In response to our recent class discussions on marketing and social media, I wanted to further expand upon why this worries me in regard to our generation and future generations. As we have discussed, our generation is one of the very first to grow up with excessive marketing and advertising targeted toward us since infancy. From cartoons on Saturday mornings, to seeing our favorite characters plastered on the cereal boxes in the grocery store, and now to Facebook, advertising has been an unescapable aspect of our lives. With technology and resources growing by the day, future generations, specifically our own children, will not know any different from what we were also exposed to. It will only be even more emphasized and pushed, with social media being around from the beginning of their lives, rather than the pre-teen years.
Social media worries me because I fear that it will impact us in socially degrading ways, for personal, face-to-face interaction will no longer be an important aspect of relationship building. In ways, I have already witnessed this happening but I worry that it will no longer be the norm come future generations. I sometimes find that interaction through social networks can almost be artificial, for what you are expressing isn't always what you truly feel and you may only be presenting yourself this way in order to be accepted by those who can see your activity. I believe that it is about image and reputation, whereas if you were having a personal conversation, it would be more emotional and expressive. Because of this growing trend, I worry that our generation and future generations will lose sight of the importance about some of the meaningful aspects of life because they are too caught up in reliving a moment, rather than truly experiencing it. I believe that social media can be a positive pastime if used appropriately, but it should not be a main priority in our lives.
Yes, social media should be a platform for people to gain information, expand their interest and reach out to each other more easily. However, we are using it wrong. The problem is not just about losing face-to-face interaction but more about that people are changing the way they truly express their emotions and how they value true relationship with others since they are young. Maybe we are too addicted to this virtual world?
ReplyDeleteI used to think that social media is a create way to dissolve the geographical gap between my friends and I. But now, I realise that the term 'friend' has often been misused, or even reinterpreted. Just because someone became friends with me on Facebook doesn't mean that I have developed a sense of closeness and intimacy with them as I have with my other friends. I also agree that having a face to face interaction is much more meaningful than a Facebook message with emojis and abbreviated language.
ReplyDelete