social media or antisocial media?

You always hear stories about how our parents used to be so active when they were young. They tell you they used to play lots of sports and other outdoor activities. Nowadays most teenagers and young adults just play computer games or games on gaming consoles, we watch too much television because of the wide array of tv channels to watch, and the most viral form of distraction in the 21st is now social networking sites like facebook, twitter.



It used to be only nerds and geeks used to socialise using the internet, but now everyone including parents and business people are using social network sites. I for one am guilty of using social networks but so are the majority of people I know. I have no issue with social networks but somehow they have managed to replace real life interaction and activity for virtual communication. The birth of the smartphone has aided in the spread of this global epidemic, because they allow you to access and update these social networking sites on the move. This in turn has contributed to an increase of antisocial behaviour, I mean you would be speaking to someone and their attention would be on their phone checking who is tweeting what and liking that statement... I mean its ridiculous some people forget theres still a reality here. Sometimes when I am studying on my laptop I would take a break by checking out facebook and updating my status and the break ends up longer than the study period, I have seen it with most of the kids on campus as well, when you walk into a com-lab you see most screens on facebook. Some people chat on facebook for whole days without doing anything productive.

I do not believe these social networks were meant to take over your life, but thats what they have done and have proven to be very addictive just like television and the games before them. They also contribute to poor health and an antisocial frame of mind in that instead of actual human contact people would rather click away on their mobiles and pc's.

Posted in: ant-social media