Social networking -- unhealthy??

[KingOfSpades]

I saw this the other day on the BBC and thought it was interesting. The point of the article was the idea that online networking (facebook, forums, IMing, etc) is not entirely healthy because it keeps us from seeing real people in the real world. I guess the idea is that we are biologically programmed for face-to-face social interactions. Anyway here's the article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7898510.stm

Any thoughts on social networking?

Personally, I'm not sure what to think. Perusing this forum at work is a hell of a lot more interesting that facebook and other blogs, and really keeps me sane at times. But then I wonder maybe, given how insane the world is really, if my need for online interaction is just another symptom of an underlying disease. Loneliness just seems so ever present these days and I really have problems with how competitive and atomistic our society is. Maybe online socializing is just the junk food we crave on our empty social stomachs. But anything more nutritious would require a total re-think of how we live our daily lives and what we do with ourselves as a society.

 

[Milon]

Everything in moderation. Too much Facebook, etc can mean that less time is being spent with people irl. But I'd say this forum is a pretty good way of connecting with people too - there's no local INFJ Club in my town anyway! It's good to interact with others who are like me and understand me, and I don't let it interfere with my "real world" life.

 

[in_wonderment]

But then I wonder maybe, given how insane the world is really, if my need for online interaction is just another symptom of an underlying disease. Loneliness just seems so ever present these days and I really have problems with how competitive and atomistic our society is. Maybe online socializing is just the junk food we crave on our empty social stomachs. But anything more nutritious would require a total re-think of how we live our daily lives and what we do with ourselves as a society.

I think facebook, this forum, other forums, etc. are FINE. but only if you know how to function socially. I go out on dates. I have a social life... therefore, these things are fine.

that said, i think it is a symptom of loneliness or something otherwise missing from our life. i post more when friends aren't available. i post more when im not head over heels in love. it's sad but true.

I can only think that being online more isn't good for people. that it is, as you said, junk food.

 

[mayflow]

I think facebook, this forum, other forums, etc. are FINE. but only if you know how to function socially. I go out on dates. I have a social life... therefore, these things are fine.

that said, i think it is a symptom of loneliness or something otherwise missing from our life. i post more when friends aren't available. i post more when im not head over heels in love. it's sad but true.

I can only think that being online more isn't good for people. that it is, as you said, junk food.

Well, I don't think that being on line is bad for me or I wouldn't be doing it. If you think it not good for you, then don't pick it apart for others, but just stop doing it. Me? I like it here or I wouldn't be here.

 

[TK*]

The internet attracts certain people for a reason. Usually there's something lacking in real life that draws people to the net. Could be boredom, lack of social skills, a personal hobby, a desire for information, wanting to buy something or sell something etc. etc. etc. The internet is a tool, you can abuse it or not, it's all in how you decide to use it.

Either way, online networking is fine as long as you're not hurting anybody else. I don't see the problem with it. Eventually I think we'll be hooked up to machines in some sort of virtual reality world. The rise of the machines is coming...

*mumbles in a corner*

 

[IndigoSensor]

The internet attracts certain people for a reason. Usually there's something lacking in real life that draws people to the net. Could be boredom, lack of social skills, a personal hobby, a desire for information, wanting to buy something or sell something etc. etc. etc. The internet is a tool, you can abuse it or not, it's all in how you decide to use it.

Either way, online networking is fine as long as you're not hurting anybody else. I don't see the problem with it. Eventually I think we'll be hooked up to machines in some sort of virtual reality world. The rise of the machines is coming...

*mumbles in a corner*

Nod. I don't see it as a problem, unless people make it a problem by doing it to the point of ignoring responsbillites.

 

[gloomy-optimist]

To tell the truth, I've felt something along that line for a while. It's not so much social networking alone; it's the gradual integration of the internet into our daily lives. On day (and I'm not just making up scenarios; this is very likely to really happen) the walls and surfaces within our houses will be computers; we will be able to shop, order food, and socialize from within our houses without ever having to leave; and the idea of socializing without physical closeness will become even more commonplace.

That's not to say it will create a world of hermits. I'm inclined to think that Introverted people, who wouldn't mind the solitude, and iNtuitive people (as opposed to sensors, who generally [read: as a generalization and stereotypically] gain more enjoyment from physical activities that incite the senses) may be more at risk of loosing touch. Perhaps also more T over F, although I don't think that makes as much of a difference...

 

[KingOfSpades]

I just think it's odd that we live in a world where increasingly most of our human interactions take place through the computer, instead of directly -- face to face. I can't imagine that that's healthy at all. So much of how we communicate with others comes through nonverbally -- our posture, our smiles, our eyes, even the scent we may give off, or even the hormones or pheromones which we express through our glands. All of that is received by someone else.

It just strikes me that as we become increasingly "wired" we chip away at the interactions that are the very definition of human-to-human relationships. Communication is already so difficult, but then it gets mediated through electronics. Can we really be fully human if we increasingly lose the ability to openly and honestly communicate as humans have done for millennia before us?

There is surely some need we have to communicate with other people, for whatever reason. It is just fascinating (and a frankly discomfiting) to me that we get that need met over the Internet, and less with neighbors and friends "in the real world." Maybe this is just the Luddite in me but I feel that's not natural for some reason.

 

[Milon]

To tell the truth, I've felt something along that line for a while. It's not so much social networking alone; it's the gradual integration of the internet into our daily lives. On day (and I'm not just making up scenarios; this is very likely to really happen) the walls and surfaces within our houses will be computers; we will be able to shop, order food, and socialize from within our houses without ever having to leave; and the idea of socializing without physical closeness will become even more commonplace.

That's not to say it will create a world of hermits. I'm inclined to think that Introverted people, who wouldn't mind the solitude, and iNtuitive people (as opposed to sensors, who generally [read: as a generalization and stereotypically] gain more enjoyment from physical activities that incite the senses) may be more at risk of loosing touch. Perhaps also more T over F, although I don't think that makes as much of a difference...

Hehe, just throw in floating chairs and robots for your every whim, and you've got Wall-E!

 

[gloomy-optimist]

Hehe, that movie was so cute :B The part where all the people were rolling down the length of the spaceship made me lol