Social Networking Makes Twits of Us All by Maria Quinlan

 Social Networking Makes Twits of Us All by Maria Quinlan 

 

 

1)​Well, I didn't come to dinner with my friends to sit on my phone all night," I overheard the middle-aged man saying as he sat at a local dining establishment." Your Blackberry is more like your Crackberry. Ha," he murmured under his breath while his friend continued to stare at his phone.

 

2)​As I walked down the hallway at Webster University, I passed five people. Four of them had no concern other than what was on their phones. One girl, sitting on the floor to my right didn't notice me or the trash can obstacle to my left. I had to politely step over her legs while she kept a steady stare on what must have been the most interesting thing she's ever laid eyes on. Another student walked at the speed of a turtle on Benadryl [an allergy medication] while trying to perform some task on his phone. I politely had to wait to cut him off until traffic in the other direction subsided.

 

3)​People's Facebook friends are now more important than their friends in real life - the ones right there in front of their faces. The distinction between genuine friends and acquaintances is becoming blurred. Users are spending time maintaining relationships with people they don't really care about. And who are these people, anyway? Electronic relationships make it easy for "friends" to misrepresent themselves—always showing their best side, for instance. Anonymity also allows darker impulses to flourish. 

 

4)​When I spend an evening with my family and look up from my dinner plate to find every single one of them looking down at their phones, I flip out, telling them they must obviously not care about each other, or me, and that they must care more about what is happening in the virtual world.  According to experts like Dr. Laura Schlessinger, social networking and cyber technology are having a negative effect on the family structure. Dr. Laura as she is known to her many fans, believes that social networking has replaced the intimate interactions which used to occur within most American families. She believes that our young teens are most affected by the growing trend. Dr. Laura believes that while social networking is not bad in itself, allowing the cyber relationships to replace true family interaction is dangerous. 

 

5)​Other experts believe that cyber technology is interfering with the ability of our children to develop social skills, and nurture interpersonal relationships. Family conversations have been replaced by texting sessions. Family activity time has given way to countless hours of internet surfing, and as a result families do not enjoy the special bond that comes from intimate interaction with those who are closest to us.  Maybe the saddest example of this was last season at a Cardinals game. I had a seat behind a kid sitting in between each of his parents. The kid was bright-eyed and all smiles about being at the stadium, watching a baseball game. Both parents, throughout most of the game, were glued to their phones. 

 

6)​New technology is also affecting our culture and our social skills. On top of the social suicide of which we are becoming a part, we also tend to lose all politeness and professionalism when communicating through text messages, e-mails and social media. Sure, when emailing your BFF a quick update about what is going on over the weekend, you may want to throw in a smiley face, a LMFAO or a lowercase letter at the beginning of each sentence. But, will that practice cause you to forget about proper grammar and everything else you learned in grade school about writing and politeness when you email a potential employer?

 

7)​At a previous job, I was responsible for going through intern applications and deciding whom to interview. Any email I saw with slang words, abbreviations or smiley faces was out. That wasn't just me deciding to do this—everyone I worked with could not believe a person would think the use of smiley faces was okay as part of a job application.

 

8)​As a culture, we are learning to be okay with the thought that communicating through technology means we can be less modest, less polite and less "normal." If you were in a group of 412 people (the amount of "friends" one might have on Facebook) would you say to them some of the things you post on your status wall?  Take this for an example. A woman recently posted the following on her Facebook wall: "Drat! Lost an M&M to the carpet. Tempted to pick it up. Why am I okay with admitting that on FB but would hate for someone in class to see me?" 

 

9)​There is a possibility there will soon be no real need for social interaction. There are ways to communicate with friends and family through social media, email and phone. Businesses and organizations use phone and Web conferencing, and even have seminars and lectures through the Internet. Students take classes online. And people date online using webcams to watch movies together—and whatever else you do with a webcam. Then, they end up getting married, probably online, and live happily ever after.

 

10)​Socializing in real life is facing its demise, and socializing through virtual life is out of control. Let's try not letting go of all social skills.