The Downside of Social Media

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We live in a world with technology that enables us to be in contact with everyone we know, as well as everyone we have met along the way. This technology that has the potential to bring us together often causes people to become more disconnected with the people around them. We live in a world where if you don't have a Facebook account you might as well not exist. Many people don't even think about telling you face to face about an event that is happening because they would rather send you an invitation online or through a text message. Of course they will let you know their disappointment if you fail to appear. This passive aggressive behavior which plagues our society is reinforced by technology that should allow us more communication and straightforward dialogue. People would rather hide behind a veil of technology and feel safe to say the things that they would never dare utter in the "real world".

The obsession with technology seems to have begun with the widespread use of the cell phone. You can sit and watch as people sitting together at tables in a bar ignoring the people that they arrived with because they are engrossed with their phone. Text messaging came along and added to the disconnection so that people didn't even need to talk to each other any more. You could fire off a message to everyone in your phone book without saying a word. This impersonal method of communication is becoming the norm. The mass holiday greeting text message that is sent to an entire phone book of people doesn't exactly warm the heart. Now that Internet technology is also available on cell phones, a whole new level of obsession has been added. You can read your email or check in on Facebook while you are sitting with the very friends t...

... middle of paper ...

...but too much time and effort goes into paying attention to trivial fluff that entertains without offering any informational value. Hang up the phone and have a conversation someone who you see every day. People need to learn to use technology to benefit their relationships and stay in touch without cutting themselves off from reality.

Works Cited

Cowan, James. "Why We'll Never Escape Facebook". Canadian Business 83.10 (2010): 28. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 21 July 2010.

George, Alison. "Living Online." New Scientist 2006. February 5, 2007.

Sotto, J. Lisa, and M. Elisabeth McCarthy. "An Employer’s Guide to Workplace Privacy Issues." 24.1 (2007)

Vara, Vauhini. "Facebook's Tracking of User Activity Riles Privacy Advocates, Members." Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition 21 Nov. 2007: D8. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 21 July 2010.

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