Social Media: An Means to an End, or an End in Itself?

This is a question that I've often wondered. Is social media a means towards connecting individuals with each other with the goal of creating social interaction in a real space later, or is it the interaction itself?

I think everyone has been out when they look at see a group of people standing together, all on their cell phones. Has social media eclipsed real life interaction?

Surely there are instance where social media does serve that purpose. When I was in University I met tons of exchange students, or roomates that have simply moved far away, that I wouldn't be able to remain in contact with without social media. Social media becomes the medium of interaction, but when we are together, we always try to get together in person.

There are a lot of studies being connected now that are linking excessive social media use and depression. It's interested that although we now live in the Global Village envisioned by Marshall McLuhan, sometimes we forget about the village.

In Edmund Carpenter's "Oh What A Blow that Phantom Gave Me" he talked about the idea of "Media Withdrawl". He tells this as an example:

"Recently at a U.S. Army base in Germany, the commanding officer attributed the high divorce rate among his troops to the lack of English-language TV. 'That means a soldier and his wife have got to talk to each other in the evenings, and suddenly they discover that they don't like each other'".

That is from a book that was written in 1972.

As a digital media strategist, I work and research new technology constantly. However, I've always seen social media as a means to an end. Often when I talk to clients, the goal of their campaigns is to get people into their office for a real visit. Many of my biggest revelations come from sitting down and having a coffee with someone. While we can find all of the information we will ever need online, nothing can replace human interaction.

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If you liked this post, you might like some of my other posts like Anything is Possible, Your Living Legacy, What would my life be like without the internet?, and more.