Embrace social networks

As communication and information travel faster and faster, the world seems to get smaller and smaller. Social networks are becoming one of the dominant ways we communicate. Perhaps the strongest criticism that can be made of social media networks is that they deprive us of human interaction, make us disconnected from others, and interact with our devices instead of with each other. In the TED Talk “Connected but Alone”, Sherry Turkle has argued that social networks only provide the illusion of companionship, and that the kind of interactions we experience cannot replicate quality interactions. For instance, we can be in the same room as someone else, but still devoting our attention to our online networks.

However, I think social media and technology are double-edged swords. It’s awesome to have and can really help us, but it also distracts us to some degree of being blind to everything else going on. More often, I would see smartphones as instruments for communication. Instruments that enable interaction on ways that just weren’t possible before, connecting me with my family and friends that way back in China, through Facebook, instant messaging or other services. Some may say that if you want to interact with people, you should interact with the ones around you. But, in many cases, people should connect freely using the medium they feel the most comfortable at the moment.  I do not believe social media is causing isolation. People may have taken their smartphones out because they have gotten messages that they need to reply. Or maybe it is just they feel a bit uncomfortable and are using phones to avoid awkwardness in a crowd. Social networks does not make us more socially isolated. It enables us to connect in amazing ways as human. It is not replacing real interaction. So we should embrace it.