The use of social media is replacing face-to-face interaction among many people in society. Is this a positive or negative development?

There is a growing tendency among many to use social networking services as a substitute for direct communication. While this trend brings certain benefits, my opinion is that the disadvantages are far outweighed by their advantages. In this essay, multitasking and communication skills are discussed. On the one hand, it cannot be denied that online communication has many beneficial impacts on people’s lives. While using online platforms to communicate with others, people are able to save much time by multitasking. Before the invention of social media, in-person conversations were common, yet limited in multitasking options. However, nowadays, there are many tasks which can be done at the same time when interacting with others. For example, many parents are highly likely to manage their children or themselves while checking email and messaging apps or making a call to their customers. On the other hand, in online communication, there is little or no obligation for the interlocutors to actually listen to one another or even pretend that they are paying attention as in face-to-face conversation. People can shift their attention indiscriminately when interacting by switching between their newsfeeds and other random content. Once this habit extends into their regular life, these “inattentive listeners” tend to lose focus and patience easily, expecting their conversation partners to speak more quickly or only discuss topics of special interest to them. When they do want to focus on their friends, they can do so conveniently, which is not how the conversation should or can work in real life. In conclusion, social media has made a contribution to replacing the way people interact. However, this has more detrimental effects than positive ones on people.