Week 7

     We can all agree that social media, and the internet in general, is a great mode of communication. It helps us stay connected with those we can't see very often, those we do see often, and even those we have never even met. You have sites like Facebook and Twitter that allow us to provide family and friends with written and photographic evidence on what is going on in our lives. Sites like Instagram and SnapChat let us share photos of our adventures to those we care about. And then you have sites like OkCupid and Tinder that let you meet new people, whether it be for friendship, a long-term relationship, or just a casual hookup. Even sites like Facebook and Instagram help us meet new people, even if they are designed more for staying in touch with individuals you already know.
     Take the video we watched in class about the couple who met over Instagram and decided to get married even though they had never even seen each other in person. Who does that? Is that the new normal in today's society? Have we gone from arranged marriages to meeting someone and falling in love to only meeting people over the internet and deciding to get married without having ever met face-to-face? It is not that I am against people doing the whole online dating thing to find love, but to meet someone on the internet and decide to get married having only conversed on the internet is hard for me to come to terms with. They could be showing you fake pictures and telling you whatever you want to hear. How can you know they aren't like a 90 year old man/woman or a serial killer without ever actually talking/seeing them? And while I understand that just because you actually get to know someone in person doesn't mean they aren't lying to you or aren't a serial killer, but I feel the risk isn't as high.
     How can you truly get to know someone when you only talk to them through social media? I feel like there is so much more to learn about a person than can be shared over social media. Chemistry can't be felt through a screen. Furthermore, there are some things that simply need to be shared in person. If we only communicate through a screen, we miss so much out of our interactions with people.
      I feel that the communication outlet social media provides us is both good and bad. It lets us connect with people we may not get to see very often, lets us meet new people, and express ourselves in a way we didn't used to have. However, there is also a bad side to it. If we only communicate through a screen, we lose the experience of interacting with other people in person; you can't give someone a hug or a kiss through a screen, you can't physically comfort them when they are sad, and so many more amazing things that can only happen in person. I feel that social media is actually leading to society's deterioration instead of it's advancement. We are missing out on so many amazing things life has to offer by living behind a screen.