Over the last week or so, I've heard alot of talk about social media and the effect it could be having on the next generation's view of the world and themselves. I found an article in the latest
Niagara magazine and recently heard this topic on
CBC Radio One. This got me thinking about how this will affect my children and what kind of environment they are growing up in. Knowing that I have made a conscious effort to put boundaries on how I view social media and it's place in my life is great, but still, in what ways are we unknowingly being affected? Do you think it's desensitizing us as a culture?
What do you think?
How do you view social networking?
Do you make a conscious effort to be involved in the "real" world around you or do you struggle with finding the balance?
What kind of boundaries have you set up around your use of social networking sites?
I'd love to hear what you have to say on this topic!
4 comments:
My great grandfather had a disdain for the telephone. My grandfather thought "this TV thing" wouldn't last more than a generation. He was the guy who would have coined the phrase "idiot box" if only he hadn't been a French-Canadian.
With every new mode of communication and transportation, there are adjustments to be made. There are things to watch out for. But the potential for good is also overwhelming.
Facebook has now become more of a business tool for me personally, though I do appreciate being able to keep in contact with old and distant friends.
There is ever a need to remember that the internet is fully public, no matter what your perception of privacy is. It needs to be used in such a way.
And, just like with television or talking on the phone (we were all teenagers once, were we not?) I need to be sure I don't spend all day online.
I personally think there are way too many social media networks out there. I have limited myself to two (Facebook and Twitter). I also do not play all the games that are available on Facebook, I think people get too wrapped up in these sites when they do that. I mainly use my Facebook to keep in touch with people I don't talk to everyday (people from high school and college and some co-workers). I don't think that Social Networking/Media sites are bad in moderation. Of course with the addition of Smartphones it makes it all that much easier to social network (Me with my Blackberry for example) However I try to limit my time on the sites.
I just read that article in Niagara magazine yesterday, and also found it very interesting.
New technology can be either beneficial or detrimental to the user: it just depends on how you use it. Social media platforms can be abused, and can, as the Niagara magazine article explains, produce loneliness and a distorted sense of socialization (i.e. communicating without actually talking to someone in person).
While I think Facebook, for example, is a great way to stay in touch with people, and it provides a new way to communicate, it actually makes me really appreciate and deliberately practice the obvious need that human beings will always have: the need to build and develop relationships with other people, primarily with face-to-face communication (maybe using social media as a complement).
After several years on fb, I am a happy non-fb'er! I don't think fb is evil... I just think it can create an illusion of friendship. Since leaving I have spent more time with friends in person, sent personal emails with photo attachments, and not thought about my fb status update (the thought lingers there... let's admit it!). Anyway, it was great to reconnect with people from my past, but I now have their "real" contact info, and I am looking forward to staying in touch. Carpe Diem!
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