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The Downside of Social Media Essay examples

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We live in a world with technology that enables us to be in contact with everyone we know, as well as everyone we have met along the way. This technology that has the potential to bring us together often causes people to become more disconnected with the people around them. We live in a world where if you don't have a Facebook account you might as well not exist. Many people don't even think about telling you face to face about an event that is happening because they would rather send you an invitation online or through a text message. Of course they will let you know their disappointment if you fail to appear. This passive aggressive behavior which plagues our society is reinforced by technology that should allow us more …show more content…

Look around in any classroom where computers are present, and half of the students are on Facebook while paying little attention to the instructor. Instead of going to a friend's house to have a drink and talk, people would rather contact them online. A recent study states that "Social networking now accounts for 11 percent of all time spent online in the US. Twitter processed more than one billion tweets in December 2009 and averages almost 40 million tweets per day." (Cowen) This false sense of communication is taking away from real world experiences by cutting people off from others around them. People feel a sense of accomplishment when they blog about something that angers them, but what have they achieved? The problem is that people aren't actually doing anything. Joining a group on Facebook doesn't really make a difference. It can raise awareness of a problem – but if action isn't taken, then what is the point? All too often people will say that they support a cause without taking any action such as volunteering, donating money, or doing anything other than saying that they don't like something. Many people now consider complaining about something online a form of protest. Why bother leaving the house to do something if you can take a stand without leaving your couch? The world around us seems to be an inconvenience to a world that takes place on a computer screen or over the phone.

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