Teens, adults, and everyone in between flock to social networking sites like new age flies to electronic feces. Sites such as Myspace and Facebook have grown exponentially since they have been created; gaining thousands of new users every day. These websites were inevitably the next step to social networking. Though this new technology has allowed people to make many new “friends” in a short amount of time, I believe that social networking sites are diminishing our societies face to face interaction time, and consequently, overall social skills. Though Myspace and Facebook allow for easy viewing of pictures and sending messages, I believe they replace the need for younger people to gain essential face to face conversation skills, network with people in real life, and learn the confidence required to make “actual” new friends.
If all one knows is “chattin with the babes online,” how will they proceed to make meaningful conversation when the time comes where they must interact in the real life? From personal experience, I know that people will say things online or through text messages that they would normally not dare say to someone in person. The social networking website is like a façade behind which the user feels confident and invincible to the social boundaries that bind them in real life. For example, if a girl gives me a compliment while we are messaging on Facebook, my natural response is something like “thanks sweetie.” However, I have noticed I am far too shy to call an unfamiliar girl such a name in person. So when a teenager spends too much time chatting online, they may confuse what is appropriate in face to face conversation due to lack of experience. Another thing that people who spend a lot of time on social networking sites may lack is the ability to read body language (a skill I have found particularly handy on many occasions). For instance, I have been observant enough to realize that when someone at a party is standing with their arms crossed, they might feel some kind of discomfort. Again, someone without this experience might confuse the person’s unvoiced signals, only to say the wrong thing, or be rejected.
Websites like Myspace and Facebook make networking so easy. The problem here is that networking online really is too easy. It is much easier to do something like make a new business connection while chatting online because one has the liberty of thinking about what they want to say next as the other person types. This is not a reality in face to face interactions; quick wits and being personable are what can make or break a potentially important conversation. This can be crucial in so many vital social situations such as job interviews, meeting new people, talking to girls, etc.
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I like how you chose to address a very current issue that is facing society. You make appeals to common sense and provide lots of real life examples. Make sure to summarize the 3 articles you used as resources somewhere in the essay, If you can draw any statistics from the articles it will make your essay seem more scholarly and authoritative. I like how you compare online communication with face to face communication. Make sure to include some of the benefits of social networking so that you don't seemed to biased or opinionated. Try to show both sides of the argument before proceeding to your own opinion. You could conclude with a something like: "I believe young people should make an effort to have more face to face interaction rather than just chatting online." Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteI do like your essay.. even though it is just the start!! The examples that you use are very helpful in enabling the reader to clearly understand the point you are trying to put across. An idea you could use to make the intro a little more catchy is to make a hook where two people are having a conversation on the internet. This would put the reader in that type of situation. Otherwise.... Good Start!!
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