How Social Media Is Changing Communications

Communication

"Don't Be a Stranger"

Adrian Chen's article "Don't Be a Stranger" looks at the way in which social relationships mediated by the internet have evolved. The author argues that the way the internet is used has changed. In 2006 it is recalled as a medium that made it possible for strangers to make friends using online forums. It is observed that today strangers on the internet are viewed with more caution and suspicion, and as the use of online forums decline users tend to communicate mainly with 'real life friends' using applications such as Facebook. This creates a scenario where, with the exception of the dating web sites, strangers are unlikely to meet. The reluctance of people to make friends with online strangers lies partly with the demise on online forums were people could bet to know each other, and partly influenced by the ongoing fear of strangers. The fear itself has also shifted, with programs such as catfish showing how those that are fooled by strangers on the internet may be seen as being foolish themselves, a fear that combines the older fears of strangers with new fears associated with internet socialization.

It is also argued that social networking media is degrading human relationships, so they become focused on feelings rather than real interactions. Facebook is presented as being a major culprit, with the use of trivial status updates the interactions are preoccupied with these trivial exchanges. Facebook is blamed as one of the major causes the decline for the online communities that could, in the past, stimulate friendships between strangers that met online due to common interests. However, even though there has been a decline, the ability to make friends has not disappeared; they simply exist outside of Facebook, as seen with sites such as Makeout Club.

The article makes some very salient points regarding the way that communication across the internet has been changing and the impact this has had on the making of new friendships as well as the maintenance of old friendships. There can be little doubt that technology impacts on the way people make and communicate with friends, the shift from letter to the telephone, and then from the telephone to emails have all increase the speed of communication. Where the medium changes, the perception of those that use that medium will also change, as will the style of the communication; one does not have a telephone conversation in the same way that a letter would be written. With the internet and the development of online forums there was a significant change, this created a virtual environment in which people with similar interests may meet, overcoming geographical or social barriers. Forums were a way of brining people together, for individuals to make contact with others who were also on the internet.

The prominence of the forums has declined, as with sites and applications such as Facebook taking over the main social roles (Fuchs 154). This is because people are able to gain a higher level of connectivity, which comes at an opportunity cost to traditional forums; people have only a limited amount of time, and social media such as Facebook, as well as twitter, Pinterest etc., have advantages in their accessibly (including on mobile devices) and ease of use (Fuchs 154). Interacting on the social mediums require less input, and is easier, for example, simply coping or sharing a photographs or posing only a short sentence, with many posts remaining self centric (Fuchs 35). This fits in with the arguments of Chen who argued that Facebook interactions were trivial, and degraded the friendship relationship.

If looking at how and why this may happen, especially when it is remembered there has been a significant shift towards interaction with people that are already known in the real world, Palfery & Gasser (p18) may provide some useful insights. According to these authors individuals who have an online presence perceive themselves as potentially having more then one identity in the online and offline worlds that converge (Palfery & Gasser 18). With different potential personas there will be different elements in the way they are presented, which could limit the degree to which an individual is prepared to make personal revelations on social media. In forums there is often a greater level of attention to specific subjects or issues, depending on the focus on the forum, social networking is usually focused on the self. This limitation may also be a result of the fears associated with putting to much information online, where it may not longer be controlled, and may be used for the social media themselves (such as for marketing). These may also be seen as issues that bias interactions towards the trivial.