Generation Z
Social Media:
Bringing People Closer or Driving Them Apart?
By Mirriam Akbar /@InMirzWords
It’s no doubt that social media, and technology in general, have had the greatest impact on our times. We are so dependent on social media and technology that we forget little of this existed just 10 years ago. Imagine if all of it were to stop right now…imagine the trouble we’ll have finishing the simplest of tasks. We rely on social media in our everyday activities – in fact I’m sure as you read this, you’re going to pull out your phone a couple times. That’s the problem – or at least that’s the question…
This question of the impact of social media in our lives has been up for discussion for the past few years. With technology enhancing each day, and social network sites becoming a common source of information for people all over the world, you can’t help but ask the question: have social media and technology brought people closer or driven them further apart?
Right off the bat, we can all agree that social media and technology have made it easier for people to connect with family, friends, workers, and even with people from other parts of the globe. They’re able to share pictures, videos, links and other pieces of information. We have to agree that technology has brought people closer. Take for example my family who lives in Toronto, Canada who my grandparents haven’t met, but Skype changed that completely. It’s not the full experience, but it’s a big deal when you think about it.
Now we know everything good has its fair share of bad too, and you’re probably wondering how social media has drifted people apart when it’s done so much to bring them closer in a virtual world. Through this virtual world people are always connected, but its never like the real thing. You see, technology has also changed the way we interact – when we meet! I go to gatherings of family or friends, and there’s less quality socializing because everyone’s busy communicating on their phones. That means that social networks have, in many ways, made us anti-social!
Think about the miscommunication that happens in the virtual world. I’m sure everyone knows at least one person who no longer speaks to another person because of an argument that might have taken place through a social network site like Facebook, Twitter, etc. It makes you wonder if this would still happen if social media was limited in scope, or didn’t exist at all.
We know that social media technology won’t be leaving us anytime soon and that it is integral to our lives. But moving forward, we need to figure out not only how to utilize it to best effect, but also how to mitigate the problems that it can cause.
