Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/04/30/is-social-media-sabotaging-real-communication/
The article looks at how studies show that very little of our communication is based on actually speaking but instead is based on body language. Social media can be deceiving as people hide behind an image that they have created themselves. The article stresses how social media can actually make us less social as people would rather email or instant message than stop by and talk face to face.
I liked this article because it shows a generation gap that is getting wider. I'm in my forties and would prefer a phone call or to meet face to face while my younger co-workers would prefer to email or text me. There needs to be a new rule book put in place to help both sides understand social media. Does all capitalization mean you are yelling? What exactly do all the acronyms, abbreviations, slang and hashtags mean? I used to be able to get a feeling on how people thought by watching them and now we need to base it off of typed letters.
I like this article because it does really show how people can create an alter ego and a completely different identity rather than just being themselves. A lot of people these days use this as a way to cyber bully. They create images of themselves to hide their true identity or to be better than someone else in certain ways, when these things could not even be true at all. The show Catfish is a good example of people creating different images of themselves.
ReplyDeleteBriana,
ReplyDeleteYour right that people create images to hide their true identity but I also think that it is so much easier to lose your temper toward a family member or friend when you are typing instead of seeing them face to face. Even though I'm not hiding when I can't see the other persons reaction I tend to go overboard. When I'm in an argument face to face I can watch their body language which tells me when I have crossed a line, but typing does not warn or stop me.
This article definitely hits the nail on the head in my opinion. I have always been told actions speak louder than words but social media basically makes that statement obsalete. People hide behind screens making themselves seem tough, however, another more leftward thought is how with social media communication can often be lost in translation. Think of all the times you read or sent a message and you the opposing person was angry or vise versa but you came to find out they weren't at all you just misconceived the message. This problem would be non existent if you could physically see the individual's body language and actually hear the tone of their voice.
ReplyDelete