It is evident that, at present, people are spending a considerable amount of time on the Internet, and thus spending less time with real people. I strongly agree that although this use of the Internet has greatly increased the level of communication available, it has also had detrimental effects on the amount and type of social interaction that takes place.
The benefits of the Internet in terms of increased communication are clear, with people connected across the globe. In the past, communication was only possible by phone or mail, which entailed time and expense. It also usually meant just keeping in contact with those people already known to you. With the internet, this has changed dramatically. Email and social networking sites such as Facebook and MSN have created online communities that are global in scale, and they have fostered communication between people and countries that we would not have thought possible in the not too distant past.
That said, there is no doubt in my mind that this has had negative impacts on social interaction. People, especially the younger generation, spend hours of their time online, chatting and on forums. Although this can be beneficial, it is certainly not the same as real interaction with human beings and does not involve the same skills. It is important that children have and maintain real friendships in order to develop their own interpersonal skills. Not only this, it can also have negative effects on local communities if people are spending most of their time communicating online and not mixing in their neighbourhoods, and possibly lead to feelings of isolation for those individuals who do not have a ‘real’ person to turn to in times of need.
To conclude, I believe that the internet has undoubtedly been beneficial, but there are good reasons to be concerned about social interaction in our societies. It is therefore important that we maintain a balance between our online life and our contact with real human beings.
It is evident that, at present,
people
are spending a considerable amount of
time
on the Internet, and
thus
spending less
time
with
real
people
. I
strongly
agree
that although this
use
of the Internet has
greatly
increased the level of
communication
available, it has
also
had detrimental effects on the amount and type of
social
interaction
that takes place.
The benefits of the Internet in terms of increased
communication
are
clear
, with
people
connected across the globe. In the past,
communication
was
only
possible by phone or mail, which entailed
time
and expense. It
also
usually
meant
just
keeping in contact with those
people
already known to you. With the internet, this has
changed
dramatically
. Email and
social
networking sites such as Facebook and MSN have created
online
communities that are global in scale, and they have fostered
communication
between
people
and countries that we would not have
thought
possible in the not too distant past.
That said, there is no doubt in my mind that this has had
negative
impacts on
social
interaction
.
People
,
especially
the younger generation, spend hours of their
time
online
, chatting and on forums. Although this can be beneficial, it is
certainly
not the same as
real
interaction
with human beings and does not involve the same
skills
. It is
important
that children have and maintain
real
friendships in order to develop their
own
interpersonal
skills
. Not
only
this, it can
also
have
negative
effects on local communities if
people
are spending most of their
time
communicating
online
and not mixing in their
neighbourhoods
, and
possibly
lead to feelings of isolation for those individuals who do not have a
‘real’
person to turn to in
times
of need.
To conclude
, I believe that the internet has
undoubtedly
been beneficial,
but
there are
good
reasons to
be concerned
about
social
interaction
in our societies. It is
therefore
important
that we maintain a balance between our
online
life and our contact with
real
human beings.