you for expressing your opinion on social media usage in todays society. The pressure to conform and join the online social community is becoming almost impossible to resist. I can only name one of my friends that lacks a social networking site, and how he does it I'm not completely sure. Even so, he still sometimes leans over my shoulder to see what interesting photos are on Facebook and what not. I am currently a member of 3 major social networks, two of which being Twitter and Facebook. I personally find myself spending more time on Twitter. Facebook is becoming so uninteresting and crowded by spammed images or updates from people that I have no interest in being involved with. I also believe that Facebook is now becoming to personal with the constant updates of who is liking what status. It's almost a stalkers heaven. Both sites are a means for people to update and spread information which can be viewed by a large number of people. Both tools are great for networking and meeting new people. 

The examples you provided were especially interesting because of how people interact these days. Before social networking, I feel like people had to make more of an effort to interact. Holding face to face conversations and going out to social events was the norm. Now it seems like with just a few clicks of a mouse and you can be chatting it up with potential clients, friends, or employers. I believe this is causing a social trend though because sometimes people are more likely to hold conversations online than in person. From personal experience I can say that is quite awkward. You pointed out a bunch of social networking sites that I have never even heard of which I found interesting. The examples from Mr. Kaufman are good representations of how the typical person uses social networking now. Most people find themselves having the sites open on separate tabs just in case they want to see what other people are doing. It's so much easier to talk to people across the map, but how strong do those relationships really become? I recently read a blog entry on a site that I frequent which told of one college student who decided to delete his Facebook page because it became a constant distraction and didn't really help to build any stronger ties. Sometime in the near future, I think I also will disconnect. Social media is awesome, but one should not become completely engulfed in the digital world. Sometimes we must disconnect and live life. 



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