Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

Social media, like Facebook and Twitter seems to be growing popular worldwide in the last few years. Have you found yourself or someone else in an awkward situation and instantly pull out your phone to scrawl through Facebook or Twitter just to keep from talking to someone in the elevator or doctor’s office? Is social media like Facebook and Twitter making us lonely human beings? One man, Stephen Marche, wrote “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely,” published in May of 2012 issue in The Atlantic thinks that social media might play a role in it alongside with other things.

In the article "Is Facebook making us lonely?'' published in May 2012, Stephen Marche reports that the use of social media has detached people from one another, makes them lonelier, and makes them encourage solitary living. Marche explains that the high use of social media has increased the quantity in the intensity of human loneliness which can make the users miserable, unhappy with their lives, deteriorate their health, decrease their confidant, and eventual causes untimely death. He states that people now live in an accelerating contradiction: the more connected they become, the lonelier they are. He reports that Facebook is interfering with our real friendships, distancing us from each other, making us lonelier; and that social networking might be spreading the isolation it seemed designed to conquer. In addition, Marche states that the effect of loneliness has created multiple research and increase professional careers.

Are people still feeling lonely even though they are connected online? Stephen Marche, in his article " Is Facebook Making Us Lonely ?", explains the correlation between using Facebook and loneliness. Facebook has been used worldwide for a long time and it has always been an interesting topic to debate on. Some people argue that Facebook is harmful by isolating people from others around, and that using Facebook might make people less satisfied, sadder and lonelier than ever before. Conversely, I and other people think this most popular social network is great, it makes the world more open and connected. Facebook is useful, it does not separate or make people lonely because Facebook is just a tool and everything depends on how it is used.

Social network technology does not create havens for people with narcissistic tendencies and/or poor self-esteem. In the article, “Are Social Networks Messing with Your Head?”, David Resalvo is asking if social media is messing with mental health. He writes about how social media networks have evolved from a fad to a trend. He expresses the possibility of a relationship between loneliness and the use of social media networks. The article also expresses that people may use social media networks to boost their self-esteem.

The article that was read was the “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely,” by Stephen Marche. I read it twice to compare and contrast my ways of reading to the stages of reading and the results were pretty similar. With the previewing, to the skimming, to a little of the careful reading, both techniques were very easy to use effectively. There were many things that I liked more about one technique than the other and vice versa. All in all, either technique can work for me for very good reasons.

It is clear that modern-day technology has taken over our lives. In the recent years there have been many social networking sites springing up as well as new devices to view them in. In an article titled, “Are Social Networks Messing with Your Head?”, David DiSalvo explains how social networking has affected the minds of many as of the time that the article was written in 2010. Disalvo explains the current age group of users, the loneliness that is associated with social network using, and the narcism that arrises.

Stephen Marche believes that Facebook does not directly cause people to become lonely, but that it occurs because people use it incorrectly. His article, which contains ethos, logos, and pathos, is only partially effective in showing his viewpoint, because he fails to sympathize with the audience when he overlooks many things. In Marche’s article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” the beginning contains background information on who has loneliness and what exactly loneliness is.

In the article “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” Stephen Marche discusses why social media, specifically Facebook is making people more lonely and that “We have never been more detached from one another, or lonelier.”Marche is stating that people who use Facebook a lot or people who interact mostly online are more lonely than people who interact face to face in person, which is proved by research. Marche is also stating with research, that Facebook, along with loneliness, has made us more narcissistic, which can have bad effects on us socially, mentally and psychologically. In addition to this Marche also stated in the article that social media and technology entice us towards more superficial connections but at the same time that they make avoiding the mess of human interaction easy. Although some people might not agree with this. I agree that “new technologies lure us toward increasingly superficial connections”and that “they make avoiding the mess of human interaction easy” because fake connections made online make us unaware of the person on the opposite side. People lose a lot of their social skills when interacting online. Interacting with people in person is really important because that is how you can express yourself or speak to others and can see how people react, by using your five senses, instead of just making false assumptions online.

Facebook is a become a part of our regular routine, as we spend less time focusing on what’s going on in the real world than we do scrolling down our Facebook feeds. It’s become a part of our everyday routine and, most people check their Facebook before they even have breakfast in the morning. Social media definitely didn’t help, but it is not the sole cause of isolation, but how we use it. If we were to use it how it was intended by making new connections, we wouldn’t feel so separated from the rest of the world.

Jessica Rosenberg’s article, “Is Facebook making us lonely?” finds how us, while enjoying the convenience that Facebook brings to us, we feel “lonely” after overusing it. Probably, Facebook is a central reason that people are discordant in communication with each other, while the initial objective of Facebook is making collaboration. Rosenberg suggests that she has “over 900 people I’m ‘friends’ with on Facebook”, albeit she felt “miss those deeper conversations” and miss “knowing more”. Moreover, she felt the distance between “friends” are prolonged and “Facebook gives us a false sense of connection and friendship.” Essentially, Facebook is bringing us down and slowly scatter our world into pieces. Perhaps, even the most gregarious people

Depression is a tough thing to live with, I don’t wish it upon anyone. It does not just affect you mentally it consumes your whole being. But one of the hardest parts to deal with is the isolation you bring upon yourself. Alone with your thoughts is the last thing someone with depression should be doing. Mental health is an important issue that needs to be dealt with and anything that could help people who suffer from this ailment should be sought out. And that is why I wanted to research Facebook’s effect on emotional loneliness. According to the Pew Research Center 87% of young adults are on Facebook and in How Time Horizon Perceptions and Relationship Deficits Affect Impulsive Consumption by Sinha and Wang (2013) the result of their study proved that for young adults the emotional loneliness causes more impulsive behavior. With that said people who suffer from depression do not need to be more impulsive because of the constant threat of self-harm. And that is why I chose to research if our emotional loneliness is affected by Facebook intensity. Some relevant terms that are going to be implemented in this research paper are: emotional loneliness, Facebook intensity, moderators, after treatment, support and out of touch. Emotional loneliness is the deficit of intimate attachment; Facebook intensity is the amount of time you spend on Facebook. After treatment and moderator dealt with the subject answering who their last Facebook interaction in the form of three

Facebook and other social media has changed everyone’s day to day life. According to Newsome in “7 Ways Social Media Can Affect Your Self-Esteem,” she mentions the following reasons which have affected our social habits: the ads, the perfect life, the curating of our online stuff, the battle for likes, the false connections, the folly of the tutorial, the interruption of our emotional lives. All these reasons are contributing to the same outcome that everyone is incapable of living their lives the way they are. Facebook teaches everyone that their lives are not complete if they are not perfect. Everyone gets influenced by other Facebook users and wish to adapt to certain things that other users are achieving. Our social habits change, they become more focused for likes and more followers on social media rather than enjoying the actual event they attended. According to Newsome, we do not completely engage ourselves in social habits as social media becomes an interruption because we tend to document everything that we interact in and wish to make it look interesting on social media for attention. New social media world affects social habits because it takes attention and time and people feel secure while using Facebook because, according to Newsome, for an introvert the connection to the social media world is much easier than a normal conversation. Also Facebook gives a false connection which is easier to connect with.

Do you have a Facebook account? The majority of Americans have at least one Facebook account in which they check two to three times per day. Editing and reviewing what we want to say can be good. Unfortunately, many people post all their thoughts, feelings, views and personal business without any regards to other's reactions. Thus, social media now believes they are causing more chaos in the world than bringing good into it. Still, many people log onto Facebook when they feel lonely or feel like they are missing out on things going on in the outside world. Mostly everyone logs on to Facebook when they are alone or feel like they are missing out.

Society has come a long way with technology over the last few decades. Social media has become one of the most widely used technological advancements. Teenagers and young adults have become so dependent on social media, that many studies have shown an increase in feelings of loneliness, isolation, depression and anxiety, causing them to lack the knowledge and experience to function successfully in social situations.

In a general sense, social media has been accused by many as being a contributing factor to loneliness, isolation, and essentially social withdrawal (McGauran, 2016). Many studies explore these claims and conclude that how one uses social media determines its effect on their behaviour (McGauran, 2016). To explain, those who engage in relationships outside of the social media realm and therefore use this interface as a means of maintaining offline relationships were more content than those who use the interface passively, which reported more feelings of sadness and isolation (McGauran, 2016). To address a similar claim, it has been stated that societies utilize social media as to disengage from reality (McGauran,