Social Media: Friend or Foe?

Are you pleased everytime you use social media? ‘Social Media’ – Instantly
upon hearing those two small, simple words, your mind probably jumps to your
twitter feed in need of desperate attention, the Instagram picture you need to post
from last night, or a cute cat video you’ve recently seen on Facebook. This phrase
and all it entails has become a crucial part of society today for everyone from
newborn babies (whose pictures are plastered on facebook by proud parents) all
the way up to “tech savvy” grandparents. It seems that everyone has become caught
in the web of social media. It has affected life as we know it, but not necessarily in a
positive way; social media has negatively altered the way we communicate, and
ruined relationships, increased greed, and poor social skills are all results of this
phenomenon.

Ever since the first caveman uttered the first word to his fellow hairy friends,
humans have been talking. Talking about weather, their favorite TV shows, what
they had for dinner last night, etc. At this point in the twenty first century, however,
this physical speech has changed platforms. Now, a vast majority of people prefer
talking with their thumbs rather than their mouths, and are becoming more offended
than ever before at what people have to say.

Being a sixteen year old girl with a twitter, snapchat, Instagram, and
Facebook, I am no exception to the billions using social media worldwide and while
it may come across as hypocritical to criticize something I find myself on at least 100
times a day, I am not blind to what social media causes. At least weekly, you can find
arguments among people you know, which are often started on twitter because of a
‘subtweet,’ when a person directs an offensive tweet towards someone without
mentioning a name. These online quarrels, while petty, can cause real life
friendships to end, and I've witnessed this first hand. Social media is making us such
ineffective communicators that we are not capable of retaining friendships. In
addition to ruining relationships, social media has caused people to become greedy
and cowardly communicators. People have always wanted to be heard, but social
media has created an outlet in which users can proudly express their opinions while
hiding behind a screen. This ability makes people greedy with their words because
they can say whatever they want whenever they want, but the majority of what is said
would not be said if there were no screens as a barrier.
Among the reasons social media is making us less effective communicators is
that it has eliminated social skills. Of course some will argue and point out that they
 have no trouble talking for hours with friends and family, but what about
strangers? People at parties? A big part of having social skills is to be able to read
others’ emotions, and social media is majorly hurting this factor. Social media causes
us to lose a very important part of human interaction and personal connection. Some
may argue that social media has actually created more personal connection, but the
connections made online are not personal, and often they aren't even safe. Over the
internet, you never can be 100% sure of who you're talking to- how personal can it
be? This uncertainty can potentially lead to kidnapping, stalking, and even identity
theft by people who- quite easily- hide behind false identities online.
All in all, social media is a fascinating technology that will always be around,
but that doesn't mean it's in the best interest of everyone. Ultimately, the cons
outweigh the pros in terms of how it has affected communication. It ruins
relationships, creates greed, and hurts social skills. Social media is something that
should be taken in small amounts, to prevent it from taking over life as we know it.

Khaye Anne Siscar – 10 – St. Francis