YOU have 379 friends on Facebook, 318 friends on Friendster and 42 followers on Twitter. But how many of them would you call friends in reality? How many of them do you speak to in reality? And how many of them have you forged closer ties with through these social networking sites (SNSs)?
Before delving into the main topic, check out this cool video on SNSs and what they're all about.
SNSs and its uses
An SNS is defined in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B., 2007), as a web-based service that allows individuals to
(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a system,
(2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and
(3) view their list of connections and those made by others within the system.
There has always been two schools of thought regarding this question on whether SNSs bring people closer together in reality. In this post, we'll explore these two schools of thought and I'll leave it up to you to decide which you support.
YES, SNSs do help to bring people closer together!
- Ease and convenience of online communication
With just a click of a mouse, you can talk to your friends by writing on their walls, wish your friends 'Happy Birthday!' and even invite them to a party you planned.
These areas of communication that used to require a meet-up, a phone call or a text message, can now be done in one single area - SNSs. Considering how fast and easy it is, more and more people are relying on SNSs to maintain real-life relationships and forge stronger bonds through online methods.
For example, it would be much tougher and more tedious to invite every classmate to a primary school class gathering through text messages as compared to creating an event in Facebook and inviting them online. SNSs therefore, help to increase the possibility of communication between people.
NO, SNSs don’t help to bring people closer together!
- Quality of interaction decreases
In the past, you would find out about your friend's breakup through a phone call. Then it was through text messaging. Now with SNSs, you would most probably find out about it from his/her change in relationship status on Facebook.
And your response? Commenting on his/her status change and leave a short comforting message. What ever happened to the human touch where people were there for each other physically? Or even for birthday wishes - would giving a virtual present on Facebook suffice and be more valuable than a wish in person?
With SNSs, people tend to take the easy way out by interacting online rather than in person, which decreases the quality and amount of interaction in real-life between parties. Here's a prime example of a decrease in quality of interaction, where a husband informed his wife of their divorce on Facebook rather than in person.
What do you think?
Now that both sides of the story has been explored, what is your take on this? Would you rather trade off quality of interaction with ease and convenience of communication?
Do leave your thoughts and comments on this issue and make a stand on this age-old debate! Thank you!
Credibility of New Media
16 years ago
Hi Jovita!
ReplyDeleteI don't usually use SNSs like facebook, and it was good to learn about the two schools of thought regarding SNS-interaction!
I think neither school of thought is right or wrong; it depends on what works best for people.
SNSs can certainly make it easier to "maintain real-life relationships and forge stronger bonds". While this is apparent in long-distance relationships, (people in different countries can keep in touch conveniently), it can also be the case with people who see each other very often anyway. As long as people are alright with sharing information about themselves through cyberspace, they learn more about each other and get closer. It may even be easier for not-so-close friends to comfort each other online, bringing them closer in future physical interaction.
SNSs can also be an unhealthy substitute of physical interaction, when close friends drift apart because of too much impersonal communication through cyberspace.
In the end, it depends on which method of communication works best for people!
Aubrey
0706227F
Hello Jovita!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel that SNSs bring both my friend and I closer when I'm busy with my school works and stuff that I hardly had any time to meet up and catch-up with their life. In this case, SNSs (like facebook, twitter) brings people closer as we still can get to see their latest updates about their life or something...
But, I still prefers the traditional ways (through phone calls, meetups) of communicating with my friends as I'm able to see how they physically react to an issue that I told them. Hence, I am able to get to know them better..
I would rather have quality of interactions as it really shows how much your friend means to you. :D
Fiona Soh
0800748F
Hi Jovitac,
ReplyDeleteI think this may depend on how close you are to a particular friend.
While SNSes may decrease the quality of interaction between close buddies, the "low-level communication" of comments and wall posts are good for old friends who you havent' spoken to in years, and with whom it may be awkward to just speak face to face.
In that aspect, I think SNSes actually help bring people closer.
Shea John Driscoll
0701154G
I think SNSes work for relationships when they complement, rather than replace, other avenues to foster closer bonds. What Shea has said is right - I would like to add that the importance of SNSes to a relationship depends on how the parties involved view them. Some may not see the quality of interaction on SNSes being "inferior" to other forms of communication - the way I see phone calls to close friends are no different from meetups most of the times.
ReplyDeleteHi Jovita,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Shea,SNSes will jeopardized people's communication when they meet. It is because they are so comfortable communicating without seeing each other and when they meet up, they might not be communicating well like how they do in SNSes.
However, it can bring people close toeach other especially someonelike ur family or friends who are not in Singapore. Then SNSes helps to bring people closer by updating each other without having to pay a single cent =)
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment on my blog, deeply appreciated!
Aubrey: I agree! It does depend on the individuals preferred choice of communication, but one should always keep in mind the pros and cons of communicating through SNSs. (: What is your preferred method of communication?
Fiona: Indeed, during busy periods, SNSs help keep us updated on our friends' lives. But that would mean time spent on updating your twitter or facebook account that could have been used to send someone a text, or a call. But just like you, I prefer communcating with my friends face to face as well. (:
Shea: I totally agree on the aspect of awkwardness between acquaintances. SNSs do help to establish some sort of a casual bridge in the cyber world, which can then be elaborated on in reality in future. Another pro to be added for the list of pros for SNSs! (:
Ms Sandra: I guess it boils down to subjectivity to each individual then, like how Aubrey mentioned about which mode of communication works best for each individual. I believe SNSs were created with the aim to complement and not replace, but with time, motives of using SNSs have changed and once again, it boils down to the individual. (:
Syabrina: Good point about crossing borders with SNSs! New media allows us to overcome space and time by linking us over the net and allowing us to communicate in real time. The factor of it being free makes it even more sweeter to use SNSs as a form of keeping in touch with loved ones in another continent. (:
Hi Jovita,
ReplyDeleteI usually prefer face-to-face interaction! I find it more fun to talk, laugh and play with family/friends in the physical world. I also feel that in the cyber world, comments, etc can seem more negative than they are meant to be, and hurt relationships.
Aubrey
0706227F
Hi Jovita!
ReplyDeleteI think SNSes, when used the way SMSes, MMSes and email are, can be beneficial to friendships. Like Shea said, SNSes are an especially effective communication platform amongst old friends who no longer keep in as close contact. SNSes can therefore help to rekindle such friendships - bringing people closer together.
However, communication suffers when people replace face to face communication with SNSes when they are not ready. For example, an individual comfortable with the lack of non-verbal communication would gracefully adapt to SNSes. A person who greatly values physical interaction would find that communication, and even friendship, deteriorates with SNSes.
To ensure we benefit from SNSes instead of losing out because of it, we should examine our individual communication preferences and that of our friends to effectively maintain relationships.
Tan Su Yi Kay 0703121D T04
Aubrey: I agree! Sometimes, because of the lack of facial expression or tone of voice, comments on SNSs may cause confusion and lead to it being misinterpreted, and thus coming across more negative. And I, too, prefer face-to-face interaction!
ReplyDeleteKay: True, among close friends, SNSs would act as a complement, while among acquaintances, SNSs would act as a reinforcement or an establishment. (:
Hi Jovita
ReplyDeleteI think social networking sites are a necessary evil. Why? Our lives nowadays center around work and school. It's quite difficult to find time to go out nowadays, or just visit a friend's house to chill.
As such, it becomes more and more necessary to have SNSs, because it would help friends connect when they have no time to physically meet.
All in all, I feel that without Social Networking Sites, our lives would be much more lonely, because we have no time to do anything other than work or school.
Mark Christian Klass
0906354F
Yo Jovi!
ReplyDeleteFor my Facebook, it is really private and my friends are really friends. Some are acquaintances, but still, at least I know who they are so my privacy is protected (sort of).
I agree that social networking sites do bring people closer. Even though I still think that face-to-face interaction is better, let's be honest here. We don't have that plenty of time to meet and catch up with everyone who is in our lives.
SNS helps people to keep in contact and stay updated. I think by far, Facebook, is the most accomplished and best SNS around. I wonder who still uses Friendster anymore. Ha ha.
Texts and phone calls may be pretty convenient as well, but the only negativity is the cost of it. With free wifi around areas and hotspots, it is definitely easier to keep in touch online.
Also, by 'liking' a post on Facebook is not as stalker-ish as sending a text like 'how are you' just to let the person know that he/she is remembered. It is sweeter, of course, with the text and call or whatever, but overall it's pretty much the same.
I'm just concerned that we may all become so dependent on SNS that we become robots who stay at home all day.
Daphne-rae Lee, 0701588F
Hi Jovita,
ReplyDeleteI think social networking sites are necessary. I dont think that close friends relationship interaction will be trade off. But I think that we can still keep connected to long lost friends, for example ex-school mates, you can actually know how well are they doing. I think it brings friendships back. I think the older generation meet up with their class mates once in a blue moon.
Wei Chong
0901463J
Hey Jovita,
ReplyDeleteI do find social networking sites a good way to catch up with old friends and even long-lost ones! Although, some of those in my lists are not really close friends, its kind of interesting to know how they are doing in life just by looking at their profile page.
Nevertheless, I still prefer quality of interaction like phone calls and sms-es as I love long talks with my bestest friends:)
Farahin
0805286B
Hi Jovitac,
ReplyDeleteI think social networking sites are not help people to get close.
In the past, we do not have such kind of new media to communicate with our friend, we are used to chat through mobile phone or meet outside.
Nowadays, with such new technologies, people would think it is good and convenient to chat with friends online, but don’t you realize that chatting online and talk face to face are very different. I can chat with someone very pleased but when we meet up, I feel like very strange to him/her, and we have nothing to say.
Mengying
0906481G