Whether or not we are consciously aware of the affect that social media has on our lives, it is extremely influential in how each person lives their life. In Blur, an analysis of modern media usage, the authors said, “As it reorganized social order, each change in popular communications was accompanied by a renewal of the tension between two strands of knowledge or ways of trying to understand existence: the tension between knowledge based on observation and experience and knowledge grounded on faith and belief – the tension between fact and faith” (Kovach and Rosenstiel, pg. 13, 2010). I know that I personally am connected to multiple social media outlets almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each time my iPhone blinks a little blue box informing me that something, anything, has been updated on Facebook, my head is turned. On my 25-minute commute to work, I hear the latest pop tunes on the local radio station, interrupted frequently with advertisements for products and events that I was previously uninterested in. When something even remotely important has occurred in our local or global news, my home webpage will highlight the details. After being connected to the Internet and my E-mail all day at work, I return to my house where my family is watching the newest YouTube videos gone viral. Needless to say, the media has a great impact and voice in my life. I don’t think I am an exception when stereotyping the average American adult.
Being brought up to date on events and news at any and every point of my day allows me to be more effective and accurate and work. With the resources at my fingertips, I am able to inform my clients of appropriate information while using the most advantageous avenues of communication. While I appreciate the immediacy and convenience of being constantly connected to the world of social media, it also can be a distraction to the main purpose of my job and keep my mind only on half of the task that is at hand. The constant knowledge that something else might be more important keeps me on edge and waiting for the notice.
Social media and constant media connection may also be detrimental to my relationships at times. For instance, the iPhone has replaced a lot of my personal, face-to-face interactions with friends, family and loved ones. The impersonal avenue of text messaging has become a habit and go-to form of communication for way too many, way too often. This is my opinion but I know that text messaging has also allowed me to stay in touch at any moment with my loved ones which can be very convenient as well.
To sum up my opinion, media can be a double-edged sword. However, reliance on media is the direction that our society is moving towards. Every day there is a new format by which individuals and groups can form social communities through the World Wide Web. The questions then stands, do these communities enhance our social life, or only create a false sense of belonging? While progress is made in many areas through technology, many relationships may experience a slow and dangerous slide into a more impersonal and less intentional form.
Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2010). Blur: How to Know What's Real in the Age of Information. New York,, NY: Bloomsbury USA.
Hi Becky! I completely agree with you that new media interactions have replaced real interpersonal relationships. I know that when I get a phone call from someone instead of a text, I immediately think that something is wrong. This is a terrible way to react, but it is a true testament to society's shift to a more digital way of interacting with one another.
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Ashley
Hi Becky! I also agree that we are far more likely to interact personally on Social Media rather than face to face. There are times where if I text someone and they don't text back but post on social media I think they are mad at me. This is a horrible way to think, but one that has become far more prevalent in todays society. Social Media in my eyes has allowed us to become far more anxious.
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Donald