Antisocial Network
08:01
The worldwide phenomenon that is social media has been weaving its way into our every day lives for years now, but the wave of online etiquette it has brought with it has taken us all by surprise.
Giving the World Wide Web and its users unmitigated access to every minuscule detail of our lives has become the norm, from religious and political views to a barrage of status updates and tweets detailing every waking moment of our day to day life. However, the drama that can be caused via this interactive world is shocking and unfortunately, very real.
As frivolous as this online addiction may sound to a social networking muggle, or those not ensnared in its ever tantalising claws, it is in fact a huge part of the world we now live in. From the giants of the industry such as Facebook and Twitter, to blog sites like Tumblr and even the newer photo based platforms like Instagram, there is a whole host of online activity just waiting for us to become a part of.
These sites have been recognised as legitimate and useful ways of spreading information around the world in seconds, from bloggers at fashion shows to Facebook pages set up for every band, celebrity and organisation you can think of. However, it is often the personal accounts that see all of the confrontation.
Declining someone’s friend request on Facebook can cause all sorts of ‘real life’ problems. Trust me, the subsequent array of private messages and texts demanding to know why you hate them so much and what exactly they’ve done wrong is no fun to deal with, and enough to put you off social interaction for a long time. So why have we let it drag so much of our lives into its tangled web of pokes, posts and private messages?
I’m afraid, my friends, we are a generation of social media addicts. Unfortunately, we now have even more interactive fuel to feed our dirty little habit, all of which is available at our very fingertips due to the other technological advance to take the world by storm – Smartphones.
It seems the instigators of this media movement such as Facebook and Twitter leave the most room for encountering confrontation. Every week now magazines and newspapers have headlines showcasing the latest celeb twitter war to take hold, and in some more severe and unbelievable cases people have even been grilled by police, refused entry to foreign countries and prosecuted due to a seemingly harmless tweet.
In my opinion, perhaps the worst culprit of the unintentional social suicide that can occur is undoubtedly Facebook. Most of this can be put down to a combination of awkward friend requests, the horror of being blocked and, of course, the infamous relationship status. The endless arguments and drama that can occur from something as simple as a slight change in your relationship status is unimaginable, and I am sure 99% of you reading this have experienced its wrath first hand. I have found myself staring at my iPhone in shock and horror over my boyfriend hiding his relationship status, and only after an extensive conversation with my best friend which consisted of her telling me it wasn’t because he was ashamed of me or flirting with other girls did I realise, I was in fact being a bit of a psycho.
Now don’t get me wrong, technology is amazing. From iPads in classrooms to pioneering breakthroughs in the medical sector, the possibilities of where we could be in a decade are endless. Social networking sites are equally amazing, perfect ways of keeping up with family and friends from around the world along with a whole host of other uses. My advice? Enjoy them for all the awesome reasons that made us fall in love with them in the first place, and try not to get too caught up in the unnecessary drama they can throw up.
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