Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.
Think about this statement. Are these people, these Facebook friends, really in our lives?
The way to show that you care, in our contemporary society, is now communicated through the Internet. I feel close to someone because they’re my friend on Facebook. I know what’s happening in their life because they posted pictures from a recent trip. I update my status and suddenly feel more connected to my social circle.
But I think it’s really just creating more distance. It gives me the feeling that I’m staying in touch, but I’m not really in touch at all.
I moved away from my closest friends years ago and I’ve largely relied on Facebook to feel less distanced. But it’s not working anymore. Suddenly it all feels so trivial. Suddenly I can acknowledge how much time I spend “connecting and sharing with the people in my life.” But these people aren’t in my life.
Social networking has its perks, but I’m beginning to see it as the demise of true relationships. And it represents a larger trend—the Internet has so much potential. We’re exposed to so much more. Opportunities seem to have multiplied. But what are the results?
Perhaps the Internet has contributed to today’s sense of apathy. Perhaps the Internet has made it easier for people to not march in the streets, physically protesting. Why protest when you can just add your name to an email petition and hit the forward button? Why call your friend on their birthday when you can just send them a Facebook cake?
We can’t rely on social networking as a constitution for friendship. We can’t all sit behind our monitors, clicking away, and fool ourselves into believing we’re truly connected. We must learn to balance the opportunity and convenience of the Internet with real action.
Where do we begin?
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