094116Q (Group 4)
Social networking sites are all the more popular as people discover the ease of which they can meet new people (as far away as from France), maintain contact and have fun with their friends online. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are amongst the top few websites when ranked in popularity. Even government bodies and companies see the benefits in social media and are using these sites to gain support and followers from a tech-savvy nation. It is not difficult to multi-task with efficiency when all the information and facilities you need is right underneath your fingertips. For example: On Facebook, you can talk to different groups of people all at once through Facebook chat while playing games at the same time. Sharing photos and personal videos has become an easy thing to do. All you have to do is upload the files and wait for people to see what is going on in your life. Just click that button.
Social networking sites are like giant spider-webs that connect people together and have the added bonus of curing you of boredom through games, fan clubs and friends.
The Internet has been so infused into the lives of people nowadays that if asked, some of them would confess to being unable to ‘survive’ without online entertainment. It has come to a day and age where people do not just lead one normal life, but also multiple online lives. One never knows what to expect with so many possibilities opened up by the pure freedom of the Internet, and one might never know if one is met with positive or negative possibility.
That is also exactly what could go wrong. Attractive possibilities and freedom of escape from your responsibilities can be addictive. Gradually, real life loses its luster as eyes become accustomed to the colourful, vibrant lives on the Internet. Real world merges into the virtual world. Until real is no longer real and therefore, can be neglected. Less accustomed to physical contact and the face-to-face communication, these people become social outcasts. No need to mention the presence of online predators, lurking around the dark corners of your average social networking site.
Social networking sites may help one widen your circle of “friends”, but there is another factor to note as well: Is it really good to have an easy way out for building true relationships?
If it is so easy to connect with others it might be just as easy to lose them. True relationships are built and maintained with effort, not a few clicks of a button. When maintaining contact with old friends, what is “contact” to you? Virtual messages sent through the virtual world, or sitting face to face, feeling his/her presence and looking at the person you treasure in all the glory of his/her mannerisms and quirky expressions?
Social networking can do be a positive thing, but it also can do harm. It is hard to find a balance between these two; and maintain that balance.
(497words)