In the digital age that is full of social media, email and other means of interacting with others, users are spending more and more of their time online and communicating in different ways. This can include, sending an email, making a blog post, checking Facebook or Twitter or sending a text message to a friend. We are not interacting as much with others face-to-face as much as we did earlier in the 21st century. We are doing it digitally. This can be both good and bad.
The bad effects of social media are it can result in addiction. According to an article posted on medicalnewstoday.com, “The negative impacts of social media,” some users have said they reported feeling less confident when they saw some of the achievements against their friends. Another effect is that 2/3 of users reported having feeling of uncomfortable when they were having trouble logging on their account(s). It can also increase feelings of anxiety when it comes to face-to-face interactions, leading people to become more anti-social.
Some positive effects can be that information can be spread faster for current events, rather than waiting for the evening news. A second effect is that law enforcement uses social media all the time to catch and bring justice to the victims of any sort of crime. For example, in 2011, the NYPD added a Twitter tracking unit to arrest individuals who post about their crimes online. As discussed in my last paper, social media increases voter participation. During the 2010 elections, Facebook users who used the site were 2.5 times more likely to attend a political rally or meeting. This is all according to procon.org.
Communicating via social media and text message can be both good and bad in many ways. Communicating digitally is much more efficient often times, but it is not always the right way to communicate. Not having a phone conversation can be less awkward in some situations, but it is not always as personable as a text message. For example, breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend via text message is so wrong because it shows you clearly want to make the relationship end as soon as possible. A situation like this should not be taken lightly and this can have devastating effects. Break-ups are hard enough and the process of breaking up should be made as painless as possible. An actual meeting would be most appropriate in this type of situation.
On the other hand, both in the workplace and in school, employees, students and staff are using email to communicate to their clients. Again, like sending a text message, this is very efficient. But Americans are spending an average of 6.3 hours a day checking email according to a survey published in an article in “The Huffington Post.” The article also mentioned that 3.2 hours are devoted to work emails and 3.1 hours to personal messages. Workers are monitering their emails around the clock as well. A statistic said that 80 percent say they look at emails before they enter their office and 30 percent say they check their emails upon still in bed. This is especially true for 18-34 year olds because 45 percent are opening emails when they wake up in the morning. I can attest to this. When I wake up in the morning, I check my email. If I have any messages, I will likely respond instantly. This is also referred to as “Digital Living.” This is the idea that you are communication from wherever you happen to be. This can be while at home, work and during the weekend. The schedule can be determined by the individual. (Wiesinger, p. 58)
In my opinion, I think I have an obsession with checking emails because I like to be on top of things. It is hard for me not to check emails because I do not like to keep people waiting, especially if it is time sensitive. I do believe in trying to unwind especially at the end of a long day.
As with emails, Americans are also spending an alarming time on social media as well. According to an article posted on digitaltrends.com, Americans are checking social media about 17 times a day. They usually are known to check it at least once every waking hour.
For me in regard to social media, I check it frequently throughout the day. I am afraid that I will miss anything in the news and what my friends are doing. I check Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
According to Wiesinger, p. 61, consumers go through a process called “The three deceptive effects of digital living.” These three steps are “The Disneyland Effect” which is “making artificial experiences seem real. This is basically Facebook connections. We can be “friends” and yet interactions are usually minimal. You don’t like the post, from a “friend”, don’t “like” it. Some of “friends” we have on Facebook simply do not have the relationships we have in reality. The relationship does not exist. The second step is “The Artificial Crocodile Effect.” This is making the false seem more attractive than the real.” This means that what I was referring to earlier with the text messaging and that is not the same as face-to-face interactions. On text messages, you can hide, but in person, you cannot avoid the matter or conversation and you might even have to make eye contact. The third and final step is “The Popularity Effect.” This is how we judge people on social media by the number of friends, shares, followers and retweets. By doing this it is “finding the virtual life that is so compelling that we think we are actually accomplishing something.” No one cares how many of these you have. You are simply not going to put it on your resume, just like the grades you got in high school and in college don’t belong on your resume.
In conclusion, personal interactions are slowly fading away. This can be unfortunate. because your relationships are not as the personal anymore. Life is short and we should spend with others that we care about. Being social is important and it is for our betterment. We should all go and meet with friends every so often. Though social media and other means of digital communication can be both good and bad, we as users have to decide our habits and how we communicate.
Mattricker.org 