Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication Essay

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When you look around, wherever you go, you are seeing someone’s face lit up not on the basis that they are joyous but due to the light of their phone. Most people you see have their cellular devices out talking, texting or using social media and not being genuinely sociable to the people they are with at that moment. In 2010, more than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking (Grabmeier). Now, imagine if you or a loved one was walking down the street and were using a cell phone and had gotten hurt as a result that you/they were distracted. Have you ever wondered how, since someone can be injured while using a cell phone, then what ,indeed, happens in medical facilities? …show more content…

Knowing how to communicate properly is very critical when you begin your journey as a Respiratory Therapist and also until then end. Knowing that cell phones make it “easier” (not having to have face-to-face conversations) to talk to people but does it make your job easier? Susan Tardanico, in her article that she wrote for Forbes, asks the most important question in her title, “Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication?” A statement that carved itself into my brain in her article states, “On a crisp Friday afternoon last October, Sharon Seline exchanged text messages with her daughter who was in college. They ‘chatted’ back and forth, mom asking how things were going and daughter answering with positive statements followed by emoticons showing smiles, b-i-g smiles, and hearts. Happiness. Later that night, her daughter attempted suicide.” When it comes to the usage of cell phones, we forget that a lot of people who say they are fine are not doing very well. I think if a mother cannot recognize that her daughter needs help, how can a respiratory therapist adequately and appropriately treat their patients? Yes, everyone nowadays likes to be in a rush and hurry to get their jobs done, however, we all must take the time and communicate face to face to be able to understand fully the issue someone may be …show more content…

When it comes to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, nobody wants to think about the negative effects it has on patients. Brian Cayko, the director of clinical education in the respiratory care program at Great Falls College, Montana State University in Great Falls, Montana argues that social media makes it easier for patients. When a patient is not able to acquire care at the medical facility, they can get in touch with their respiratory therapist with the use of social media sites. Cayko also states that social media sites can be helpful as “educational resources, patient support and social and professional networking.” I think that Cayko knows that everyone must remember the negative things about social media and the internet, with the understanding that just because it’s on the web doesn’t mean that it is the truth. No, not everything is wrong with social media sites, I am involved in social media sites myself; however, personally I know that when it comes to an occupation especially in the medical field, you have to be more aware of the negatives than the

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