Is Social Media Bringing Us Together, or Keeping Us Apart?

Is the Social Media Bringing Us Together, or Keeping Us Apart? There are 7 billion people in the world today, and the majority them can connect and share through the Internet. The Internet and social media are wonderful things that connect people instantly to others across the world. But with such powerful things, comes negative effects. The accessibility of social media is bad because it is addictive, it prevents human interaction, and it causes distractions. Social networking can be good, until it gets in the way of other parts of life. With laptops, cellphones, and tablets, it is easy access the Internet at any given time, anywhere. In fact, “out of the world’s estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones” (Wang). The availability of this media causes it to be very addicting, getting in the way of normal routines. Also, there seems to be a need to access social media today. Everyday things seem to be evaluated on whether or not they can be posted online, as if they need credibility. This availability to the Internet is not only addictive, but also prevents people from interacting physically with others. The concept of social media (and the Internet in whole) is to bring people together in a very convenient way. While this is true, it has greatly taken the place of normal human interaction, leaving only online relationships. Not only can people shy away from face to face communication through social media, they can use the Internet to create false identities that portray the person they seem to want to be. Studies have shown, that “1 out of 5 marriages end because of Facebook” (Papandrea). This shows how much media can get involved in life. Basic human interaction is important, especially in relationships such as marriages. Once that is taken away, people begin to fall apart. Because of its accessibility and ease of use, social media can also be very distracting. A big problem with the accessibility of social media is how distracting it can be, and with the Internet at our fingertips, it is easy for it to get in the way of many other things. This has particularly become a problem with teenagers and young adults. Whether it is television, cellphones, or computers, “kids ages 8 to 18 spending on average 44.5 hours per week in front of screens” (Madden). Along with that, most of them have profiles on either Facebook or Twitter. This gets in the way of work, school, and more importantly, driving. Many would argue that social media does not have such negative qualities, and that it is a positive influence on people today. While it does serve its purpose in keeping us all connected and updated, it gets in the way of normal life. The argument here is not that social media is bad; in fact, in many ways it is a good thing. It is that it is so easy to access, and has become such a huge distraction for us. People today have become so consumed in online interaction; it is easy to see how it negatively affects our culture. Whether for we’re for it or against it, there’s no denying that social media has become a big part of our culture. The Internet has allowed us to do what we could never have done before in the past; connect us instantly around the world. Social media does have good qualities, and is a useful tool, but because of its accessibility it is addictive, distracting, and leads to isolation.

Works Cited
Madden, Mary. "Pew Research Center 's Internet & American Life Project." Teens and Technology 2013. Pew Internet, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Papandrea, Dawn. "Don’t Let Facebook Hurt Your Marriage!" Woman 's Day. Women 's Day, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Wang, Yue. "NewsFeed." NewsFeed More People Have Cell Phones Than Toilets UN Study Shows Comments. Time, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Cited: Madden, Mary. "Pew Research Center 's Internet & American Life Project." Teens and Technology 2013. Pew Internet, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.  Papandrea, Dawn. "Don’t Let Facebook Hurt Your Marriage!" Woman 's Day. Women 's Day, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Wang, Yue. "NewsFeed." NewsFeed More People Have Cell Phones Than Toilets UN Study Shows Comments. Time, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.