Social Networks

These days we people are more socially connected then we ever were. We're connected to our peers through emails, cellphones, social networks and blogs. So why do a lot of people feel really lonely or isolated during this generation? Whether it's depression or being 'alone' all the time people are often much more reclusive for some reason during this generation, even with 100+ friends on their social webpages.

So how do emails and cellphone usage contribute to this cause? Well people seem to have some unknowns urge to need to receive replies or texts to feel 'special' or 'wanted'. As a result many people seem to be lonely even though they have a lot more contacts than many of their peers. People have to understand that you don't need to be 'popular' to be social. All you have to do is enjoy life, whether it be a life of gaming or a life of hanging out. As they say life isn't about the goal it's about the journey there.

So what other ways do these types of services cause problems within our society. As a student lots of my peers often complain about not having enough time to do their assignments. However I am fairly confident that it's just because they are too busy writing their latest blog post or status. Or replying to their friends within instant messengers or texting. I feel that this is the root cause of procrastination next to the fact that the human mind just doesn't want to do such a monotonous task. Time management is a crucial skill for people to have. As a result I know that these services are actually causing our generation to be the worst at getting assignments done. While schools with programs to prevents this such as detention or something of the same category can fix this situation temporarily. There needs to be a real incentive to do homework or a strong deterrent to stop the problem of procrastination.

Another issue which I know a lot of, being a gamer, is cyberbullying. Often these individuals who join online gaming or aforementioned services will experience cyberbullying. This means that this individual is harassed through online means. While it is usually harmless anonymous individuals who feel like it might be fun to insult another player or is just plain mad at them. However, some people are not used to or take the harassment seriously, in the worst cases real individuals they know will bully them through the internet.  There's a little Facebook app that I'm aware about the application called "Honesty Box". This app lets you talk to another person with this app anonymously, as a result this lets you bully people anonymously. Sometimes leading to suicide or therapy for the victim. While this may seem obvious, if you're being harassed constantly by bullies you have to tell someone. Or even if you don't want to you can just simply stop using the internet or the social service in question. To you individuals who bully others just to make yourself feel better, if this is how you're getting self esteem; it will turn into shame and regret which will forever make yourself ashamed.

However efficient and convenient these services are there is no doubt that they are causing problems. However I'm not entirely sure whether or not the problems outweigh the positives of the internet and these services.