http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/8930/
Does Facebook make you lonely? Does it make you narcisstic? Does it make you a constant seeker of
happiness, and therefore someone who will have a harder time finding it? Does the loneliness effect depend on your
view of Facebook and which functions you use?
(Although this article is a bit long, I think it has some really
interesting things to say, so feel free to skim some of it, and zero in on the
parts that grab you.)
The issue of social sites spreading depressions, loneliness, or assertiveness is relatively overspread these days. If talking about a community of people visiting these social sites, it seems more likely to be true, that they are negatively affected. There are many people who spend a lot of time only by checking their Facebook or Twitter accounts, or by sending messages to people – not necessarily to their friends. Searching for new friends, or just for people who they can text with is more likely to be a form of loneliness. By these actions many people get into states of isolation, depression and they usually become to have lack or relationships with their real friends and family. It is true that “we have less and less actual society” because people start preferring the other, maybe imaginary, life.
ReplyDeleteFacebook became extremely popular mainly among the youngsters. In my opinion, exactly this age is the age of people becoming most likely to get influenced by the outside world. Young people try to follow the trends, which do not necessarily have positive influences on them. Facebook became one of the trends and nowadays everyone, except some exceptions, has an account. Personally, I cannot say that it is a bad idea, if used wisely. For me, Facebook is sometimes helpful since I lived in Hungary for a few years, and with Facebook I can keep in touch with my friends from there. I don’t really feel that Facebook is making me lonely, because I usually chat only with my friends who are also my real friends in life, so I am not the type of a person who would sit there and wait for someone to come to chat. That would be only a waste of time. These days, I use Facebook mainly for checking the IB group where the assignments for school are written. Obviously, everyone who has an account sometimes checks out the photos, check ins or statuses. Though, I cant say that Facebook makes me happy, or that it makes me a constant seeker of happiness because I share more or less a neutral opinion towards it. Though, Facebook can take a lot of time, which means that we should organize our time in a better way if we don’t want to waste it. There are more fulfilling activities to do in the free time than Facebook. Going out with friends, family or spending time with our hobbies is a better idea. To be honest, I didn’t have the chance to experience narcissism which pleases me a lot. Since I didn’t see any situation like this, I can say that Facebook really doesn’t make me narcisstic.
Even though I have a neutral opinion towards Facebook I agree that since when the social sites were introduced, people “meet fewer people and that people gather less.” This may slowly develop into a social threat. I also agree with the statement that “we are lonely because we want to be lonely and we have made ourselves lonely.” As it is said that everyone is the deviser of their own happiness, it may be applied to the loneliness and other physical states as well. Burkes research which doesn’t support that Facebook makes loneliness, claiming that people who are lonely on Facebook are lonely in the outside world as well, somehow makes me to share this idea because even though social sites, especially Facebook, have extremely huge influences on our lives, It think that it is hard to achieve the level of getting into physical states causing problems with narcissism or loneliness.
One contra example came to my mind, which, in fact, supports what the Burkes research showed. I think that social sites were designed, and their name holds the purpose, to help people socialise. That is, they give us an opportunity to keep in contact with others, our firends preferably, even over immense distances. Moreover, as we know from our daily experience, sites like Facebook and Twitter enable us to get informed, for example about school work, as well as to organize and participate in various social events. In my opinion, it is stricktly individual whether we would take advantage of social sites or take disadvantage and waste our time lingering in fruitless chat conversations or playing stupid games. Therefore, once somebody is a lonely person, he/she would probably remain passive in social contact and stick to those features of social sites like games, quizes, fan pages (the "like"s and would probably flood their profile with uninteresting photos and irritating statuses. My conclusion is that whatever negative psychic condition we can blame on Facebook could simply be an extension to one of our pre-disposed personal traits.
DeleteWhoever has done this research? On whom? Was the sample size big enough? I can't help myself but asking those questions. Does anybody really allow Facebook to have influence on him/her? Well, obviously can, because otherwise such articles wouldn't exist. I however can't possibly imagine such person. What is he/she like? What education has he/she? How much responsibilities? What about family? I am asking those questions, because they matter when we want to discuss influence of Facebook on our lives. I personally don't know about anyone who would spend whole day on Facebook just for the sake of being there and nor can I imagine one.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am logged in most of the time, but I don't really do anything there - just if anyone needs me. I also read statuses, occasionally check photos... just normal Facebook stuff. According to this article I should be lonely, but I am not (at least not more than I was before). I have invited several friends out for a date on Facebook, and it was easier than in person (too much nervousness) and by phone (also nervousness). Therefore I think that Facebook actually helped me to not be lonely. Also I don't see any reason how could it possibly do that. Yes, they may stay home chatting instead of going outside, but is there really such a difference?
I also can't resist an urge to facepalm whenever I see an article like "Facebook is bad!". People who are affected by Facebook as written in those articles have mistaken the true purpose of Facebook - to extend relationships, not to replace them. Whoever has done these studies must have used bad sample - or just journalists took what was interesting. One way or another, Facebook can't possibly make us something we are not. It is much like in alcohol in this way - it doesn't make you do anything - it just tears down moral barriers. So if anyone is narcisstic of Facebook, he is also that in normal life. If anyone is pursuing friends, he also wants that in real life. This however is just my opinion and I can't possibly prove it, so maybe I am wrong, but I find it reasonable.
Also, as article suggests (as far as I have read it) there is no study to prove that increase in loneliness is caused by Facebook, or whether Facebooking is just the product of loneliness. Therefore this is a perfect example of PHEPH logical fallacy.
@ Milan and Kika:
ReplyDeleteLike Milan has already argued, Facebook does not necessary produce loneliness. I agree with Milan because I also log on and check my Facebook account almost everyday. I don’t spend a lot of time on it, but still I routinely chat, check statuses, news, and photos of my friends. I definitely don’t think that I am a lonely person just because I spend some time doing these things. I communicate only with people I know and try to maintain my relationship with them.
As Kika already mentioned, social sites help people in socializing. Therefore I think that most other people also consider Facebook as a site for sharing information with friends that you know. However, some may use it as a medium for finding new people to communicate with. I think that weird people that stock others and don’t have their own friends in real life do this. Perhaps they’re not weird, but just shy to arrange contacts and think Facebook will help them. However, these types of people should rather go out and socialize in a different way. I think that friends are true friends when you go out with them and have fun together. On the other hand, virtual friends that you chat with on Facebook and you have never met are not considered as true friends for me.