CCT+205+Lab+4

Connected and disconnected?

Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and more recently Twitter, have changed our society in many ways. It is a digital innovation and yet a cultural transformer. It is a digital innovation because it has created new ways for people to connect. It is also a cultural transformer because it has also connected by disconnecting.

By connecting, these social networking sites mean digitally connecting. We no longer have to deal with phone calls or meeting in person, we can now share more about our selves with less effort and time. For example, Facebook has a page dedicated to explaining who you are. This includes photos, video and information about your self. Twitter as another example, will allow you to create a message that your friends will see about what you are currently doing or thinking. Over time, this gives your friends a sense of who you are and how you think, by the collective information that you have portrayed.

However, these social networking sites have become a cultural transformer. We do not rely on phone calls and meetings anymore; we can get the same information digitally. This has connected us digitally, but in truth, it has disconnected us from the real world. We have become so infatuated by the digital era; we no longer realize that we can also look at the world in person, not just digitally. This has disconnected us from making long term friendships, events and outings that made it possible to really connect with people. The most memorable times with our friends are the ones we share in person, how we met them and what we did. Simply sharing information or talking online does not give you the real meaning of a friend, but rather a social buddy you can talk to.

Social networking gives you a false sense of connection with others by disconnecting you from them in the real world.

-Dinesh Manikkavasagar