The Age Of Social Media

Social networking websites...one of the most popular and current forms of communication known to date. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few years, then I’m sure you either belong to one or have at least heard about one of the many that currently exist. Websites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and many more are some of the more popular social networking sights that have taken over the internet. People can spend hours of their time on these sites without even holding a single conversation with someone else. Countless hours of time spent, without much to show at all right? Others may beg to differ, which brings me to question “Are social networking sights a pointless fad or a useful tool of the future?”
After speaking with multiple individuals about such websites, I was able to gather several contrasting feelings towards social networks themselves and their future. Beginning with University of Cincinnati junior Kristen O’Neill, I was given the perspective that social networks were a positive idea and would be around for many year s to come. O’Neill told me that social networks are popular due to the ability to “stay in touch and meet new people all with the click of a mouse.” I was then informed that social networks are the fastest growing form of media ever invented. “Facebook was the first form of media ever to reach 100 million users within 9 months.” This is very interesting considering the competition consisted of media outlets such as television, the internet, the radio, etc.
Next, senior Jarryd Armstrong of Mississippi’s Jackson State University had a somewhat similar opinion with his outlook on social networking sites. Armstrong found that social networking sights are the wave of the future due to the current dependence that society is placing on the use of the internet. “With the way that everything is being handled through the internet, why wouldn’t society heavily entertain the idea of holding their social life through the web as well?” Armstrong makes a solid point as the use of the internet has sky-rocketed over the past few decades, with only more dependency here in the near future. He also mentioned that the ease of use and accessibility made social networking websites practical for almost everyone, no matter the age.
As with any intriguing topic, there are always two sides to the tale. While asking my question I was able to find two tough critics that were especially opposed to the whole idea of social networking websites. Erick Johnson of Solon, Ohio and Tom Lowery of Tempe, Arizona made it clear about their feelings towards the popular trend. Johnson finds that social networking sights are overly intrusive and constitute as a “great way to waste valuable time without even realizing it.” He told me that “Sights such as Twitter and Myspace give away too much personal information about people and intrude their personal freedom”. He also added that “People spend so much time filling themselves in on what other people are doing with their lives that they forget how much of their own valuable time they are wasting away.”
Lowery, had a much similar take on the issue as well, stating that he previously wasted too much time doing irrelevant tasks on Facebook and Myspace. This led to him taking action by deleting both of his accounts. “I just felt like these websites distracted me from getting the more important things that I needed to be doing done…I had to avoid myself from using them in general.” Lowery added that people need to focus on their personal communication skills more before they take a turn for the worst by becoming too internet dependent. “It’s a shame that people would rather have a conversation through typing messages than through the phone or in person…this can’t be good for the personal communication skills of the upcoming generation.”
Overall, I found it quite interesting to take in the different perspectives of people about such a popular and highly debated topic. Personally, I can understand where both sides are coming from. I feel that social networking sights are great for staying in touch with distant friends and family. What better way to stay in touch on a consistent basis. The downside to this would be the invasion of privacy that comes along with the information that we post about ourselves and others on these sites. I feel that the user age on these sites should definitely be monitored accordingly. On another aspect, I would have to agree with many individuals that say that we indeed do spend too much time on these sights, not accomplishing much at all. I personally find that most college student in general spend too much time away from their work due to their activity on several of the more popular social networking sites. In the end, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best solution to this issue would be to monitor or limit the amount of time we spend on such sites daily. This would be the best way to prevent ourselves from the future title of “the Facebook Generation.”