Introduction
The modern world is increasingly facing the development and advancement of the social media, which has become an essential part of the contemporary society. Most of the common platforms of social media include gaming sites, video sites such as YouTube, blogs, and Web sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Instagram, and LinkedIn among others. These channels have provided different and convenient ways of communication and hence changing and revaluing the ties that bind people together. These ties involve the emotional interconnection between different individuals in the society regardless the adverse or positive aspect of this interconnection. Through verbal and nonverbal communication, the existing generation can facilitate this interconnection. Social media has now helped the modern society to move from the traditional form of communication to a virtue world where people can interact and communicate even from different locations. In the tradition or pre-internet society, the interconnection was not as enhanced like the modern society. After the innovation and development of information technologies, the world has become more connected, and people are more united. The two essays “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell and “Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle, explores the advancements of information technology (IT) revolution. The essay provides an insight into the influence of the IT revolution in the lens of social networks such as Twitter and robotic. The two authors have suggested that the advancement of technology, especially on the social media has connected people around the world but in reality, it has created more weak ties than before. This paper argues that although there are significant gains of the social media, the society has lost the ties between people and hierarchical structure in the society. In addition, the paper argues that technology is the one to be blamed for the weakening of the family structure and other social ties.
Although the digital era has helped people to shifts from the traditional to the virtual world, it has weakened the ties between people and damage the hierarchical structure in the society. Instead of creating the natural social ties, the social media has created superficial social ties that make people think and imagine they are socially connected while they are disconnected more than before. For instance, it is evident that some people are unable to communicate and interact with other individuals in person because such people have developed a dependency of social media. This is because the social media has changed how people related to other and some extent in an adverse way. According to Sherry Turkle, the digital world has created a society of connected but lonely and isolated people. Turkle asserts, “Our networked life allows us to hide from each other, even as we are tethered to each other. We we'd rather text than talk.” (Brazier 263). In other words, the social networks have threatened our culture by creating a link between the dependency on social media and deteriorated personal relationships. This point explains why many people are losing friends in the contemporary world. Sherry tries to reveal that the network society has created a substitute for real-life interaction and genuine friends in the society, and hence breaking the bonds between people. It has become easier for many people to follow and interact with people on networking sites such as Facebook rather than calling or having direct contact with "real" people. Gladwell also supports that the social media has broken the bonds between people and add that the connection created by the social media is weak because it lack hierarchical structure. Gladwell illustrates how people have misled that social media is the driving force of revolutions. Gladwell argues that activism depends on strong ties between people, which is an aspect that the social media cannot offer. She argues that it is a wrong and strange argument to suggest that social media platforms like Twitter caused revolutions in countries such as Iran because even in the pre-internet society people conduct revolutions that are more successful. Such revolutions were successful because "what mattered more was an applicant's degree of personal connection to the civil-rights movement" (136). However, in the contemporary world, people think that the social media friends are a real friend, but they are not (138). As a result, the social media creates weak connections between individuals and hence fails to achieve the objective of social events such as revolutions. Gladwell also argues that social media platforms lack the unified hierarchies that have centralized leadership to lead the participants. Therefore, social media users lack he organized leadership structure that can help them achieve the goals and reach the consensus (139-140). In this case, the shift from the traditional to a virtual world has diminished the real connection between people and denied them hierarchical structure.
Although the modern form of communication in the internet era has a detrimental impact, it has also had few gains such as enhancing self-sufficiency and convenience among the individuals in the society. This implies that people can engage in autonomous activities such as avoiding real-life communication if they deem it fit. In people can now purchase items on the internet without visiting the shop hence enhancing autonomy and convenience. Turkle argues, "Technology makes it easy to communicate when we wish and to disengage at will" (274) Turkle illustrates that people can now communicate with the people they want or cut the communication links at their will. In the modern world, people can now escape loneliness and associated pain and as well as avoiding communication with other people if they find it necessary. Almost everything now is done in the lines of e-mails, texts and Skype talk, which has helped people to save time and money. For instance, Turkle provides an example of Ellen, who used the Skype to communicate with her grandmother in Philadelphia. Before the emergence of Skype, Ellen calls were short and costly. Gladwell also supports that social media is convenient and allows almost anything to be done online without face-to-face contact. She gives example with Ivanna who lost her smartphone and tried to trace it by reporting to the police. After the police filed the case as "lost" instead of "Stolen" Ivanna's friend stormed on social media and pressure from social media friend forced the N.Y.P.D to identify the item as "stolen" and helped to recover the phone. Gladwell agrees, "This is the kind of thing that could never have happened in the pre-internet age" (141). Therefore, it is clear that the social media has enhanced an autonomy and convenient environment where individual can do almost everything online.
.Although, advancement and development of technology were meant to connect the world it can be argued that this development is to be blamed for the weakening of family structures and other social ties. In both articles, the two have suggested that the social media has weak ties since there is no personal connection unlike in a physical group. Gladwell stated that the platforms of social media were built around weak ties. The weak ties have made a decline of the most sacred social unit, the family. Turkle stated that "technology is seductive when it offers meets our human vulnerabilities" (263). And as it developed, human race continues to be vulnerable indeed. The conventional methods of communication are threatened by the new technology though it has remained relevant. The social media platform hence can be blamed for destroying conventional social relations. Communicating with friends and loved ones through the World Wide Web has become a vital culprit that separates people from the other primates. Turkle talked about the evolution of technology and the impact it has on people's life. For instance, he is arguing that digital connections and the social robot are used in many families to offer the illusion of companionship without the demand of friendship (263). Currently, the new friends of elderly people are weird. Robots are built looking like a baby harp seal to be their best friends. However, this is killing the family relations, instead of one member of the family to cater for their elderly people they are using technology. In social media, people are communicating comfortably despite the distance and time. This has reduced the physical meetings that were traditionally used. Additionally, social media as platforms of weak ties lack privacy, and many people do forget this thus causing wrangles and conflicts among parents or relatives. Social media creates a networking that cannot be disconnected. Thus, it tends to draw people's concentration away from the real world. In many families, parents apply this method when they have disputes. They try to drift their minds away from the real life problems making them care less for personal relationships with their families and friends. Therefore, social media has become an outlet and escape route for many people to leave the real world. In addition, social media has created a platform that is allowing people to assume their feelings as well as obligations to them. Overall social media has brought a negative impact on families as well as their relationships with others. Turkle stated that "Technology proposes itself as the architect of our intimacies" (263). Technology has reshaped the landscape of people's emotional lives, but people should ask themselves whether technology is offering them the lives they want to lead. Turkle concluded that it is a good idea to come together physically, but it is more significant for people to live with their devices.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the digital era has helped people to shifts from the traditional to the virtual world. However, it has weakened the ties between people and damage the hierarchical structure in the society. The technology and social media have created superficial social ties that make people think and imagine they are socially connected while they are disconnected more than before. In addition, advancement and development of technology that was meant to connect the world now can be argued that it is blamed for the weakening of families as well as to other social ties. Technology has reshaped the landscape of people's emotional lives, but people should ask themselves whether technology is offering them the lives they want to lead. However, technology and social media have also had few gains such as enhancing self-sufficiency and convenience among the individuals in the society. People can now purchase items on the internet without visiting the shop have enhanced autonomy and convenience are among the gains of people move from traditional to virtual. It is evident that the social media and advancement of technology has lost their initial meaning of connecting people: they are instead disconnecting people more than before.
Works Cited
Brazier, Michelle J. Points of Departure: A Collection of Contemporary Essays. 3rd ed. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
