In the modern day era, the internet has played a tremendous role in the new generation’s social life. Many relationships have been formed or developed through the use of social media. However, the invention of these new technologies also made it more convenient for people to communicate without having to meet up, which lessens the tendency of real life interactions. This begs the question of whether or not the internet has brought people together more than it has isolated society.
The invention of the internet was done with the aim to make communication around the world more convenient for the entire population. There are currently multiple social media sites that most people use to communicate. I would not doubt that many people’s friendships, or even marriage, were developed through Instagram or X. People from the urban areas can now easily become friends with people from the rural areas, and people who live in Africa can now easily contact people who live in South East Asia, with only a few clicks. We have countlessly heard celebrities – who are usually surrounded by securities, and are not easily approachable – talk about direct messaging each other on social media, which later leads them to form good connections with the others in the industry. Even during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, communication online became an even bigger part of our society. Without being able to go out, people became more open to creating new communities on the screen, and the internet made just that available. This shows that the internet has indeed made communication easier for everyone, regardless of who they are, fulfilling its purpose of bringing people closer together no matter the challenges.
On the other hand, it is also very understandable why many people would think the internet isolates people more than uniting them. With the invention of modern social media sites, especially TikTok, it became extremely easy for people to interact online without ever having to meet up. An online friendship can last years without the friends ever seeing each other in real life. And while social media allows people to communicate with each other much more swiftly and conveniently, existing behind a screen can not substitute for real life interactions. The highlight of social media is that you do not even need to reveal your identity when using it, this makes people less conscious about their actions and mannerism, but the same can not be said about socializing in real life. The more people can interact on social media, the less likely they are to actually develop real life social skills, such as reading body languages or using the right tone to express themselves. Many people in my generation grew up during the pandemic, and while we were able to receive news very quickly, many of us also lacked the ability to properly communicate in real life, making the tendency of having social anxiety spike up among the new generation, causing many to retreat to only staying in isolation most of the time, and remain communicating from only behind the screens.
While both points are valid, I personally believe that the internet has brought us together more than it has isolated us. After the decline of COVID-19, I noticed that many people who were unable to communicate in real life are now starting to regain their ability to socialize, all while still using social media. Conversations nowadays also involve more variety of topics, which no doubt were brought to the attention of people through social media, making more people able to participate in conversations than ever before. This is why I reckon that social media has brought more positive effects upon uniting people, and as long as people still choose real life connections, the internet can not get in the way of it.