Does Social Media Really Make Us More Social?

In every campus, restaurant, or other public places, we can see many people look down at their phones and ignore their surroundings. What are they checking on? Most people are checking on their text messages, Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking. Nowadays social media has been taking over most people’s free time and being an indispensable part of their lives. Some people think social media is helping us communicate with one another more convenient and efficient, on the contrary, social media also makes people less social in real life.

Many people prefer texting instead of talking in person. They use texting as their formal communication tool. “Americans ages 18-29 send and receive an average of nearly 88 text messages per day, compared to 17 phone calls” (Kluger). Young people tend to move their fingers rather than their mouths. They depend on texting to make any social connections. However, texting is not socializing. According to online Fine Dictionary website, “socializing is the act of meeting for social purposes” (Fine Dictionary). http://www.finedictionary.com/socializing.html People have social life because socializing is a beneficiary learning and communicating process. In addition, this process is based on face-to- face meetings. By meeting with others in real life, people express their thoughts through gestures, tones and faces. The real emotions cannot be hidden. However, texting is a way of communication which based on a totally different rule. People can easily move their fingers on phones to type something that they might never say in real life. In a text message, the real feeling can be a big trick. People may hide their real faces behind the phones and type something totally opposite. Is this considered a...

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...People started realizing that social media is not really helping them experience real social life. What people really have to do is talking to people in real life and enjoying the present beautiful moments without holding a phone.

Social media has changed the way people interact with each other in recent years. It dose makes communication easier and more efficient, at the same time, the shortages came along with the benefits. People spend more time on social media than real life interactions, therefore, social media makes people less social nowadays. Fortunately, some people have realized this social phenomenon and started doing something significant to influence others in society. Technology is developing and advancing. Hopefully people could use it in a wise way to make more connections and communications, and make social media is more beneficiary for human life.