Impact on Relationships
The advent of social networking has introduced a new dynamic to how people relate to one another in society. Where once only a broad circle of individuals might be known to a single person, now through social networking a single user can be connected to dozens if not hundreds of other people in a matter of minutes. From Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn and several others, social networking has managed to connect the world in a way it has never known before. For all this however there is a very real and noticeable disconnect between individuals in terms of remaining capable of face to face interactions. The distance between individuals has been increased by social media even as connectivity has reached a new high.
Social networking has been a commonality among human beings for far longer than recorded history. Technically speaking it has been around since the first human beings learned to write and pass messages to one another. According to writer Drew Hendricks social media has been an ongoing project (2013) for longer than many would ever bother to believe, as far back as the B.C. era in fact. While it is hard to equate such simple and essentially barbaric times with today’s social networks, the truth is that mankind has had to relay messages to one another in some way since the dawn of the first human beings. Had social networking never occurred it is likely that human communication would never have come to exist.
Over the course of history the act of social networking has changed obviously in order to
facilitate quicker and better methods of relaying information and allowing individuals to stay in touch. There have been inventions such as the telegraph, the telephone, and the radio that have allowed people to remain in contact with one another, and to keep individuals abreast of what is happening in and around their surroundings. Along with the devices already named are the postal service as well as local newspapers that eventually became a very reliable source of information, as well as entertainment. Social media is not a new development, and has been around for far longer than the modern day applications that exist in this era.
As early as 1969 Compuserve, one of the largest internet providers in the world at that time (Didelot), utilized a dial-up system that allowed people to connect to the internet. Existing as one of the more advanced methods of reaching individuals remotely, Compuserve was still largely underutilized by most save for those who found it necessary for business and other matters. The first email was not sent until 1971, and despite its decline in popularity throughout the years in favor of social media it is still a highly utilized tool. Despite its humble beginnings, social media has been around for a substantial amount of time.
In its current incarnation, social networking has existed since the 1990’s, when the
internet revolution began to swiftly take its place in many different cultures. As with
Compuserve however there were still methods that were considered to be social networking sites
where people could trade and share information. One of those sites was a tool called BBS, the
Bulletin Board System (Staff), which allowed people to download and upload information.
While it was not the high-speed system that exists now it was at that time a means by which
individuals could share information with others in a manner that had not existed before. During
the first years of its inception it was not as popular as the computer was still a rarity in most
homes. People still used the post office and the telephone as their primary sources of reaching
out to their social networks. The idea of sitting in front of a computer all day was seen as a form of isolation that did not fit well with society in that time.
In the days before computers became so prevalent in households, schools, and libraries,
people would still seek human contact in face to face meeting, preferring to talk to an actual
person. Of course it must be observed that the technology as it exists today was not available
then save for such entities as the military, which was still using systems far more simple than
most of what is utilized today. A personal computer was rarely thought of as a necessity for a
home (Dockterman) and cell phones were not the same devices as are seen so often now. Before social media became a presence within American culture the spheres of influence experienced were much smaller and focused more upon those within a set proximity.
The space between individuals was greater before the rise of social media, meaning that it took longer to reach people via mail and the telephone. Despite this however interpersonal relationships were far more direct and important as this was the only manner in which people could convey meaning, communication, and a sense of community. The need to cause envy in others and introduce the world to inconsequential matters had not become as important as of yet. In the days before the onset of social networking through use of social media, relationships were by no means guaranteed to be secure, but they did exist without the constant presence of social media.
Issues such as personal privacy, intimacy, and even the simple interactions between
individuals were far simpler in the days before social media. In the modern age it is common for
relationships to dissipate in response to a text or tweet that is misunderstood or posted without
the knowledge that one’s significant other will see it. With the onset of social media it has
become far more common to see individuals sitting next to one another while online using
whatever device is at hand, more often than not a smart phone. The art of talking to others is becoming a practice of the past, as texting, tweeting, and using such sites as Facebook and Instagram have become a preferred medium for reaching out to others.
Sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and FaceTime are only a few amongst many that are designed specifically for target audiences and used to allow people to gather and discuss similar interests. With enough computer and tech savvy it is possible for nearly anyone who possesses a phone or a laptop to access such sites view what they want and gain access to untold amounts of information upon virtually anyone in the system. The drawback of this is that almost no one exists out of the system in this day and age, which means that anyone and everyone’s personal information and privacy is at risk. From government to personal businesses to residential use, the internet and social media have entered the lives of nearly everyone who is able to afford a device capable of sharing private moments and information.
In regards to personal relationships social media can be a serious detractor that not only sheds a light on the iniquities of a relationship but essentially makes the situation worse. For all the advantages of being able to send messages, pictures, and even video files, social media falls short when the matter of showcasing relationships is brought into the public eye. Not only does social media provide a fast and easy method by which to post and share said files, it is also a useful tool for others to view information that might otherwise be kept private. Even with privacy settings enabled upon many social media sites the methods that are available to circumvent such safety measures is exceedingly easy.
While people desire the connection to other human beings (Bonanno), social media has, for all its
advantages, placed people at a greater distance than ever before. Online friendships, while easy
and capable of being maintained with little effort, do not offer the deep and emotional bond that real-life relationships can give. The act of keeping a friend on a social media site is a fine activity for sharing information and fun facts with others around the world, but it is a poor substitute for human contact. Real-life relationships are typically more fulfilling and can be far healthier from a psychological perspective than maintaining the type of long-distance friendships that are common with social media.
The benefits of social media are enough to offset the drawbacks for many individuals. As an example Tena Sojer (2014) goes so far to state that being able to converse with an online friend nearly halfway around the world is convenient as otherwise such friendships would not exist. This is beneficial in creating a social network that can help an individual reap advantages for business relations, keep in touch with friends who have moved away, and to share experiences and similar interests with persons who are not able to become intimate friends. For all this however a great deal of internet friendships swiftly become statistical data when applied to how many friends an individual has, how often they connect with them, and how those friends are managed. Real friendships tend to require more connection than data that is transferred in regards to how often two or more individuals speak to one another.
Social media and networking has made it much easier to meet new people, but opinions
tend to vary upon how beneficial this is. In only minutes people can discover facts about one
another that might take weeks and even years to discover through a regular relationship. The
flow of information is such that very few secrets remain that cannot be uncovered, and in doing
so can cause the decline of relationships between both friends and relatives. Thanks to social
media the modern age is swiftly becoming a free for all in which information is no longer private
or wholly respected. The speed at which an individual can find out crucial facts about another is stunning, but the effects this can have upon relationships is at times devastating.
With such sites as Facebook, Instagram, and many others offering the capability to showcase whatever an individual is doing at any given moment it is possible for relationships to become strained at misunderstood posts and pictures of their significant other or friends when caught in what might be an innocent moment. This is of course only one common example of how social media can become the cause of an eventual breakdown in a relationship. Other examples would include the commonly seen instances in which friends will sit beside each other but be focused on their phones, laptops, or other devices rather than each other. The term “hanging out” has taken on a new meaning as even adolescents have taken to residing in the same space but remaining distant in their social media conversations. The lack of communication between individuals when in the same vicinity can place a very large amount of stress upon any relationship.
Social media and the networks that are enabled by their use have become a common tool in everyday life in the modern age. Through their use individuals have made connections that might have never been possible in the years before their inception. For all that they are useful however they are best used in a limited fashion, such as for business, keeping in touch with those who are otherwise unreachable, and to share important and necessary events that promote awareness among society. Discovering how to parse out what is necessary and what is not is the true challenge of social media, and why it is so impactful in how it affects humanity. The close, interpersonal relationships that once existed without any outside interference have given way to posts and instant messages that can be updated within seconds. This wealth of information is useful, but can also create a distance between individuals that might otherwise not exist.
Works Cited
Bonanno, Shelley Galas so MA. “Social Media’s Impact on Relationships.” PyschCentral. 6 Oct.
2015. Web. 26 April 2016.
Didelot, Patricia. “The History of Social Media. When Did It Really Begin? You May Be
Surprised.” Inquisitr. 4 July 2013. Web. 26 April 2016.
Dockterman, Eliana. “Kim Stolz: How Social Media Is Ruining Our Relationships.” Time. 24
June 2014. Web. 26 April 2016.
Hendricks, Drew. “Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now.” Small Business Trends.
8 May 2013. Web. 25 April 2016.
Sojer, Tena. “The Good And the Bad: How Social Networks Affect Our Relationships.” .Me. 2
Sept. 2014. Web. 26 April 2016.
Staff. “The History of Social Networking.” Digital Trends. 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 26 April 2016.
