Social media and if it actually makes us more or less connected is currently one of the most relevant debates. This because it has been an amazing tool that allows us to talk with people worldwide, but at the same time can trick users to be in fake an shallow relationships without them realizing. In my experience, even though you can get lost in the crowds of friends you add through this platforms, it should not risk the real connections you already have. In the contrary, I believe it can be an awesome way to keep in touch with your loved ones no matter where you are.
Firstly, being able to just video call your friends and family is one of the best advantages of social media. Knowing you are a call away of having meaningful coversations with people no matter where they are is essential nowadays, specially beacause due to globalization it is easier to travel and move to several cities during your lifetime. In my experience, my best friend from my hometown moved to Germany a few years ago, and I can affirm social media is the reason why I can still call her my best friend. Another way social networks can strenghten our relationships is by checking their social media profile, for you are just a click away of knowing what people are doing. For example, I have a few friends that are very active in Instagram, so I can daily engage with them by commenting or chatting about what they are doing.
On the other hand, social media can make people look shallow, only showing a specific part of themselves, however, before social media it was impossible to keep up in contact with the amount of people we can today. People had fewer friends before and knowing some information about more people, that are not as relevant in your life, do not make the real connections less important. In other words, you can still have conversations and be more atentive to closer friends, and knowing about a small portion of other friend’s lifes should not change that. In my opinion, even though this might be a risk, recieving a video call from your best friend that lives abroad can always make things better and get you back in track when you are feeling down. Others argue that social media could actually make us less connected, for you can be easily distracted by other stimuli and forget about what really matters. However, avoiding this is possible for responsible users. For example, you can use available tools smartphones provide like time limiting social media, or you could simply schedule and follow your screen time.
In conclusion, despite the negative aspects social media could bring, I firmly believe the possitive aspects overweight them if you use it to connect with close friends and family. And, in my personal experience am very thankfull to have such an amazing tool to keep in touch with my loved ones.