Whether or Not Social Media Makes Us Lonely - Essay Example

There have been emerging contradictions to the question of whether or not social media makes us lonely since some studies have proven that it contributes to a person's loneliness whereas other studies show that social media highly contributes to the connectedness of its users. A certain scientific proof has suggested that social media is unfit for a person’s psychological health. Inclusive in the evidence are reports showing that people experience loneliness together with a decline in their self-esteem levels after using social media platforms such as Facebook.

Some of these disadvantages associated with social media have been expressed in conventional media. One popular study carried on social media users featured college freshmen and seniors, and their relationship with the numbers of friends on Facebook they had together with the social adjustment. Results revealed that freshmen with more friends had a minimal social adjustment to the college surroundings. On the other hand, the social adjustment of the seniors was equivalent to the number of friends they had.

Contradicting findings like these demand a broader context of an investigation conducted on social media. According to Jenna Clark, a psychologist at Duke University, and her colleagues, the question of whether or not social media makes us lonely is solely dependent on what various people use it for. From the previously mentioned study featuring college freshmen and seniors, the freshmen were widely using social media in order to contact their former high school friends. Therefore, by spending most of their time online with their fellow schoolmates, they hardly got time to construct new friendships in college thus increasing their loneliness levels.

Contrastingly, the college seniors utilized social media platforms by communicating to their friends who are presently in college with them. Therefore, each time spent online increased their connectedness with their friends. Majority of the people view social media as a substitution for their interpersonal social changes. To be precise, people suffering from social anxiety, which is the term used to refer to the people who are afraid of interacting with strangers and other people, result in social media as a benign alternative.

These individuals have a deficiency of social skills meant to help them explore interpersonal connections. The aftermath of this becomes fragile social networks that hinder the support required to facilitate their ability to connect. When using social media platforms, they also end up carrying with them a similar set of social behaviors that are inappropriate. It is evident that there is really an indefinite answer to whether or not social media makes us lonely attributing to the fact that results tend to differ from one human being to the other.

Whatever actions a person undertakes when online determines whether they are lonely or not. If you have enriched social skills, then social media will be an exciting experience for you. However, if social media is only a distraction from your loneliness, then it will eternally damage your personality.