Is social media making us less social?

Social media has had a huge impact on our social lives, but is this impact for better or for worse?

In the modern world, social media has taken over how we communicate with each other on a daily basis. Some people would say that this change has improved their lives, but some others would say that it has ruined their lives. In this article we are going to explore both sides and find out how social we really are.

First let's start with the positives. Obviously social media has made it much easier than ever before to talk to people. We now have the ability to message our friends at any time we want. This is a huge step forward compared to before where you always had to meet in person or have a phone call every time you wanted to talk. Friendships have now been able to become stronger than ever due to people being able to always stay in touch and up to date with what’s going on in everyone’s life. No longer do we have to worry about losing contact with the people that we care about as we can now speak to each other no matter where we are in the world.

What makes social media even more ground breaking is that you aren’t just limited to being able to talk to people you have already met in real life. Social media has allowed us to talk with anyone in the world and given us the ability to make friends with people we would otherwise have never known. In a survey that I conducted, roughly 43% of people said that they have made friends over social media. This just shows the power that these apps have as they allow us to build relationships entirely online.

Speaking of relationships, there are now many sites and apps that are designed for dating online. It is now easier than ever to find someone who is right for you as you no longer have to waste time going around public places talking to a bunch of people hoping that they like you. Now people from all over the globe are able to freely build relationships with each other and learn about all the different and amazing cultures that our planet has to offer.

Social media has truly made our lives so much more convenient in so many ways, however, this is unfortunately a double edged sword. Although we are able to socialise online like we have never been able to before, this is unfortunately affecting our real world socialisation skills. People are now spending more and more time online and becoming reluctant to spend time with others in the real world. According to a survey that I conducted, the average time people are spending on social media is roughly 6 hours. Considering that the average time people spend asleep is 8 hours, that means that 6 out of the 16 hours people have during the day is entirely spent just looking on social media pages. From these people that completed the survey, all 100% of them admitted to using both Youtube and Instagram on a daily basis.

It’s clear that people are starting to spend a lot more time on their screens each year, and this may be due to the simple fact that they just can’t stop using these apps. In the survey, 75% of people said that they believe that they have some level of addiction to social media. This is an alarming number as the more that people use social media, the less they interact with people in the real world.

The issue isn’t just that we are spending a lot of time online instead of the real world, but the truly scary part is how antisocial it is making us. Many people are now starting to prefer talking online rather than in person. This is making a lot of people start to be less capable of talking face to face as they are becoming increasingly used to just messaging someone online. The result of this is people being as expressive when talking to others. Not needing to express yourself through movements online has made people feel weird and uncomfortable when they speak in person, which has led to less of a desire to go out and socialise in the real world.

Communication and socialisation are integral parts of us as a species, but it appears that the online world is destroying our most basic skills so that life can be a little bit more convenient. It doesn’t seem like this takeover of social media is going to slow down any time soon, so we are only going to become more and more reliant on technology to live even the most basic of lives. Although we can now talk to anyone around the world, it looks like we can no longer speak to the people we see in the same room as us.

Do you think that you're addicted to social media? Here's what the public said!

I think I am but not to a damaging level, most people are anyway, they just don't realise it.

"I probably use it a bit too much but overall I think that it doesn’t effect my life that badly."

"I do believe to an extent that I'm addicted to social media because of how personalised the content is to us as individuals as a result of the algorithm. When apps show you exactly what you want to see it will make you want continue to use it."

"I often find myself constantly scrolling through TikTok, Facebook and Instagram when I'm bored and end up loosing hours of my time a day."

"I think that I use a healthy amount of social media without it impacting my real life. I think that I can limit myself from using it too much quite well."

"I can sometimes find myself getting distracted by my phone when I’m supposed to be doing something more important but at the same time, I doesn’t take up too much of my day to day life."