The Impact Of Internet On Social Disengagement

We lost the ability to be still, our capacity for idleness. They have lost the ability to be alone, their capacity for solitude. (The end of solitude, pg.4)

In his article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” Stephen Marche argues that Facebook is the vital cause for loneliness and is luring people away from social capital. According to Marche, social networking isolates individuals and creates distance, mostly amongst family members. For some, it is not only isolation but rather social loneliness. The author claims that health can also be effected by loneliness. Nowadays, due to very little verbal person to person communication, he writes that people have never been so separated from one another because of social media. Facebook users, Marche argues, have an addiction to profoundly visit their account constantly leading to the feeling of loneliness and in most cases depression. The author claims that social networking, instead of demolishing isolation, is unknowingly spreading it. Ultimately, However, Stephen’s argument fails to convince due to his abundant false assumptions and the articles confusing organization.

In Stephen Marche’s article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” he begins by stating the assumption that there is research suggesting that we have not in any way been more detached from one another, or lonelier, and the cause may be social media. Marche makes a point early on in the article that Facebook is the forefront of most unexpectedly lonely interactivity. That during the crisis and intensity of human loneliness, Facebook showed an attractiveness of promising greater connection. The author then goes on to provide the reader’s with statistics, but no sources cited, of how in the past 60 years the percent of humans who were living alone has gone up nearly 17 percent. Giving a presumption that Facebook may be the cause. Trying to support

Over the last 30 years, the methods of human interactions have grown explosively, from face-to-face conversations, to video calling, instant messaging, texting, Facebook, Youtube, Snapchat, and Instagram. As the technology we surround ourselves with pervades an increasing number of aspects in our lives, it has begun to affect our mental health. A Carnegie Mellon study concluding that internet usage leads to significant increases in loneliness and depression received U.S. national media coverage (Kraut, Patterson, et al., 1998). However, others argue that the internet may just provide a place of refuge for those suffering from loneliness, anxiety, and depression. (McKenna and Bargh, 59)

In Stephen Marche’s article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” points out many reasons to which social media is making us lonely. One reason why social media is making us lonely is because we are so focused on the internet and we forget what is going on around us. Another reason is because we can see how our friends on Facebook are having a great life and we become lonely because our life is not as interesting as theirs. Even though I disagree with the author’s conclusion that social media is making us lonely, there is ample evidence to support my belief that the internet can also be a tool for communication.

In the reading, “Connectivity And Its Discontents,” by Turkle, the author contends that social media defends people against loneliness. She also states, that it controls the intensity of connections of how people connect with other people, and create ease to communicate and disengage if people wanted to. For example, he states, “We discover the network—the world of connectivity—to be uniquely suited to the overworked and over scheduled life it makes possible. And now we look to the network to defend us against loneliness even as we use it to control the intensity of our connections. Technology makes it easy to communicate when we wish and disengage at will” (190-191). Therefore, people using social media to communicate is good because people might have a busy life style that doesn’t allow them to spend time meeting with their friends. It also provides an outlet against loneliness because some people might not have many friends, and social media allows them to connect easier with people they can’t see through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other forms of social media. It’s better for people to be open with other people online. People are able to socially interact with other people all over the world using computers, cell phones, and even tablets. The technology today doesn’t limit people from communicating, and web browsing to their hearts content. Social media and the technology

In Stephen Marche’s article, Facebook is a reason people are becoming move lonely and standard. The relationship between technology and loneliness is strong. According to the article people who spend their time on devices and social network sights are finding themselves lacking in the ability to communicate in person. One effect that is brought up throughout the article is loneliness, in which is made the more often one drowns themselves in social media. Facebook in particular, is the

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.

The first prediction was that based off of the concluding data, there would be a correlation between the use of the internet, and loneliness and dating anxiety. The second, was that there would be no clear association with the idea of the length one spends online with their feelings when they are not participating in online activities. Another prediction was that there is a correlation between gender and problematic internet usage. The authors also predicted that there would be significantly different evidence that students who have developed dating relationships over the internet while also developing problematic internet use. One of the last predictions that were clearly stated hypothesized the idea that there would be a difference between the levels of problematic internet use and the length that students are occupied by the internet. This infatuation could lead to the students developing psychological problems, such as isolation, and other social

Despite that, there are many people that decided to detach from social network and work to create a better outside world life, but we still have connections and distractions from the social media; “transfixed by the glare of a screen, hungering for response” (Marche, par 5). People are constantly waiting for a response and not only by the internet but by the world itself, and for that reason, we expect that Facebook could be an answer of all the things we need answer for because Facebook is made off the outside world. The only problem is that we do not know when will that happen, or if it would happen eventually, but we are wasting time waiting for something that is not accurate to happen and that does not benefit us or help us find an answer to the things that we are looking for. Marche allude that “It’s a lonely business, wandering the labyrinths of our friend’s and pseudo-friends’ projected identities, trying to figure out what part of ourselves we ought to project, who will listen, and what they will hear” (Marche, par 22). That is the moment when loneliness comes, in the time that we wait for a response and we do not find one, either because no one pays attention to us or either there is not an answer that could be found in the social network.

Technology is one main reason why people have disengaged from social life and become more isolated. People have learned that they do not need to actually talk to someone physically to make a new friend. This is a problem because the idea of going up to someone and starting a conversation will slowly become unknown. This will consequence in the extinction of the traditional human interaction people used to have. Turkle believes that when people use “the advantage of screen communication,” and technology to reach out to others, there is a downgrade in the quality of the relationship (Turkle 374). There is no certainty in knowing if someone is being genuine or if they are even who they say they are online. People have learned to use technology

‘Friends and family tried to help, but our relationships had changed in the face of grief,’ she says. ‘Most did not know how to deal with the situation’” (Stich 2). Also computers help those who are from a low- income household and when they are given internet access it helps them become better readers. In addition, Facebook makes shyness disappear. “Facebook is for shy people as water is for the thirsty” (Rosenwald 1). Sometimes the internet improves lives in building relationships, and can be used as a bridge. “Facebook is a crutch, feeling more comfortable with digital friends than personal ones” (Rosenwald 2). But are these the only good things related with using the internet?

A lot of people enjoy surfing the net, they look for interesting websites and chat with people all over the world. Although, some people spend so many hours online that they are internet addicts. However an average person spends about 12 hours per week, but an addict may spend 8 to 12 hours per day online, because addicts spend so much time interacting with the computer that their lives are negatively affected. They become socially isolated, because they stop going out and talking to people face-to-face. They avoid real-life social situations, preferring instead to be in a dimly lit room with only the glowing screen to light up their lives.

50). In early studies, John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist in the University of Chicago and co-author of Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection, mention that social-networking has a negative effect on lonely people as it only worsens their loneliness. It is seen as way to escape the loneliness of reality. However, a study in 2008 at California State University by Kaveri Subrahmanyan and Gloria Lin showed that neither the total amount of time spent online nor time spent communicating online correlated with increased loneliness among a sample of 192 high school students. In 2009, John Cacioppo studied the brain activity of lonely and non-lonely subjects while presenting images with positive and negative connotations. It showed that those who were lonely tended to grasp onto the negative images while those who were not lonely revealed not much difference between positive and negative images. A connection was made between lonely social network users and this study in that it may be dangerous for users who are lonely to go on social network sites as it would only make their loneliness worse. Contrary to the other two studies, it does not state whether social networking is positive or negative, but, rather it states that it depends on the current state of the person. Various other studies mentioned, extends the idea on how social media affects users is still

Last, although the internet provides the opportunity for instant communication, critics claim that the internet can cause social isolation. Social isolation is the separation by an individual by the lack of contact with society. Effects of social isolation can be unhealthy, and perhaps life-threatening. According to a study, “27% of heavy Internet users report spending less time talking to friends and family over the phone” (Nielsen). Consequently, this can lead to additional effects. This can include loneliness, depression, other mental health concerns, and possibly even death.