Social Networking: Friend or Foe, Is It Hindering Our Social Skills????

 

  Research is revealing more negative aspects of social networking than positive. It is argued, that social networking restricts and limits our ability to socialize face to face, and inhibits our social skills.  However, one could argue with the programs like “Skype” and “Faced Time” incorporated into social networking sites, one is still able to communicate with friends and family face to face through a video type application.  This allows one to see the person they are communicating with in real-time by remote video, so even though the person is not directly present, they are still having a face to face conversation (Disalvo, 500)

     A different argument is that Social networking is creating a society of attention deficit individuals, with short attention spans, looking for instant gratification.  Critics state that if one is so use to fast action and reaction of communication by the tap of a keyboard, then one could become impatient in the real world when responses are not relayed in such speedy and timely manner. (Greenfield, 510) This argument could be seen as ironic, as being on a social network requires patience and requires one to be on a website for long periods of time with constant contact and an ambient awareness of others.  Some people have even described Social Networking as therapeutic, if the participation is considered therapeutic, one is usually relaxed and in a calm state, this would contradict the emotions or behaviors of someone being impatient with a short attention span.  
In addition to the argument that it has created impatient people with short attention spans is the argument that social networking has created  a society of inattentive, lazy people who lack in writing and active listening skills. However people in favor of social networking could argue that the old way of socializing, inhibits us and limits us to focus on one thing at a time, which is only communicating.  Face to face communication and socializing requires one to be present.  We must pay attention to the person we are communicating with, using active listening skills and verbally responding, with body language, eye contact and symbolisms, with social networking; one communicates over a computer while doing a multitude of other task.  We are not required to give our “undivided attention", one could argue this as a positive aspect of social networking as it could be teaching us how to multi task. 

   Today we type an email, send a text message or post a status on a network page, no face to face communication and no handwritten letters, our days of face to face communication and writing letters are dwindling away. Researchers argue that typing has hindered our writing skills, but people for social networking, equate email letters to hand written letters.  Are typing skills the same as writing skills? Writing requires planning, and thinking and use of language skills, emailing and texting has been stated, requires less effort than writing which may inhibit our creativity.   Texting and emailing is believed to lesson our vocabulary skills with abbreviations and half written words. Some are worried that our social networkers of today, will not be able to spell or write correctly tomorrow.  There is less effort to send a text or a tweet in an abbreviated text than there is to write a letter with thought and creativity. (Cagle, 516)

   One could question, with all these debates and arguments over social networking having  so many negative aspects, then why has it become so popular? There are many reasons;  social networking has jumped to the socializing forefront in such a short amount of time.
  The major reason is to keep in touch with friends, family and even co-workers that are near or at a distance, to be in constant contact with others at all time. Social networking has made it easier to communicate than ever before. With today’s technology,  one could be in contact with someone across the country more than a person living in their own household. Other studies suggest social networking is so popular due to our increase, as a society in “social isolation. “  The fact that many of us are working more,  with longer hours, workers are also tele-commuting from home. We could also include the shift and change in online education, many people take classes at home isolated, no longer in a classroom where they participate in one on one communication with classmates or professors.
   The Social networking generation may be costing society its ability to socialize in

person, write effectively or be patient or it could be teaching the past generation how to
 handle multiple task and stay in constant contact with one another all while being further apart. At any rate, social networking has made its mark on our society and regardless if we agree with whether it’s good or bad, it is here to stay. One may just have to learn to adjust to the social network craze or be left in cyber isolation.