It is believed that face-to-face communication is being supplanted by the use of social networking sites and applications, such as Facebook or Instagram. I think that this trend could have both positive and negative influences in equal measure, as now will be discussed.
On the one hand, the replacement of face-to-face communication by social media can be seen as beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, social networking sites and applications are effective tools to help people at a distance keep in touch with each other. For instance, students studying overseas can confide in their parents and friends on a daily basis by using Messenger or Skype. Secondly, the use of social media in advertising has been proven superior to traditional advertising, which is word of mouth. A telling example is Facebook, which is a prevalent platform for advertising these days. A huge number of stores have been posting their newly-released products on Facebook to keep their clients updated on them and make a considerable profit from this social networking site.
Despite the favourable impacts mentioned above, I believe that this trend can be detrimental to some extent. The main drawback is that it reduces the quality of relationships. Many people, especially youngsters, are getting too addicted to social media; even in a family meal, they are glued firmly to their smartphones’ screens and do not communicate with anyone. Another downside of this trend is that it can lead to the degradation of well-being. It has been scientifically proven that overexposure to smartphones, computers and other modern gadgets, which are used to access social media, could have a deleterious effect on our eyes and sleep cycle and result in many other health problems.
In conclusion, in spite of some positive effects, I hold the opinion that social media can also trigger adverse effects on relationships and health.