My first experience with Facebook was back in high school. I associated it with regular mobile phone chatting applications. Most of my real life friends were members of Facebook, and they encouraged me to join the social website and make a “friend request” so that we could get connected. It was an intriguing experience because I had just heard rumors that it was an awesome chatting platform. The article by Ian Daly “Virtual Popularity Isn 't Cool—It 's Pathetic” (Daly) presents arguments and situations that have been closely connected to my experience with social media over the past several years that I have been an active member of several social media sites. This personal essay will show the link between the arguments from the article and my experience as a user of social media. In my opinion, these experiences likely relate to those of many other social media users.
Just like many of the active Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Myspace users, joining a social media site
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Social networking and gaining many friends became a very integral part for users because of the notion that the more followers or friends you have on social media, the famous you become. Addiction to social media is exhibited soon after joining because of the sudden urge to become popular in the social media site. Daly (2007) says that, “The hosts, once infected, exhibit a tendency to "superpoke" each other, hyperventilate over friend counts, and share their thoughts about the latest episode of The Hills with hundreds of near strangers—behavior normally associated with teenage girls, not men in the middle of their fourth decade.” In this quote, the “Hosts” refers to the people who have joined social media recently. Daly describes social media sites as “infections” because of their nature to take over the lives of many users around the
One’s amount of Facebook reflects how popular one wish to appear online more than how healthy one’s friendship truly is. Constant usage of Facebook allows user to potentially feel like they have a meaningful social life, when in reality, they are missing something. In Stephen Marche’s 2102 article, “Is Facebook making Us Lonely?” he notes that Facebook was introduced to the world in the midst of spreading and intensifying loneliness, an idea to which he greatly attributes Facebook’s appeal and success (Marche 26). Initially, social networking sites seem to be evidence of modern-day social interaction being easier and more convenient than ever. However, they can just as easily convince users that they are missing out on having a social life. Marche quotes a woman named Moira Burke, who has conducted studies on Facebook interaction (34). Bruke claims that the way in which the site is used is the greatest factor in determining if it increases the loneliness of users or not, stressing the importance of actually communicating with people one knows personally instead of posting about one’s own activities or simply clicking “like” on the others’ posts. If a Facebook user simply sits back and watches the activity of others without interacting with them in any way referred to by Burke as “one-click communication” and “passive consumption”, it could result in feelings of stagnation, being left out, and loneliness. As one could probably guess, motivation plays a key role in how users choose to interpret their Facebook news feed. Some could be inspired by what they see on their feeds to go out and have an exciting social life. However, for those who already feel even slightly lacking in social skills, having a Facebook profile may simply emphasize to them what they are missing. These studies and findings ultimately reflect the negative effect of Facebook on
As technology progress, humans evolve to the advanced technology and enhance our lives via technology. We connect to our families, friends and others through social media such as Facebook. Social media takes up a huge part in our lives. Social media infest us with information that are relevant and irrelevant to us. Marry Marrow wrote, “It was Facebook that changed the face of e-communication; in fact, it was the first electronic social media” (para 1). She assumes that Facebook is playing a huge role in electronic communication. In the journalist Maria Konnikova, “How Facebook makes us unhappy?”, Konnikova divulges many aspects of people on social media through researching and experience, and finds how social makes us unhappy. I agree with Konnikova findings after reading her article. In addition, she concludes that if you are engaged, active, and creative you will not sorrowful on Social media, however if you are passively browsing and defuse to engage, you
Known for his proactive essays, William Deresiewicz who was once an English professor at Yale bluntly explains to us his view on the “friendships” of Facebook. Deresiewicz ask how you can have so many friends and yet none at all. He considers friends on social media a simulacra. Comparing them to just any old collection of cards. “Posting information is like pornography, a slick, impersonal exhibition.” (Deresiewicz, 16) Social media, in this case Facebook, is just a generalization (not a personal) way of keeping in touch.
Social Media began affecting our communication and relationships as early as 1969 when the first internet service provider become available to U.S. universities. In 2002, Friendster, the first social media website available to the U.S. was created and gained over 3 million members in just over 3 months. One year later, MySpace launched. In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, a 24-year-old Harvard student, created Facebook, an online social networking service. This service was originally a way for students to interact. Today it is the world’s largest social networking service and allows over a billion users to connect though posting photos, sharing links, and comments which all appear on a “News Feed” that blasts out this information to all your virtual friends. For the current generation, this new way of communication is facilitating the act of never losing contact with anyone they have ever met. It also allows anyone on this platform to create new relationships with people they are interested in connecting with via internet.
Appealing to her audience through qualified sources and research, Rosen does an excellent job illuminating the shadows of social networking, showing how social networking websites will not only change the way people interact with one another, but that continued overuse of these sites may be hazardous to meaningful social interactions. The perils of social media is best exemplified in Rosen’s commentary on “virtual friendships” and the progressively narcissistic personality being encourage by networking sites.
Have you ever made any friends via Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat that you have never met before? I know I have through Twitter due to having the same interests. Some may say those friends are not really your friends, but virtual ones instead. In the article, “The Limits of Friendships,” by Maria Konnikova, she talks about friendships that are made virtually and in reality. The author argues that the use of social media has hindered friendships and face to face connections within one’s social circle, however, she does not address that they have met their closest support group through social media. Face to face connections help identify who one’s true friends are and they are more realistically made when it is in person rather than over social media, but there Konnikova fails to address the fact that social media has allowed many to connect
The twenty first century is the age of the “Internet” which guarantees people information at the touch of their fingertips. Intelligence of any subject can be acquired- personal or private- in a matter of seconds. This method of public privacy is practiced by numerous social networking websites, which hold personal data of its users. Facebook and Twitter have promised to engulf people with their warmth, keeping them interacted with friends, updated with trends, and connected with society. While several buy into this ruse, they neglect the undesirable effects of networking, which eventually led to depression, presenting a social paradox. The virtual relationships formed online through social networks, are intended to replace physical interaction; people become immensely socialized through a new avenue of communication and remain “connected” with friends or family. This common contact behind masked computer screens eventually becomes insufficient. Yet, people seem to be addicted to social websites resulting in a continuous, daily dependence upon these networking mediums. The more society becomes reliant on social networking, the more people become victims of isolation and depression, as these types of websites merely detach people from physical communication and significant interactions.
Facebook is rapidly attracting multitudes of visitors every month instigating a shift in communication. This change consequently presents that societies are choosing to become part of the popular Facebook culture for various reasons, such as its renowned opportunities for keeping in touch with current social circles, reunifying long lost family and friends and broadening prospects of finding new companions. Facebook removes some of the barriers that may limit our regularity of communication with people, upholding the geographic differences, social class, busy lifestyles and economic factors that may usually discourage us from regular contact. (Cooke 2011, pp. ix-4)
On February 4, 2004, Facebook was launched and with it the epidemic of social media impact crept in its shadows. Society was revolutionized by a new era of social interaction, where individuals could connect through media channels and share their unique brand with the immediate world. Just two years later Twitter was launched, and soon after Instagram was the newest contender in the running. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are just three of the top social media outlets that millennials crave. In the world of social media, anyone can be whomever they desire, and fame has reached feasible accessibility. Through accessibility, moral standards are quickly diminished and the platform for psychological impact has reached an all time high. Social
Today’s society is centered around social media, not just for sharing photos, articles, funny videos you see online, but to keep in touch with those near and far with a push of a button. We come to a day and age where you can be anywhere on the planet and still be able to message your best friend who is sitting in their house thousands of miles away. I will admit that I love using social media because I can see what my friends are up to and keep up to date with today’s problems. Everyone from teenagers to the elderly use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to show others what they may be up to or what they may have seen online. But the big question is “Is Facebook a fad?”.
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are only a few of the most common words used in today’s language among children, teens and adults. Such words can be described as popular terms related to what many of us know as social media. In today’s culture, many teenagers rely so heavily on the usage of social media that issues once thought to be revolutionary are now taking place offline and online. In fact, several cases of mental addictions, depression and even suicide have all stemmed from the initial usage of sites such as Facebook, which are otherwise socially accepted as a simple means of communicating with “friends.” While social media does have its advantages, it can also be held responsible for several negative events in the lives of today’s teenagers.
As Today’s society grows all of us have come to revolutionize in the aspect of technological innovations. Many people of different ages have come to utilize the use of social media, which has become a social norm in today’s society. As I have come to known many people use social media on a daily basis, which has become normal and a part of our daily lifestyles. Social Networking does have its perks, and it has defects, as well. From the article, that I have chosen over Social Networking, I have become more aware of all the pro’s and con’s when it comes to this subject.
and family, and also “meet like-minded people” ( Metz, par. 1). In some cases, business people such as Ron West, claim that he uses Facebook “to become acquainted with new customers”( par. 8). Yes, these types of websites are great tools to stay in touch with old classmatesand faraway family members. It is a great source of communication, but there is always a con to every pro. Even though users are connecting with others, users of social networks never know exact...
Did you remember to tell your cousin happy birthday on Facebook? Do you know how many people liked your latest picture on instagram? Or how many retweets did you get on your totally relatable and borderline inspirational tweet? As of January 2014, 74% of online adults use social networking sites (Rainie). Also more than 9 out of 10 American teenagers use social media(Blaszczak). Because of social networking we are becoming more connected than ever before. Important information can spread faster than wildfire, and we now have the ability to have friends and relationships all over the world. With the ability to communicate and interact with anyone at our fingertips what could go wrong? Well...lots of things.
The more social media we have, the more we think we're connecting, yet we’re really disconnecting from each other. Communication is a crucial part of the human life when it comes to interacting and progressing our society. Ever since the beginning of as much as we can remember, we’ve communicated in many forms such as body language, sign language and written language. Nowadays, we’ve taken socializing to a whole new level. We’ve constructed a form of typed language with the given name, social networking. There are endless social media sites that make it obtainable to connect between various amounts of people. In consideration of the ability that people can interact through social media, most people own an account for engaging. Granting all this, social media has a lot of negative side effects that cause tendencies and anti-social behaviors in people. Many of social media users are obsessed and become deserted by using social media. The most influential social networks, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are included. It is critical to know why people have to use social media wisely and need some restrictions when using it.