Question: "Social media gives you a sense of community" or "social media isolates you from others"

It is my stance that social media isolates you from others. Turkle (2012) reports researching the impact of social media on society for years. She has decided over the years that social media use can lead to isolation. I agree. Agosto (2012) asserts that teens have an identified preference with regard to social media platform used depending on purpose of communication. Teens clearly identified that some communication needs to be done personally, such as planning for celebrations, etc.

I feel that there is some understanding in today's special media savvy world that relationships must be maintained by face to face interaction. Increasingly, teens and adults are on social media even when in the same room. The only engagement seen in houses across the country are on the internet, often times with each other while sitting in the same room. People do take their internet use too far, at times to the detriment of personal relationships (Turtle, 2012; Agosto, 2012). Instant internet connection leads to the validation others look for. As such, teens learn that social media interaction is instantly rewarding. This will lead to excessive social media interaction and a decrease in face to face interactions. The consistent lessened interactions in social settings can lead to social anxiety and questioning self-worth.

References: Agosto, D. E., Abbas, J., & Naughton, R. (2012). Relationships and social rules: Teens' social network and other ICT selection practices. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(6), 1108-1124. DOI: 10.1002/asi.22612

Turkle, S. (2012). Connected, but alone. TEDTalk.

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. 3(4), 206-222. doi: 10.1037/ppm0000047