#letsblogoff: social isolation

The latest installment of Let’s Blogoff asks:

Does social media involvement kill human interaction? Are social sites like Facebook and Twitter drawing people closer together or are they further isolating everybody? To put it bluntly, is the world a better place with Facebook in it?

The post specifically discusses the recently published study linking low self-esteem and narcissism to heavy Facebook usage, but then poses a question that encompasses all of social media.

Do I see a lot of narcissistic, “look at me! look at me!” behavior on Facebook (and Twitter)? Absolutely. But there are attention-seekers in real life, too, just like there are social chameleons and introverts and geeks. The difference is that Facebook allows for the “look at me”-ers to plaster themselves all over everybody’s walls much more easily. A person can push themselves dangerously close to isolation by over-stimulating their audience (friends) who either become so de-sensitized and skim past, or they hide a person’s posts from their feed because they’re tired of seeing it.

Does social media involvement kill human interaction?
With social media, we choose who our “friends” are. We choose who we interact with, and who we let interact with us. Social media certainly helps enhance our networking and relationship building abilities, but it truly is how you utilize it that will determine its effectiveness. I have witnessed the local Lancaster Twitter community rally together time and time again for various causes. I have seen how online communities (like the Ars Technica forum) can become a family. I have also watched individuals alienate themselves from the ones they are reaching out to with their behavior. Within our local community, though, social media tends to act as a springboard towards more real life connections.

Are social sites like Facebook and Twitter drawing people closer together or are they further isolating everybody?
Looking at the big picture, I personally believe that social media is more of a community builder than an isolation tank. I’ve met many great people through Twitter, and consider a lot of them to be my friends. I found my current workspace through social media, and it was with the encouragement of the social media community (and my therapist) that I got my artwork online. I know it has helped several in our community to come out of isolation.

Is the world a better place with Facebook in it?
It’s a more easily connected world. A “better” place?  It’s not a fairytale solution by any means, but it certainly does allow for people from far and wide to come together and relate, laugh and cry… and maybe live happily ever after. (The End)