Social Media: Redefining Relationships in the Digital Age - Essay Sample

Introduction

Social media is a technological platform which is used by people to exchange ideas and information, communicate and share media artifacts such as videos and photos. The ever increasing technology has redefined social interaction in different spheres of communication. The millennial has adopted the use of social media to nurture their social networks and interactions with other people in society (Kim, Yuan, and Jeyoung 264). Social media usage is deeply ingrained in many relationships in the present world, and it is utilized by families, friends, and workers in building their relationships. Understandably, social networking often has a bearing on the aspect of socialization, where it attempts to influence the people's beliefs, culture, and interpret the society norms (Lu and Daniel 401). It is instructive to note that the increased use of social media and technology has contributed to the growth of relationships among the people, but in the same vein the widespread adoption of social networking has resulted to the diminishing of such relationships to a certain limit.

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In the contemporary world, a large portion of people have considerable access to social media, and this has resulted in different experiences which are largely positive. Social media and technology are widely utilized by families and friends to stay connected and build relationships (Jelenchick, Jens, and Megan 128). For instance, couples that are working in different places can effectively communicate through social media and foster their relationship, which would have been difficult in a society with no access to social media and technology. Moreover, social networking is used by people to keep connection free-flowing by sharing different media artifacts, which helps in creating a strong foundation for their interaction (Kim et al. 266). Studies have shown that extensive social media use helps in creating an online identity of the user. Additionally, the information shared in the social media platform and the kind of communication that is used often affects the individuals and their behavior, and this influences the relationships between the people (Jelenchick, Jens, and Megan 130). More imperatively, social networking has helped people with some medical conditions to receive information and interact with one another and hence build their relationships.

Social media and technology have helped in bridging the geographical, political and social gap that exists in the society and contribute to the social transformation whose benefits transcends the social interaction and result to great economic integration across the boundaries. Furthermore, social networking creates a pool of population where individuals can select a small group whose behaviors and social interaction can bring value to their lives. The adoption of social media and technology has contributed significantly to the desire of the people to create peace among the people (Kim et al. 265). Social media helps in developing strong interaction and relationships which make people value the need for promoting a peaceful co-existence, which reduces the unnecessary tension that may arise among the people. Notably, the emergence of social media and technology associated with it has helped in reducing communication barriers that are inherent in society and develop the offline relationships (Lu and Daniel 408). Also, social media often keep the wheels of economy to roll because it creates a platform where consumers and producers can interact more effectively within a short period.

It is worth to note that the widespread adoption of technology and their use in social spheres has diminished the physical interactions. For instance, social media platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat have negatively affected the in-person interactions between individuals. According to Maria Konnikova, despite the general feeling among people that social media is the ideal platform to communicate with friends and families, she holds the opinion that human beings need a face-to-face connection to build social interaction (Konnikova 5). She further asserts that the extensive use of technology to communicate decreases the ability of the human to express their emotions. Evidence has shown that people who have entirely adopted the use of social media to communicate often difficult times initiating an offline interaction, and this affects the relationship between people (Kim et al. 269). Moreover, increased dependency on the use of mobile phones often diminishes people's attention towards fostering physical, social interaction with families and friends.

The growth of the virtual world will significantly affect the future relationship, given the fact that most people have adopted the use of technology in different spheres. For instance, millennials have grown dependent on social media to share information and communicate with other people and the emerging technology will increase this dependence further as it diminishes the physical interaction (Lu and Daniel 404). Understandably, social media addiction, especially among the youth, would create an emotional instability and depression which will reduce the ability of the millennial to promote social interaction with different people in the society (Kim et al. 268). Moreover, social media has proved that it can compromise the physical interaction and often makes it difficult to infer the real feelings and emotions expressed by an individual and this is poised to affect the future relationships that can be cultivated through the creation of a convergence of both offline and online communication between different individuals.

It should be noted that the emerging technology that has resulted in a virtual relationship has a high possibility of supplanting the physical relationship among different individuals. Undeniably, people often engage in different activities which may require them to move to different places and the advent of social media has helped in promoting the virtual relationship and it is slowly edging out the physical relationships (Jelenchick, Jens, and Megan 129). Virtual relationships often come with satisfaction among the people and the widespread adoption of social media among the people across the world has made the physical relationship to dwindle (Lu and Daniel 414). Conversely, the physical relationship is deeply ingrained in many cultures, and it will be an uphill task to completely substitute it with the virtual relationship which only becomes ideal when the people interacting are in different locations. Also, the understanding of the benefits of physical interaction and relationship will make it impossible to be supplanted by the virtual one as people will be able to express their emotions and feelings effectively and draw the necessary empathy from the people in the relationship.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social media and technology have resulted in immense benefits in communication circles and social interaction. Social media platforms have significantly contributed to fostering the virtual relationship among people. The building of human relationship is anchored on the extensive adoption of social media technology, which is utilized in enhancing communication and developing interaction with people in different places. It is instructive to note that social media can also contribute to reduced social interactions and relationship as addiction, particularly among the millennial leads to depression and hence limits face-to-face interaction with other people in the society. Also, the emergence of the virtual world will, to a greater extent affects the future relationships where individuals will grow more dependent on the use of social media platforms while disregarding the physical interactions.

Works Cited

Jelenchick, Lauren A., Jens C. Eickhoff, and Megan A. Moreno. ""Facebook Depression?" Social Networking Site use and Depression in Older Adolescents." Journal of Adolescent Health 52.1, 2013, pp. 128-130.

Kim, Yonghwan, Yuan Wang, and Jeyoung Oh. "Digital Media Use and Social Engagement: How Social Media and Smartphone Use Influence Social Activities of College students." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 19.4, 2016, pp. 264-269.

Konnikova, Maria. "The Limits of Friendship." The New Yorker 7, 2014, pp. 1-8

Lu, Jie, and Daniel Churchill. "The Effect of Social Interaction on Learning Engagement in a Social Networking Environment." Interactive learning environments 22.4, 2014, pp. 401-417.