While perusing the world wide web the other day, I ran across an article on loneliness. It brought up our constant connectivity with social media {and supposed resulting social interaction}, and yet our increasing feelings of loneliness. Because I am kind of old 😉 and have lived without social media, I thought the article made some really interesting points that my kids’ generation will totally have to face in ways that I haven’t.
The article noted that while the average person checks their phone “46 times” per day, studies have shown that 40-45% of Americans report feeling lonely on a regular basis. According to John Cacioppo, the director of the University of Chicago’s Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, people are less connected in their communities. They move away from home and tend to rely on social media websites for quick connections. The result is higher rates of cancer, blood pressure, insert health problem here, etc.
Of course, the article suggests preventative measures to combat loneliness. It’s all kind of “duh” type stuff: get out and mingle, exercise {the standard cure-all}, call someone instead of texting, and taking a break from social media.
I guess my point is to just get the comments rolling in as food for thought. Do you think that the next generation of peeps will lose their ability to connect with people face to face because of an over-reliance on social media? Does social media make you feel less connected to people? More connected?
I’d love to know your opinions…
~Mavis
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Marcia says
To some degree I think they already have. You see kids sitting next to people and just texting…even my own 10 year old and his 10 and 8 year old friends.
It makes me worry!
Jen Young says
I think the jury is still out on this.
I think people who have problems socially will have those traits exaggerated with social media….trolling everyone else’s feed shows us what we’re ‘missing’…or what we think we’re missing.
But I know so many social young people; those who actually get together with friends & family often. My son is 23 & married so I know a lot of kids in their 20s. (Can I still say they’re kids?! I guess I shouldn’t say kid because he IS married, paying taxes, building a 401k & paying off a mortgage.)
These young adults are active..outside a lot, getting together socially, involved in their community, ect. My daughter-in-law is 23 & we go to the gym together pretty much every day…something she initiated with me early in their marriage, as well as garden some together.
The young people I know who are struggling socially would probably struggle without social media.
Cheri says
I agree with Jen Young, but I have found that my kids also tend to be afraid of making phone calls. I am averse to it, too but that is a fairly new thing in my life. I just stopped enjoying phone conversations. For them, I think it’s related to the habit of being on social media and texting so much. Regarding my experience with social media, I have learned that Facebook is a lonely place to be. Having a lot of friends–both literally and “friends”–makes no difference. It is very easy to measure your value and the value of things you say by the kinds of responses or the silence you receive. I now use FB only as a way to keep up with people who would otherwise fade out of my life, and I rarely post. I may eventually begin a business page, but overall, for me, it is unhealthy.
Angela says
It is not a ‘next generation’ phenomenon. The increasing use of social media goes across all ages and it frustrates me when people just assume that it is a generational thing. I also don’t see it as a bad thing; its a new way to communicate that has its positives and negatives, just like face to face interaction does.
Some people do well with verbal interaction and some do better with written interaction.
Brianna says
I get annoyed with people using Facebook for ‘research’ purposes. I don’t have an account and decided long ago never to get one regardless of what others think. If they want to know what is going on in my life they can call or write. I’m 34 and missed out on a class reunion because I don’t have Facebook, oh well. I’ve had employers in the past mention to me they wanted to know my online alias and that makes me even more apprehensive because they obviously we’re poking around online for me. I can socialize how I want and I prefer to use the phone with my voice. I figure I am being a role model for my young children because I don’t spend my time on social websites or texting. I can actually take them to a park and observe if and how they fall off of he swing because I am giving them my attention and not glued to my phone. I can go to a place to eat and pay attention to my surroundings and family. I am amazed how much disconnect there is with my generation now and their children, but the children think it is ok and probably have never known mom without her constant phone checking and they will act the same way in a few years because of her modeled acceptable behavior. I also don’t use my phone when I am in the car because I want to set a good example for my children in hopes they will model my behavior when they get their licenses. We also have a fun game we play as we observe others driving on phones. Facebook can wait, but people scroll through it in their cars all of the time with boredom and perhaps loneliness. People are social beings and I don’t believe we have a brain evolved to be ‘social’ solely via text and online. I don’t think it will have a good outcome for our species. Personal interaction is a necessity and without it people become something humans aren’t meant to be, just look at cases of people isolated for long periods of time without human touch or face to face interactions.
Cheri says
Facebook and other social media are just tools, not good or bad in themselves, and they can be abused like anything can. I think social media is heavily abused, so I agree with your last two sentences. When I see teens so uncomfortable with talking on the phone and having deep in-person conversations, something is wrong. I spent hours each week talking on the phone to my friends when I was younger and only because I couldn’t be with them in person. To get my oldest daughter to call her friends when she really needs to find out some information right away is difficult. She is talking more and more on the phone as she gets older, but there were a couple of years when she was seriously uncomfortable with picking up the phone and calling someone, even if it was time-sensitive.
Cheryl says
I work in a call center and in the last couple of years, have noticed more and more how many people cannot carry on a conversation. I’d say 80% of the people I talk to seem to think that they should talk while I am talking and then when I ask them to stop, I am rude. (shaking my head) How can they ever hope to get any help with whatever they are calling in about if they don’t allow the other party to say anything?
As I do not own a smart phone, I-phone, tablet, kindle, laptop or anything else of that nature…I have no frame of reference for what is causing the issue. I only know that they are unable to shut up long enough to listen and that is a HUGE issue when they call for help.