Has social media changed the way in which we communicate for the better?
Here are two fantastic TED talks in which Jon Ronson and Sherry Turkle discuss the impact of social media on the ways in which we communicate in the 21st century.
Jon Ronson: When online shaming spirals out of control
Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?
What do you think of the way in which we communicate with each other now? Has social media had a positive impact?
English at Lutterworth College 
I believe social media is a really interesting topic because it can and does change peoples behaviour drastically and I think that it has also changed society since the introduction of social media. Before platforms like Twitter, there was nothing that connected people at that large of a scale. Twitter especially is so interesting to me because at its core it is just a collection of people’s thoughts and to give that voice to anyone who wants it is a very risky thing to do, although also very important. I think without this type of social media, society would be very influenced by upper class people and we know that in multiple cases these people are not always right and should not have been given that much power and influence. So it is very positive in the fact that it allows people to speak out and bring light to serious issues. However, in any case like this, there are going to be people that abuse this power and social media in general, with how it works with assigning an algorithm to each user so they see like-minded people, further allows this misuse of power. This is because the people misusing the power will only be connected with people who agree. The algorithm can be very dangerous in creating groups of people who normalise eachothers harmful views and behaviours. Because of this, a lot of people need to hear Justine Sacco’s story so they become aware of the fact that they can have so much influence on people’s lives and they need to think about the affects their actions may lead to.
Another thing I want to talk about is how the media is dramatised. You see it in the news with how they pick out stories, they will pick stories that have the most shock factor, and i think views on life which are shown in the media are very distorted. In the media you may see someone portrayed as extremely villainous and a terrible person but in actuality that person may not be the villain character you have been led to believe they are. I’m trying to say that social media actively looks for things that they can turn into almost movie-like stories with a protagonist and antagonist but in real life everyone is morally grey. There is not one person who has never made a mistake or done something wrong in their life and there is no one person who has never showed compassion or love in some sense. This gives people such an unrealistic view on life. Life is so different for each individual and trying to categorise it or condense it is impossible but subconsciously, even if you are actively aware that most things on the internet are untrue, it still influences us and can make us feel unsatisfied with our own lives.
Another thing, especially with Twitter, is this thing where everyone on that platform is held to such high standards. I have seen people bring up tweets of creators, some with only a tiny internet presence, from years ago and get them ‘cancelled’. This cancel culture can be so dangerous. People have been doxxed and sent death threats and had the police called to them and just generally harassed online because of one tweet. It’s insane to me that humans have created something that allows this to happen. Younger people obviously make a lot of mistakes as they learn about life and as they grow up and growing up on the internet forces young people to be on this pedestal where everything you do has to be right. I don’t know if this has been a problem since the internet started but i’ve seen it so much these past years. It’s like people are only looking for someone to harass and make news out of. Before watching the videos I did not know just how much companies can monetise off of someone’s like basically being destroyed. It’s so saddening.
With connecting people, social media does a great job of bringing people together from around the world as it breaks the barrier of having to physically be with someone to communicate with them. This has shed light to so many things I personally wouldn’t have known before, having only interacted in my little bubble of people where I live. But it’s also so hard to connect with people online, you can’t share an experience together, it can be really hard to read peoples tone, you don’t know what they are actually like, you can’t even look them in the eye most the time. So i think a lot of people are more infatuated with the idea of having these connections to people rather than the actual connection. Like people will flaunt their partners or friends but most the time they don’t share how they actually are together, it’s usually just a status or matching profile pictures. This leads on to the recent introduction of AI companions. It scares me. It scares me a lot. Even with how basic it is compared to future possibilities of AI, it can already practically replace having actual relationships with humans. It has devalued human connections and I don’t want to live in a world where the only person who will listen to me is not real. What is the point if they aren’t even listening? The most single most valuable thing a person can give you is their attention and AI makes this social currency worthless.
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Social media is so common, so popular that it’s become the norm. The likes of TikTok and Snapchat have dominated the online world, with people now spending hours upon hours scrolling, typing, messaging. Don’t get me wrong, social media has its advantages- it’s quick and easy to send a message, maybe a reminder to a loved one that they’re missed or to text to a friend from the other side of the world, a virtual hug reminding them that they’re not forgotten. We can no longer remember a world without online communication, but is that a good thing? What happened to having real life conversations? Some families sit in the same room but no voices can be heard; instead the tap tap tap of fingers on a screen, all of them glued to a fictional reality. As a teenager, I’ve grown up around technology and definitely spend way too much time on social media. While it is good, the ted talk above demonstrates how one single comment that could have been meant non-maliciously can be twisted and misinterpreted, leading to problems and hateful comments. This can follow offline, with the example above, leading to job loss and potential mental health problems.
In conclusion, social media has had a huge impact on the way we communicate, but it hasn’t always been a better option.
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Before watching both ted talks I had partial awareness of the impact of social media on peoples’ lives. However, I have never realised how damaging the way some people communicate online is.
When I was watching John Ronsons talk about how “online shaming goes to far”, it made me see how people are using social media as a way to comment in a damaging manner on peoples lives. This can potentially destroy their reputation. The danger arises by using social media apps such a twitter, Facebook and instagram which can access a wider audience, reaching people from all around the world. This is both fascinating, yet dangerous. For example in Justine’s case, the one comment she posted, provided strangers the power tho re-share, reply and comment on her post. Ronson said social media platforms made “voiceless people realised they have a voice”. However, these comments can influence, control and damage people.
Sherry Turkle, expresses her views on communications on social media and how we’re “connected but alone”. Turkle expresses how we as a society have become reliant on technology to communicate with others, almost as if taking over people and changing society in to an online persona instead. Turkle also presents the idea of how we in this society would rather text than talk to others as if it’s the normal thing to do. On social media it’s common that we seek validation from others, as if it’s easier to be it online as opposed to the real world. This shows how communication online is adapting.
Overall, the use of social media can be good to share important and positive messages. However, there is danger sharing personal comments with a wide unknown audience. People can misunderstand what you’re saying and manipulate your words.This can be negative and harmful and disrupt people lives.
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You can do many things on the internet such as make new friends and expand your social circle and potentially find a new lover, however the way two random strangers can become friends online without ever have met is terrifying. You are putting your trust in this person and taking the time to interact with them, believing whatever they say and more importantly who they say they are. Blindly getting to know them and building a relationship, putting yourself at the risk of having to face the consequences of being emotionally attached to that person. Lets say they weren’t who they said they were and showed u a false picture of what they wanted you to think they looked like.
This is called Catfishing and unfortunately this is common on many social media platforms. There have been many cases on the matter and they have been taken into serious accounts. Catfishing is an art of deception that can only be done online usually through online dating apps or social media sites. They are taking over social interactions and discouraging people to communicate face to face, as there’s is sense of security behind a screen that supposedly makes us feel safe and gives us the time to really get to know that person to see whether they worth meeting in person or not.
Why do these people Catfish others? Catfishers often go after their victims to boost their own self-confidence, however some cases are not as sad and pathetic as that. They might be scammers who are out for money, an ex seeking revenge, or someone who is just plain bored.
Victims of catfishers should be able to feel safe enough to speak about their experiences online to warn other potential victims, however that isn’t always the case as we can see by watching the ted talks showing how anyone can be targeted and be created into a victim of societal influence. victims don’t always get the support they deserve because there are some very negative and obnoxious people out there in the world who think they have the right to tell someone that has gone through something so traumatising what they can and should feel about their own personal situation, just because they can doesn’t give them any right to, for example telling that victim that has bravely shared their story online, that what happened was the victims fault and that they were being stupid and not precautious enough to check into their background. Many people are like this, giving out their unneeded and unasked opinion on the matter which so happens to be a negative one. People are out here looking for a sense or support and safety and are using and trusting the internet to show that support when it could be too difficult to find that in person, these people are in a fragile state and can be heavily affected by these comments they get online this could lead to as little as some stress and anxiety to depression and suicidal thoughts.
in conclusion, i think social media has giving too many people the power to harm other people just for the fun of it and these same people arnt facing enough consequences for their actions online as they would in real life leading to a corrupt society, so no social media hasn’t made a positive impact.
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Prior to watching these TED Talks, I had a preconceived idea that social media was the new and really only way humans communicate. From hearing stories from my parents when they were my age, it was simple – there was no having to deal with other teenage girls giving you abuse through a screen and there was no unrealistic idea about how we should live our lives. It all really came down to what was real.
Firstly, the TED Talk from Jon Ronson ‘When online shaming goes too far’ discusses the depth of online shaming and how it can affect even scenarios that happen in the real world. Ronson highlights the power of social media and how it can have a significantly negative impact on people’s lives. Ronson uses Justine Sacco as just one example of this because just one tweet could ruin your life yet people have no remorse. Twitter really just “took control of her life” and made sure she couldn’t have it easy anymore just because of an unintentionally racist tweet. Ronson describes her life as it being “dismantled piece by piece”, and this is all because of a misinterpretation of a tweet she thought she could get online validation from. Although her post was unacceptable and shouldn’t have been posted online, the hate and backlash that became of it was like no other and for many people “Twitter is a mutual approving machine” where being voiceless is the smartest way to survive. On many occasions, a lot of social media users are made to pay for there actions through killing themselves, developing anxiety and depression when in reality half of the comments aimed at the person are 10x worse than what the original comment was.
Similarly, Sherry Turkle’s TED talk about being connected but not alone shows the key ideas that social media displays a flawless and unrealistic example of relationships in all shapes and forms. Turkle states that we are “setting ourselves up for trouble”, this supports her idea as it highlights the differences in how people communicate through social media and how they communicate in real life. Many people have said to have struggled to have a conversation in real life as you can have control of how you speak through your phone but that’s hard to control in real life. We get the edit, retouch and delete everything on our screens but you cant do that in real life and people find that hard to accept. Turkle states that human relationships are rich and messy yet they are being cleaned up by technology.
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Before watching these TED talks I hadn’t fully considered the negative impact communications on social media. I think there has always been some positive and negatives to this and I think the question of has social media changed the w ay we communicate with each other for the better can be perceived both ways. But I think these TED talks highlight just how negatively it’s impacted our communication.
In Jon Ronson’s TED talk he described the way people hide behind a screen and use Twitter and Facebook a way of destroying people without feeling any of the effects. The cruel comments pile up from thousands of people till suddenly no one is on your side. Social media can be a very lonely place which Sherry Turkle explains. She emphasises the fact people can be connected and still be alone. Technology has the power to pull your attention onto things which means the real world goes on and people don’t have to be a part of it. Online you can be who you want and almost reinvent yourself because you have time to think about what you’ll say do or how your social media page presents about you. People find it easier to hate online rather than face to face because they don’t have to deal with any of the repercussions or take the blame. An example is from Jon Ronson’s TED talk how she was on a flight an had no idea that when she landed the world had turned against her without her even having a way of baking herself up. It’s also dangerous because people can post something and have others view it differently from how it means because they are just seeing a piece of text and can’t hear or see how it should come across.
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before i watched this video i had mixed thoughts about social media and how it affects people but mostly girls as a whole but after watching these videos i think social media has changed the was we communicate because social media has changed the way that we interact, mainly the way we have lost some of our social skills. Some people are completely incapable of carrying on a normal conversation or interacting with people in person because of the dependency of social media. Social media has created a sense of urgency in our communication that has not been seen before. Especially Snapchat, one of the most popular social media platforms this requires people to respond immediately or risk the message disappearing. Live features show us an insight into what people are doing in real time. We don’t have to wait to see your vacation photos when you are streaming your time on the beach. This ability to connect with everyone in real time creates this need and compulsion to let everyone know what you are up to immediately, causing you to post photos from your vacation before you even get back home. Just think about how far communication has come, from letters that would take weeks to get to someone, to showing everyone what you are doing at the moment. Therefore social media has a negative effect on people because it takes away a sense of reality as people can make up different identities to others to make themself feel more likeable but this can cause insecurities especially how girls are percieved in the media as in they should look a certain way to look “pretty” to others. social media is toxic to younger viewers as they see people from all across the world on their screen and then they may want to copy them to feel included even if it isn’t sutiable for their age. so no i dont think social media has a postive affect.
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Social media- or the idea thereof- is engulfing our naive lives from increasingly younger ages which (in some scenarios) is a positive for example for communication purposes. However, there are also many negatives like people feeling the need to maliciously and publicly voice their unneeded opinions to others. Is this because they are behind a screen and might not have the guts to actually say it if they were face to face to the same individual?
People feel the right to comment on others actions- whom they may not know on a personal level- and dehumanise them. Certain people are so power hungry that they strive to group up thousands of people up against an individual who has made a mistake acting as if they have never made a singular mistake in their life. For example: rather than turning thousands of people against one person, we should reach and strive to educate the person on the topic they may have offended people with for future reference. Social media has also made it hard to develop relationships outside of social media as people find it hard to put together an unedited conversation.
In conclusion, even though at the beginning it was insinuated that voiceless people find their voice in social media events like what was said in Jon Ronsons and Sherry Turkles TED talks show that people will quickly lose that voice and that the smartest way to survive is by being voiceless- seen not heard.
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Prior to watching these TED talks, I had mixed thoughts about social media, both good and bad. I believed that social media was the most efficient way to communicate however that may not be the case due to how negatively it has impacted our lives; which is highlighted in the TED talks.
In Jon Ronson’s talk, he explains how people use different social media platforms to destroy people’s lives. As a result, they don’t feel any guilt or feel any remorse as you can’t see how people are feeling about what you have said; assuming that people have understood the context in which you meant your comment to be in. It talks about how people misuse their privileges when it comes to social media as they can and there’s no barriers stopping you. The talk goes on about how companies and other people use people’s trending pain for advertisements which sidetracks us from stopping these immoral actions, further proving how awful social media can be. In addition, social media was created to provide people who didn’t have a voice a voice, however, it’s now not giving anyone freedom of speech and is abusing what social media was created for. Social media can also be a very lonely place and causes a divide between people, deterring everyone against each other. This can be shown the younger people join social media as children can be exploited and brought into a toxic environment to the point they perceive this to be normal behavior and execute this towards their friends and family. Social media bars us from having real life conversations with one another and can stop us from learning reality and taking an interest.
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ok thank you this helped me with what may help me through out the test thank you.
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Prior to watching these two TED talks, I had my own variety of thoughts about social media and the negative and positive sides. I believed that social media was this great resource that allowed us to connect further to people on the internet but now after watching both of the individuals viewpoints on the Ted talks, I believe that I may have gotten it wrong.
Jon Ronson in his talk ‘when online shaming spirals out of control’, he goes on to explain how social media can impact lives in such a negative way. Social media is a place where those who feel voiceless in the ‘real world’ can have their voice not only heard but also projected out for thousands and thousands of people to see. Ronson told us the story of an innocent woman known as Jackie who had her whole life turned upside down due to a misunderstood comment that she had left online. This whole scandal towards her, whilst she was completely oblivious to the whole of social media coming together as they felt the need to be cruel and verbally abusive, shows that people have power in the online world to initiate drastic change in peoples lives. Ronson said how these events can make people feel isolated, anxious and can even lead to depression and that there are many cases like this where people have had lifechanging events all due to innocent posts or tweets which are the common ways to express yourself in this century. Ronson also saw how companies were making profit after making jokes about Jackie to the people who were targeting her which shows how little empathy people have for people online as they cant see emotions and believe that she is fine. She definitely was not fine.
Sherry Turkle spoke in her talk that social media isn’t connecting more people but really pushing individuals away from each other causing isolation. Her TED talk ‘connected but alone’ shined a light to see that social media although we think is good takes our abilities away from being able to form real conversations as it is ‘easier’ this way. The younger generation suffers more from social media as this is the only world they know and that some children and teenagers struggle to maintain a conversation in real life as the factors of the ability to delete, edit and being able to prepare what you were going to say is eliminated. Even the adults of today isolate themselves and find more reliability in technology and even comfort then actual people and it makes people disconnected from reality and the things that matter the most.
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Prior to watching these clips, my vision of social media was definitely not picture perfect. Social media has such a huge impact on everyone’s day-to-day life despite the use of these specific platforms. Many individuals end up using this to target a certain someone but regardless of this, for the most part, the media is used to stay connected with family, friends or work partners.
However after watching Jon Ronson, these ideas of the dark side of the media live up to beyond my expectations. He makes a remark on how these platforms can fall into the wrong hands and made accessible for others to shame without the backlash of emotions coming from the targeted individual. He talked about privileges and how these are being misused even in the working industry. It shows companies using painful advertisements leading to the rest of the media to follow and carry out spiteful actions leaving no room for remorse. As we all know, the media was created to communicate and share views/opinions with freedom and no outcome of guilt. Moreover, as years goes by we become more exposed and end up putting the younger generations in danger by exploiting them and making these toxic environments more glorified.
In addition, Sherry Turkle also shows social media in a negative light. She explains how the media has become more popular leading to reduced face-to-face interactions being lost and at an all time low. Furthermore, this has impacted mainly the older generation because of social media being easily accessible for the younger ones. This ends up causing the feeling of loneliness and distance from families mainly. Older people struggle to keep up with all the new technology as it’s becomes so much more advanced meaning communication is harder and they lose these interactions simply because they don’t understand!
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Prior to watching these TED talks I felt (and still feel) as though social media is annoyingly intertwined with my life and society as a whole. However, I can’t fault the efficiency and ease of communication through the use of technology and social media. I believe that communication is the foundation of any human relationship and is what makes the human race thrive together, however the way we communicate often expresses a lot more than what we are actually trying to say. A quick text message has never hurt anyone and can often be quite convenient, however that is no longer just what we use social media for, which is what I disagree with.
In Jon Ronson’s talk he highlights the power social media can give to an average person and how it can destroy another humans life just with the click of a button. I believe he highlights that social media is no longer used as an encouraging, inspiring and funny manner, but more as an easy way to hide behind poor behaviour as ‘mob mentality’ because more common. Jon also mentions in his talk how the people who are throwing nasty, abusive comments around often think that the person receiving this hate are ‘fine’, when in reality it is the opposite. This further highlights how the new power that comes with having a voice on social media can be so overpowering to the point where people forget that they’re not just speaking to a random person online, but to another human being with feelings. Jon also mentions that he spoke to Justine Sacco and she reveals that the tweet she posted was meant to be comical, which highlights the issue of not knowing the tone in which a tweet is written when reading it through a screen. This emphasises my point of the way we communicate expresses more than what we are actually trying to say as I think if Justine were to make this comment face to face with a friend and not online then it wouldn’t have been blown out of proportion so much.
During Turkles TED talk she highlights the damage that social media has to real communication between humanity by expressing that people are ‘sacrificing conversation for mere connection’. She presents the idea that staying within the safety net that is social media we begin to form a false sense of identity and reality, therefore changing us as a person. For example, there can be thousands of people who have the same interests as you and express it online, however when it comes down to knowing someone personally (with the chance of disagreement about things) no one want to know anyone, emphasising the idea of being ‘lonely but afraid of intimacy’.
Overall I believe that the way we communicate with each other can be improved by implementing change in how often we use our devices for communication specifically. I also think that there is always two sides to everything, as there is with social media, but being a teenager myself I think I’ve been exposed to more bad than good.
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Before first watching the TED talks, my outlook towards social media was predominantly swayed positively. As a user of social media, I personally believed it was a relatively harmless way of communication. These impacts highlighted within the talks are eye-opening as they are uncommonly shown. Through the various voices within the talks, it is evident that this use of communication has extreme impacts that often stem from radicalisation.
In Jon Ronsons talk, ‘When shaming goes too far,’ he discusses the significant issues of online shaming and when it is taken massively out of perspective. He focuses on the power social media gives to all voices and shows the horrific reality misuse of power has on people’s lives. During his TED talk he tells the distressing story of a woman named Justine Sacco. Ronson shows how Saccos use of the platform ‘Twitter’ to communicate with others led to the dismantling of her life. Her post, although the obvious factor that it should never have been put online, was said to have been misinterpreted. Sacco stated that her ‘tweet’ was taken out of perspective. Her post resulted in her facing great abuse as people scattered to bring ‘justice’ in response to her statement. This shows us a lot in regard to how reckless and aggressive people can be with their voice as they feel their words come without direct consequence, meaning for them it is okay to project their vulgar messages. Frequently this is the case, the simple-minded destruction without regard to the victim of the verbal abuse.
Turkle’s TED talk ‘connected, but alone?’ touches on similar aspects. She discusses the immense takeover technology has on the majority. Online communication is rapidly replacing pure face-to-face interaction as many favour this. She highlights the factors as to why this is the case. Social media allows for communication to be controlled, edited, and deleted. I think this is causing for severe damage for all generations as people are unable to be vulnerable and true with one another. This therefore causes for the sacrifice of vital social skills. Although these consequences are terrible, I understand social media has numerous positive features, such as the fact it allows you to communicate and stay in touch with people long-distance. Ultimately, I believe social media has many great effects, but the overwhelming dominance of it has begun to redefine human connection.
Another thing that Turkle’s explains is being ‘alone, together.’ To further broaden her explanation, she uses the personal example of her teenage daughter with her friends. When with one-another they favour a reality online, causing them to be glued to their phone when in each other’s presence. This shows that as much as the teenagers are all together, through social media communication they isolate themselves from reality. This portrays how people tend to disassociate from real life to their screens. The reality of this common occurrence takes away the purty of conversation as messages cannot be expressed the same as true conversation can. This leads me to see the benefit of face-to-face confrontation as it clearly has a higher value.
In conclusion, I somewhat agree with the various points made by Ronson and Turkle’s. There is need for reformation as well as compassion. Through using social media as communication serious cases of dehumanization and defining dictation can commonly occur. Although, due to the vast differences social media has both on peoples lives and online experiences, it is impossible to state whether it is completely negative or positive.
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Prior to watching these Ted talks my opinion on social media has always been positive. I’ve always felt like social media has transformed communication and has bridged geographical gaps to allow us to communicate with others on a international basis forming friendships worldwide, business collaborations and even global movement at ease with just a click of the button.
After listening to Jon Ronson’s Ted talk “when online shaming goes too far “. It becomes apparent that the nature of humans is where social media has it’s flaws. In the first few minutes of Ronson’s speech he discusses Jonah Lehrer who was drenched in shame and people on twitter described him as a ” friggin sociopath” which completely dehumanises him. Ronson used the metaphor that “Jonah was on the floor and we were still kicking him”. This emphasises the nature of humans to want to shame others even when they have lost the battle. Ronson also speaks about someone who posted a controversial joke and while she was on a airplane it became trending. Unfortunately when she woke up she was awakened by the hate comments and twitter controlled her life and took it apart piece by piece all because she was misunderstood.
In Turkle’s Ted talk she highlights the issues that phones and texting is ruining our personal lives as it is taking us away from reality. After listening to this talk, it has made me realise that the constant notifications and the endless stream of of information keeps us absorbed in the digital realm. Instead of engaging in meaningful in person conversations we often find ourselves checking messages or scrolling through social media. This dependency on technology could erode our ability to connect with others and experience life as it unfolds around us.
Overall these Ted talks have changed the way I feel about technology. I believe the internet is a great place when used correctly, to increase our knowledge but not to undermine and diminish others. Society as a whole needs to become less dependant on social media and experience life as it comes through their own eyes.
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Before watching these Ted talks my opinion on social media was always predominantly positive. I believed it was a harmless way of communicating and connecting millions of people from around the globe. After watching these ted talks its clear I had a blurred view of the impacts social media can have. The impacts highlighted through the ted talks were eye opening.
In Jon Ronsons talk “when shaming goes too far” he discusses how social media shaming can easily ruin individuals’ lives. He shows how social media has given voices to much power and these voices can be used violently and be cruel. He suggested that social media has the potential to create a polarised view of society, where we categorise people as “good” or “bad” based on the shared views of our social media circle. He demonstrated this with the story of Justine Sacco who was shamed on twitter due to a misinterpreted joke. Justines life was completely turned upside down as she received extremely hateful comments and social media even got her fired. Individuals who chose to support Justine then also got labelled as “bad” therefore creating the “good “or “bad” sides. The majority of Justines haters didn’t quite understand the severity of their words and how much they affected Justine. With many people suggesting she was fine. She was not fine. Jon continued to talk about how the hate can lead people to have anxiety, depression, insomnia and cause people to have thoughts of suicide. Justines case is a prime example of when shaming can go to far all due to the misunderstandings of social media.
In Sherry Turkle’s speech “Alone together” she shares her negative view of social media and how it is restricting generations. In her opinion, it has shaped a new society and normalised ‘being afraid of being alone’ which she thinks is a harmful trait to have. Sherry shares images of her daughter and friends being together but not together. By this she means they were too absorbed in their phones to properly talk and spend time together, I believe this highlights how social media is taking away from real life. Also, it highlights her point of how people don’t have enough attention for people anymore like kids and parents at breakfast. Turkle uses the phrase “connected but alone” to portray that being connected virtually can still mean you are alone in real life. Sherry uses this to show how social media is doing more bad than good.
To conclude, both ted talks led my opinion on social media to be swayed negatively. However, I believe social media can be used positively if used in moderation and shaming needs to stop.
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Undoubtedly as humans we all use our phones more frequently than we would like , but before watching these Ted talks i didnt realise the severity of a silly thought at the hand of a button can turn to chaos. As someone who uses social media every day i have seen and heard of scandals in the press that could have easily been avoided if we communicated better. Which is the case for Justine Sacco, and her words being twisted and interpreted in various different ways which could have also been easily avoided, if she had communicated better and not been so quick to post before thinking of how it could be viewed. But social media isnt just a place of negativity it can also be used for the good and to spread awareness, raise money and even create relationships internationally and learn new languages and cultures, but to have this positive side we have to think about the way we communicate with others and take time to listen to one another.
Jon Ronson’s Ted talk gives us an overview on how damaging social media can be if not harnessed correctly . The example of Justine Sacco and her story of shame and annihilation portrays the consequences that follows thoughtless and harmful words being shared on a public forum , in this case ‘twitter’. Ronson talks of peoples excitement and anticipation of watching Justine’s life and profession crumble after sharing hateful words online .The craving of validation and attention is something all humans experience as they render their lives to technology to share thoughts and opinions . In this case these thoughts were harmful and strook a chord when shared to the wider world . Justine began to be dehumanised by her trolls and depicted as ‘racist’ , she also received tweets to threaten her and somewhat punish her for her remarks. Once sending her tweet Justine boarded a flight ,to later open her phone to an influx of detest and loathing as her tweet had gone ‘viral’. Jon spoke to a journalist who described watching the repercussions of Justine’s words as ‘delicious’ proving the detachment from reality technology is allowing people to experience as they loose basic compassion for others.
One point that Sherry Turkle makes, is that we are ‘letting technology take us places we don’t want to go’ and ‘changing who we are’, this is interesting because as humans we are quick to judge others but not so much ourselves and by reflecting on our usage of technology we can consciously change the way we communicate with others for the better. She speaks of how fast technology has progressed and that our past selves would have been ‘disturbed’ by the way we communicate today, as we email and text at points in time that we should be reflecting and instead we are chatting and scrolling on our phones . We have became detached and desensitised from reality and emotion as we deflect our feelings and ignore them to be present online. I like the way Sherry shows a picture of her daughter and her friends ‘being together, but not together’ as it further highlights that todays youths are growing up with technology and instead of reading a children’s book in the car it has became the ‘social norm’ to give your child an I-pad or some kind of device to pass the time reinstating from a young age that devices is where we should be channelling our attention , creating bad habits and further damaging the way we communicate .
Overall , these Ted talks have made me reflect and think about how much work we have to do as a society to reduce our phone usage. I do think social media is a vastly positive place , but as shown a click of a button could change that as it gives the wrong people a platform to share their negative thoughts . To answer the question, yes i do beleive social media has changed the way in which we communicate as we have slightly lost touch with reality and became too dependant on living life through social media and not so much going out there and experiencing it ourselves.
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i have never really listened to any ted talks before and thoroughly listened or enjoyed them but these talks really grabbed my attention to what is happening in the world of social media and how it can affect me.
I believe that social media is good for keeping updated in the world and talking to friends and family whenever you cant see them, it creates the sense and feeling of them being with you in person. However there are many downfalls to this as both Sherry and Jon both discussed, one of them being the fact that once something out of order has been said many people will be the first to jump in and fire their shots at you leaving not a sight of any safe space which i believe to be wrong as it can traumatize people and make them feel as if everybody has turned onto them.
In Sherry’s TED talk she discusses why phones take peoples awareness and attention from them as they get sucked into there screens. People nowadays get by with less as they rather text and call people instead of talking and socializing which should be talked about more in my opinion. This way of speaking with one another is causing a bar in which we speak to people in real life.
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Prior to watching these two TED talks, i had contrasting thoughts and opinions on whether or not social media effected my life positively or not. I believe that social media has been utilised in many positive ways, one of those being communication and bettering our understanding around different cultures that we may never of came across without the beauty of social media.
However, as seen through Jon Ronson’s TED talk ‘when online shaming goes too far’ we are reminded of the detrimental impacts social media can have on one person, and how it can negatively shift somebody’s life. Ronson speaks on the matter of social media giving ‘voiceless’ people a platform to express their unsolicited views on any subject. Somebody can share a controversial opinion and their whole life may be ruined within hours, people begin to verbally abuse this person and say things that they wouldn’t usually, just because they are within the safety net of a screen. Ronson uses the example of a women named Jackie, she shared a tweet which wasn’t intended to be malicious, however this is not how it was perceived by the public. Jackie’s life was changed drastically, she was publicly slammed, called names such as a ‘racist’ and had criminal offences wished upon her. In result of this tragic case, Jackie lost her job and society’s respect. She suffered from depression and feelings of isolation. Ronson shared this story to shed light on how people interact with others when they aren’t face to face, words become more cruel as the victim’s emotions aren’t on show for everybody to see, so society do not see the true emotions the abuse causes.
Turckle’s TED talk discusses similar topics on social media and how it can consume a persons life. Young people are immersed in their phones and social media and it is effecting their social skills and ability to form conversations. Teenagers also find comfort in the fact that social media and technology allows us to edit and delete certain things allowing us to hide insecurities or change narratives of conversations, creating an ideal world for teenagers. Adults are also falling into the addictive trap of technology as it is so accessible for contacting their children or replying to quick emails. Turckle believes that although technology is a great way of communication, we should also be mindful of how much it is being used and ensure that we are limiting ourselves to it, this allows young people to develop, much needed, social skills.
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Prior to watching the two TED talks, I believed that social media was a negative force in society. I always believed that while allowing people to express themselves with the click of a button, it subsequently disallowed people’s individuality, by creating a hostile environment where one opinion prevailed and other opinions were shot down.
Upon watching Jon Ronson’s talk, my original beliefs were further strengthened. Ronson discusses how controversial opinions are not only frowned-upon online, but immediately reprimanded – and in some cases such as Jackie’s – the sharer of the controversial opinion falls victim to online attacks, which can range from impersonal to personal. This can cause drastic harm to a person’s life, as they may let social media influence their view of themselves and even other people. This is destructive and dangerous to society, as less people feel they have the right to express themselves in a safe manner. Although, social media does allow its users to get across their opinions with ease, which is certainly a positive concept for most people.
Sherry Turkle’s talk further expands upon the negative effects of social media, as she discusses how people are engrossed in their online world nowadays, and forget whats important in life, such as socialising with friends and family, finding hobbies to enjoy and focusing on their careers. This is damaging to society as people are focused on the wrong things and don’t have the same level of productivity as previous generations possessed. However, this isn’t always the case, as social media sometimes acts as a beacon of hope to those in search of new interests and career options – there are plenty of online forums and sources of information for those in need of them. This suggests that social media can both tear apart and rebuild peoples lives.
Overall, I believe social media is a negative influence in general, but in specifc circumstances, can be beneficial to those who use it for the original intended purpose.
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As I watched both of these TED talks on the effects of social media, good and bad, I was captivated by both individuals: Jon Robson and Sherry Turkle as they both share their opinions on social media and its outstanding cons as well as the rare pros that not many people are aware of as we tend to be overwhelmed by the streams of negative information coming from social media sites.
Jon Ronson used his opportunity to talk about an incident in which a negative tweet was posted online and the response the general public had to this. Robson claimed that social media gave normal people an outlet to express views that would be frowned upon in real life and the issue of members of society craving attention and seeking validation from their peers by responding to this offensive tweet with arguably worse comments. This is an issue because social media makes it extremely easy for sides to be taken creating huge divides in communities between people who feel it is their job to respond and call out things like this. The attracted attention on social media can make a person feel even more alone as they lose themselves trying to be the ‘ideal’ version of themselves through how they express themselves online.
In the second TED talk led by Sherry Turkle, cultural analyst, discusses the fact that advances in technology and social media can make us feel more connected to others through an online world but start to lose our connections in real life. This is not dissimilar to Jon Ronsons talk as both speak about how being behind a screen can be a sort of protective barrier for people to seek validation and reassurance without the shame of doing so in person or revealing such facts. Turkle argues that this can make us feel less connected from one another which in turn creates a cycle of needing reassurance that can only be gained from online personalities as we feel the need to grow closer to our phones and devices as they invade everyday life from family dinners to corporate meetings as we feel the need to escape.
To conclude, I feel that both of these talks have altered my opinions on the world of social media and why as humans we make decisions online that do not reflect our actions in day to life creating a false online image of ourselves and why this is a huge developing problem.
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I’ve always seen social media as a cautious tool, and always recognise the issues with it. To keep in touch with friends and family, it allows for anyone to share their best or worse moments for both parties to laugh at; social media is great for this, in no other media can you express yourself to (potential) thousands of people who have similar experiences, or who want to bask in you mis/fortune and join you for a laugh. However, with this comes the negatives that are more impactful. The belief that you can say whatever and not face any physical consequences attract many people. Mostly, these people envy those on the other side, those who can experience something that they cannot; They feel that if they cannot enjoy something, no-one can. Unfortunately, this is only expedited through social media. This wrecks people, who eventually fixate on the negative comments which takes a toll on the mental health of the poster. This is elaborated on in Jon Ronson’s TED talk.
Jon Ronson covers many stories of people who shared their own experiences through humour, and eventually were shot down because of it. Take the IAC PR manager; she had expressed her travels and experiences with some dark humour, and the person who didn’t like the joke ruined the manager’s reputation, image, and with it; her life. I believe this could be because the reporter wouldn’t face any repercussions because they were not known to the manager. This is what social media can be allowed to do when used negatively.
This is also covered in Sherry Turkle’s talk. The belief that the reliance on social media takes away from the physical aspects of messages. Heartwarming messages aren’t sent with warmth attached, but the reader has to read it with warmth, and so forth; the messages can only be sent to give the implication of the effect. However, this is damaging to the recipient, as it starves their emotional needs and lulls themselves to read it so they derive meaning.
Overall, I can see the positives and negatives of social media, how it damages people but also how it heals. As a teenager, I also notice the growing dependency on social media, also how it damages my emotional response and the increasing struggle to stay motivated without social medias and (in extremities) it dictating my moods. This is the unfortunate reality of social medias now, it’s become an outlet for people to receive the spotlight, and expedites the growth of introverts and ‘ social recluses’.
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After watching both TED talks, my views on how we communicate via social media are both positive and negative. One talk showed me that people may feel more confident behind a screen than face to face with another person, and the other showed me that someone’s joke could be taken the wrong way if it’s not executed correctly.
In John Ronson’s talk I saw that people do not think about the consequences that their actions could have and what might seem like a light hearted joke to them could be taken the wrong way by others as we all think differently and we do not have the same mind. These consequences to their actions could have a long lasting effect and a massive impact on their lives such as losing your job or being forever hated by others.
In Sherry Turkle’s talk I saw that some people may find having a real conversation quite intimidating and they prefer talking through a screen as they can edit what they are going to say, whereas having a conversation face to face, you cannot control what you are going to say. In many jobs these days a lot of people use the internet as a way of communicating so even if you are sitting next to someone whilst working you may not feel alone as another person is in the room but when you turn your attention to your phone, no matter how many people are with you in that room, you are alone.
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Before watching these clips, I viewed social media as an easy platform for communicating with people, friends, and even strangers. It certainly has its benefits, especially when it comes to staying connected with friends and family who you might not see regularly. Seeing their updates, photos, and daily activities can be quite heartwarming. However, there is a darker side to social media that is becoming increasingly apparent. Issues that we might not have considered before are now more visible than ever. Bullying, targeting, shaming, and sheer disrespect for others are rampant, and the presence of harm and predators is particularly concerning.
I am now more cautious than ever when using social media. I am acutely aware that someone could be tracking or watching me and my friends. In response to the question of whether social media has changed the way we communicate for the better, I would say no. It has made us more exposed and has diminished the ‘art of’ face-to-face communication. While it offers convenience and connectivity, it also brings significant risks and challenges that we must navigate carefully.
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The way we communicate has dramatically evolved with the growth of social media, phones, and other digital devices. While these changes have brought many positive aspects, they also come with a range of challenges.
Sherry Turkle discusses how digital communication can lead to a situation where people are “alone together.” While we are constantly connected through devices, this type of communication can make us more isolated. She argues that the quality of our conversations suffers because we rely on short, superficial interactions rather than deep, meaningful conversations. Jon Ronson states that social media can amplify mistakes, leading to severe consequences for individuals. Ronson tells stories of people who have had their lives ruined by online shaming through supposedly community based social media like twitter. He suggests that social media can create community and togetherness, but along with it, the worst of human behaviour.
Sherry Turkle and Jon Ronson highlight the drawbacks of how we use our platforms, that we should prioritize face-to-face communication where possible and be aware of the impact of our digital footprint.
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Before watching the TED talks , I believed social media was one of the best ways to communicate. You can send messages and have conversations with people all around the word. However, I aways knew the dangers of social media and how addictive it can become. As technology improves, i believe people are becoming less reliant on things that matter the most. For example people now spend less quality time with friends and family, like Sherry Turkle stated.
Jon Ronson’s talk covers how people use social media as a way to get revenge on people that nave made mistakes. Social media can be seen to make situations spiral out of control, leading even more mistakes to happen. Ronson explains how there are no barriers to stop people from attacking others , leading to people feeling no guilt about what they’re saying. Media brands also use scandals and controversial situations to promote their businesses, therefore bringing more suffering to those involved.
Similarly, Turkle believes social media has the potential to do good to the world if it wasn’t so overpowering. Everyone spends all day texting or emailing each other but they still have no real connection to anything going on around them. It is becoming harder and harder for different generations to mix, since most elderly people express interest in face to face interactions. On the other hand, some younger people couldn’t think of anything worse. She further explains , how people around the word are afraid to make mistakes and can’t afford to say something wrong inside the real world
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In advance of listening to these TED talks, I already believed that social media, especially in the present day, outweighs its positive traits with negatives. I feel this way because of how social media can so easily disconnect people from their morals, and is setting society backwards in terms of community and valuable connections.
The speakers in these two TED talks put this phenomenon into words perfectly. Jon Ronson makes an incredible point regarding how the way in which humans communicate with one another now is impacted by the need to be heard and validated, even if it is by complete strangers online. Social media is an effective way to communicate with people around the world, sure, but it has become so much more than that. For good and bad. Giving people an anonymous platform to speak their mind knowing that there’ll be someone out there who’s bound to agree has completely corrupted meaningful conversation between humans. Feeling the need to have whatever you say be accepted by others, and then to restrict yourself to only interacting with those groups, isn’t how connections should be formed. It isn’t how people should communicate. Social media has given people far too much confidence to act in ways that they could’ve never imagined acting beforehand.
Sherry Turkle also highlights that using social media as a primary method of communication only enhances loneliness, rather than solving it, which I firmly agree with. Constantly engaging in little, meaningless conversations with people you don’t know doesn’t improve your life in any way. It just makes you feel as if you’re missing out when you have a thought and you don’t share it. Or if someone disagrees with you and you can’t shame them for it instead of simply explaining your side. Social media was revolutionary in terms of improving access to communication, but horrible in terms of improving the communication itself.
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Before having watched these two speeches, my view on social media stands unbiased; It has multiple negative aspects as well as positives. Social media has always stood as an important part of my life, and therefore forced me to see the good and bad in all of its features. However, these two TED talks have now influenced my views and have changed my thoughts on the impacts of social media.
In his speech, Jon Ronson covers the topic of how on social media people can spread their opinions and thoughts freely, but others may struggle to understand the tone that someone may have written that comment in, leading a small wrongly received comment to possibly spiral into a destructive and life-ruining mistake. On social media, people feel validated by others who share in their beliefs. Consequently, this leads people to embed themselves into small communities exclusively of those who agree with them, shielding them from any alternate viewpoints, which can’t possibly benefit them.
Personally, I believe social media has had as much positive impact on the world as it has negative. Whilst social media is capable of becoming a harmful environment, it can also allow people easy access to socialisation (even if it isn’t face to face) as well as encourage those to share opinions on diverse topics that others may find helpful. Social media can also have a positive impact by allowing people from different backgrounds and different locations across the globe to engage with one another, something that has been difficult to accomplish in the past.
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Prior to watching these two TED talks, I often felt that I had mixed emotions about social media, as well as it’s positive and negative aspects. The ability to communicate with friends, family and colleagues helped me to realise the largely beneficial factors social media provided to society; translating language barriers, overcoming time zones and connecting with loved ones. However, this platform is used by individuals to verbally abuse and to target others lifestyles negatively. These actions can change someone’s life detrimentally, as portrayed by Jon Ronson.
In Jon Ronson’s talk “When online shaming spirals out of control”, he goes on to reiterate the immensely negative side of social media. Ronson recognises how the platform of social media is a place where the “voiceless” could not only be heard by others, but their views could also be related to and portrayed by thousands of other social media users. Jon Ronson brought Justine Sacco’s story to light, Justine posted a tweet minutes before boarding a plane highlighting her opinion which was further misunderstood by the public. This controversy quickly caused Justine’s life to plummet to the point she had to disguise her identity to avoid harassment from the surrounding public. Sacco soon got fired from her job, began to receive various tweets from others wanting to physically hurt and punish her for her actions and soon began to suffer from mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Jon later interviewed a journalist who believed that observing Justine’s diminishing life was “delicious”. The heart breaking repercussions of Justine Sacco’s mistake shows affects abuse on social media can have on someone and their life, even if it is behind a screen.
Sherry Turkle’s speech “Alone together” exposes how addictive our phones can truly be, not only for us today but also for the upcoming generations. Sherry shows the crowd an image she captured of her daughter and her friends physically together but not mentally together. Present bodies, absent minds. The picture shows the girls consumed in their phones and not connected to the real world. Also, Turkle believes that teenagers find reassurance in the idea of being able to edit and delete whatever they desire, whether that being their insecurities or desires they wish to have. The addictive nature of phones doesn’t only affect adolescents, but adults as well. Turkle explains how parents are beginning to pay less attention to their children during lunch and dinner and more to their mobile phones. By bringing this aspect to light, Turkle shows that social media doesn’t always impact society negatively and can be an effective source of communication; but if we aren’t mindful then it can gradually consume us for the worse.
Overall, after watching these TED talks, I have become more mindful of the impacts social media could have on myself and society as a whole. I now recognise to a further extent how important social media can be to communicate with others, but also how damaging that freeing platform can be, is used incorrectly.
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Prior to watching and listening to these TED talks, I thought I had a pretty good insight on the majority of beneficial and negative impacts that follow social media.
While social media undeniably offers endless benefits, the negatives, in my opinion, far outweigh the positives.
Platforms have revolutionised communication, enabling instant connection across the globe and fostering communities. However, these advantages come at a steep cost. Social media is a double-edged sword, where the ease of connection also encourages superficial interactions, replacing meaningful relationships with invisible encounters.
Moreover, the addictive nature of social media exploits the brain’s reward system, promoting compulsive use that deteriorates real-world experiences.
Despite these drawbacks, social media remains a powerful tool when used responsibly. However, the overwhelming negatives from mental health deterioration to the erosion of genuine human connections and the influence and impact of misinformation and propaganda supported by the media. Suggest that the costs of social media’s pervasive presence in our lives outweigh its benefits.
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Social media is an inescapable force in today’s society. it is intertwined with everything that we do, and influences almost everything in most people’s daily life. It can be a force for good, connecting people and allowing us to achieve things beyond most people’s wildest dreams. However, as technology rapidly evolves and changes, it can also become dangerous, impacting the way that we live and interact with others.
Jon Ronson describes the impact of how much power people can gain from social media. Regular people who otherwise have no influence have suddenly, through social media, gained a voice that people listen to – a tempting opportunity for many. however, through sharing the stories of those who have been deeply affected by online shaming, Ronson shows how being behind a screen allows people to destroy lives without consequence or a second thought. By giving people so much power, social media has destroyed empathy, and set unrealistic high standards and rules for what people can say. Aggression to each other is now standard, and kindness online is rare, a saddening realisation.
Turtle delves into how although social media was created to bring people and communities together, yet seems to do the opposite. Talking through a screen is easier and less vulnerable than having a real life conversation, which has resulted in any meaning being lost in online messages. Social media is constantly used as a form of escapism, with people searching for fulfilment online whilst ignoring everything important in real life, which is what matters. as social media develops and gets bigger, it slowly disassociates us from our actual lives and people that matter, only creating bigger problems.
I believe social media has completely altered the way that we communicate, and can ruin human connections if we let ourselves fall in to the easy (or lazy) way of online relationships. We should be aware of consequences of social media’s influence.
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Prior to watching these TED talks my opinion and thoughts on social media were positive. Social media has had a significant impact on society as it provides humans with the ability to communicate quick and easily worldwide to whoever they would like whenever they want. As well as being able to spread information and awareness about social, political and environmental issues happening around the world. But on the other hand with humans having full access there can be a negative effect of cyber bullying, incorrect information shared and mental health issues.
As someone who uses social media daily I was always made aware of the impacts it can have on people if used inappropriately. Such as saying a joke you thought was harmless on Twitter just like Justine Sacco, who’s life was destroyed and she had no idea. Jon Ronson brings a voice to her situation as her foolish mistake lead her to become unemployed and ripped to pieces by trolls online who didn’t hold the same humour as her. This then led on even further by her feeling depressed and isolated as no one was on her side and thought she was the worst person ever after what she had said. By Jon bringing light to the situation it shows how easily a comment that was not meant maliciously can be blown out of proportion if it doesn’t fit in with society’s views.
In Sheila Turkle’s TED talk she discusses how social media has taken control of our lives and that people are now unsure how to have a conversation with a real person face to face instead of it being over a screen. This means humans are struggling to make genuine connections and are ‘alone together’. Sheila also shows a picture she took of her daughter and her friends when they were hanging out, they were ‘together, but not together’ as they all had their phones in their hands not speaking. This shows the difference of this generation compared to the older generations who grew up without social media and would read books, play outside till the lampposts turned on then go home. Nowadays parents take the easier route of shoving a screen into their child’s face to keep them distracted but instead they are slowly feeding into the addiction that they will later struggle to break.
Overall, i believe that social media will always have a positive and a negative impact depending on how it is used by humans. But after these TED talks i am now more aware of how much as a society we rely on technology daily and how out of touch we are with reality
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Prior to watching these TED Talks, I believed that social media was both a positive place allowing for connections that may never have occurred without such things. However, I did understand that there were terrible, terrible negatives that stem from social media. For we can never have anything ‘perfectly’ good. Although both talks had compelling arguments, I do still believe that social media can be more positive for most. However, everyone may view it differently and use social media differently.
Jon Ronson’s talk in ‘when online shaming spirals out of control’ did prove my more negative view to be correct. Talking of how we as a society may take shaming too much when online, which is understandable as people feel more confident behind a screen. Thus they may not understand that they are going too far – or worse they may not care. It was heartbreaking to learn of Justine Sacco, whose life was practically destroyed through her Twitter posts being misinterpreted. So many people, many who may either not know the full story or care to understand what the true perspective of those tweets were. This increase in confidence can be attributed from the boost in confidence many may have behind a screen – enjoying the anonymity. Something that should of been dealt with far less almost anger, was overreacted and shown far more hatred than what I personally feel was needed.
Furthermore, in Sherry Turkle’s talk, ‘connected, but alone?’ We are shown even more the ‘dark sides’ of social media. Explaining how we may be losing a sense of reality through messages and phone calls and social media overall. She believes that social media has taken our awareness from reality and life. Which I can partially agree with as so many people now become so gone from reality, that they believe it is okay to text and drive. Highlighting how lost they are from reality. However, I believe that she may have such a negative view because Turkles herself did not grow up with technology. Personally, I believe that younger generations view social media differently, and thus feel more connected now with it. However, I do understand that humanity are losing their connection to reality and feel as though they must always present themselves a certain way on social media.
Overall, I still believe there are some positives to social media and that new connections can be made yet I do see how at the same time we are losing other connections. These two TED talks did highlight some of my negative ideas on social media, and made me further agree that social media isn’t perfect, but I do see that there are some good things that involve social media.
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Prior to watching these TED talks, I mainly viewed social media in a positive light as it allows people to communicate with others and express themselves in a variety of ways. However, after listening to Jon Ronson’s and Sherry Turkle’s speeches, my opinion on social media’s impact on society was quickly shifted as they both opened my eyes to the darker, more negative side lurking beneath the content we all love.
In the first video ‘Connected, but Alone?’, Sherry Turkle talks about how social media used to be an exciting thing and that she thought it would benefit society as people would be able to use what they learn about themselves in the virtual world to improve their lives in the real world. However, her opinion on social media has changed since she has noticed how technology has started to negatively affect our ability to communicate with each other, as in the past few years, there has been a significant drop in face-to-face conversations. She discusses how people are getting used to being alone together and that it’s as if we want to customize our lives because the only thing, we care about is being in control over where our attention is placed. For example, people going on their phones during a meeting and only choosing to listen to the bits that they are interested in. Sherry then goes on to explain that it’s the hesitations and stumble on words that people choose to not listen to that helps us to learn and understand each other.
I find it upsetting that there was so many wishes from people hoping Siri will become more advanced and will be able to act more like a friend who can listen to you Sherry believes these wishes are evidence to social media destroying people communication skills as they reflect the feeling that people feel not listened to which leads to making social media profiles look more appealing as they come with automatic listeners.
In ‘Online Shaming Goes Too Far,’ Jon Ronson outlines the issues of online shaming on platforms such as Twitter. He mentions the case of Justine Sacco and the thousands of comments calling her out after posting an insensitive ‘joke’ on Twitter before boarding her flight. She found out she went viral after landing in Africa and opening her phone to thousands of inappropriate hate comments telling her she deserved to be r*ped and trying to ruin her life by getting her fired before she could even explain what she meant by the comment. Ronson uses this case to portray to his audience that one wrong mistake online can ruin your whole reputation, but also how people take advantage of being behind a screen to say horrible things without any consequences before knowing the whole story.
Although I still think social media can benefit our communication as it allows us to communicate with people across the world I do agree with how important it is to be fully present in the moment and communicate face to face as its crucial for our development and am also more aware of the more dangerous side and how we should think before commenting
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I’ve always believed that social media was a place by which people could truly be themselves. Of communities for everyone’s and anyone who wanted to feel welcomed and involved in something. A place to truly feel free. Despite this, these ted-talks have truly opened my eyes to the different perceptions of communication on social media and how people can cause something so significant through something so small and seemingly insignificant, without maybe realising it. Furthermore, it awakened me to the restrictions social media place on common interaction and peoples general social life too.
Jon Robson opened my eyes to the negative side of social media. A cruel, ruthless platform with a lack of remorse and consideration of peoples wellbeing. His riveting ted-talk gives another perspective to the destruction of someones life without having the consideration and respect to hear their perspective. It taught me the lack of remorse that people have that they may not realise through seeking the approval of others on the platform. Robson portrayed social media as a platform of sheep by which people can profit off of someones misfortune and highlight them as a scapegoat for public approval and personal gain. A platform by which people jump to conclusions for thrill and entertainment even when they don’t understand the full picture and situation. Does this make them bad people however? I don’t think so. I think that many people jump on a bandwagon and criticise someone just to show other people that they’re also against something to look better themselves. I don’t think people quite realise what they’re doing to the victim because its all behind a screen and that is why they do it. However, this contributes to the hostile environment on social media by which it is safer to remain silent, which completely juxtaposes my initial beliefs about social media. Social media was a platform that you felt free, not one that silences and imprisons people from talking.
Moving on, Sherry Turkle’s ted talk taught me the impact social media has on day-to-day interaction and the depletion of it. I believe that day-to-day interaction shouldn’t have to be learnt and instead should be something every human knows how to do and can have a conversation without thinking and yet Turkle explains how this isn’t the case anymore. She explains how people forget about their daily routines and family connections and friend connections and can be with each other but not,’with,’ each other in a sense. It’s the idea that you may be sat together but you’re both in your completely own digital headspace and aren’t in the same world. Another thing Robson highlights is that conversation has died and that people find building relationships much too challenging in person considering they’re so much easier online and just don’t create any at all. It’s the belief that because technology always listens, people feel safe and so don’t escape their comfort zone, making it harder for people to relate to other humans and themselves. This displays the struggle for genuine connections between humans these days and how people cannot live without their online presence. This proves the weakening in communication of humans since technology and the struggle to have a real idea of who someone truly is. An importance within life.
Overall, I think that in reality humans have some, but not all control over how they use social media and how it affects communication. Algorithms and phones are designed to be addictive and as someone who frequently uses their device I can understand people who feel comfort within it and are lazy in their communication because of it. Yet, these ted talks significantly opened my eyes to truly how out of touch we are with reality today.
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Prior to viewing the two TED talks, social media was (and still is) a conflicting topic, with great positives and fatal negatives. Speaking truthfully, social media has had more of a negative than a positive and has give people, from all ages, a lack of communication skills. It has gifted us an out to uncomfortable topics because we can hide from the backlash and consequences. Yet, the community that it gives people is paramount. From people in the neighborhood to discussing who’s dog keeps barking, to people from all over the globe deciding if someone’s life should be destroyed.
This relates to Jon Ronson’s talks as he explains how community is brought by social media, and dives into how a hashtag can bind millions of people from all over the world- but it is not always used for good. Millions of people join together to hate and ‘troll’ one, singular woman for a ‘misplaced’ joke. Websites, like Google, made thousands of pounds, and eyes turned to her instead of the detrimental problems out world really face. What started out as justice, was rapidly made into fatal entertainment. But the conflicting thing is, those millions of people had a positive experience by bringing ‘justice’ to this woman. So that should make the internet a positive place? I disagree.
Sherry Turkle discusses how social media destroys people’s communication communication skills and individuality. She explores how people can be together but on their own devices and they do not communicate with each other. As well as this, she dives into how teenagers are afraid of ‘real life’ interactions because they cannot edit or re-word what they would like to say. This anxiety towards speech and conversation has spiked during the past years, because now the wrong thing can lead to a viral post or endless text messages about how you said the wrong thing, one time. Turkle explains into how social media is an escape for boring or uncomfortable situations and it gives people a way to explore all the different things they want to do in life. Yet, this escape has become a habit, and people bind their personalities to what is trendy and not ’embarrassing’. When teenagers now communicate, it is disingenuous and about things that they are not really interested in- it is what the internet is interested in.
Overall, I think social media has destroyed our communication and social awareness in ‘real life’. That being said, I will never put down my phone.
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After watching these two TED talks, my opinion on social media has not changed- if anything it has become more amplified. Social media has had more of a negative than positive impact, and has given society a lack of communication skills and social awareness. Alas, the community that social media can give people is paramount- this community can be for good, but also for bad.
This relates to Ronson’s talk as he explains how community is brought by social media and dives into how a hashtag can bind millions of people from all over the world. Yet, in his example it was not used for good. Millions of people joined together to hate and ‘troll’ o, singular woman for a ‘misplaced’ joke. Websites like Google made thousands of pounds from it and eyes were turned away from the real problems that our world face. These people joined together to bring ‘justice’ which ended up being entertainment of a woman’s ruined life. Millions of users took joy and pleasure in watching one woman’s downfall- so does that make social media a good place or not?
Sherry Turkle discusses how social media destroys societies’ communication skills and individuality. She explains how people can be together but on their devies in which they do not speak to each other. As well as this, she explains how teenagers are afraid of ‘real life’ conversations because they cannot undo or re-word what they have said. This anxiety has reached its peak in recent years, the fear of saying the wrong thing can now be turned into a viral post, or endless text messages about how you said the wrong thing. Turkle explains how social media is an escape for many people and gives them an out on uncomfortable situations. It also gives people a way to explore all the things they wish to do and wish to become- by watching a video. Yet, this escape has now become a habit and personalities are built of trends and what is ‘in’. When teenagers communicate, it is about what the internet wants them to be interested in, not what they like.
Overall I think social media has destroyed our communication and our empathy. This being said, there is no amount of money to make me delete it. And that is the real problem.
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I have never known a world without social media, being born in 2008 means that for me-technology has always been a thing and will most likely stay long after me too. I think as humans we rely on interactions with other people to support our wellbeing, and social media and technology has definitely made that easy!
I think that social media has both its ‘pros’ and its ‘cons’, I think social media and technology can be extremely beneficial when it comes to humans wanting to interact with friends or family that may not be able to be visited in person, I think social media makes things a whole lot easier for families and friends to keep in touch over long periods of time and distances. Social media has also provided safe environments for all groups of people to come together- for example members of the LGBTQ. Many members of the LGBTQ may not be able to speak about their sexuality physically, whether its due to fearing homophobia or having strict homophobic families and friends. These are the vulnerable people that may resort to going online and seeking advice or looking for other people that are going through the same circumstances, to perhaps make them feel less alone. This is definitely a good thing about social media and technology as it provides comfort to vulnerable groups of people and can be quite beneficial for people that simply are hungry for human interaction.
However! Nothing made by humans can only ever have positive things about it, so obviously social media and technology has its flaws too. Social media has granted everybody with Wi-Fi and a computer the ability to say what they want- to whoever they want and have no consequence for it! As spoken about in the TED talks, technology let’s people say whatever harmful comments they want (that they probably wouldn’t say in person) to whoever they decide. As Jon Ronson even said that people will make any harmful comment then assume that the receiver will be strong enough to take it- when they really aren’t. This is a negative impact of social media, as it gives anybody the power to lower other people’s self-esteems and mental wellbeing.
Obviously, time cannot be reversed, and now that technology exists- it will never go away. Technology and social media will most likely outlive me and everybody reading this comment. Perhaps technology is what planned humans for failure? Perhaps technology should have never become as advanced as it is today? Personally, when I really think about it, I think that technology should have never been invented, we could have all just remained as brainless humans living in caves with nothing but leopard prints tied round our waists- at least then technology would have never created all the stresses and negativity that it causes today.
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I have always believed social media was a brilliant invention, giving a voice to the voiceless – letting people make new, deep connections with others from all across the world. However, it also buries a shadow of doubt in my mind. It is so easy to shame and dehumanise people (as mentioned in Jon Ronson’s TED talk) – this issue became easier after social media arose. You don’t know anything about the person you’re posting about; you don’t know their life, their achievements, their failures, their perspective. All you know is the one post that made you angry- so angry you felt the need to share it and humiliate them.
In Jon Ronson’s TED talk, he highlights a tweet made by Justine Sacco. This one tweet, that could have been taken in multiple ways, meant her life was dissected. Every aspect scrutinised, trying to back up their claim of racism or white privilege – only appearing in the original insensitive joke. However, Ronson also shared how her tweet may have been the complete opposite of what was perceived, rather than flaunting her white privilege, she was making fun of those who do. This TED talk showed me the dangers of the internet, how one simple sentence can “ruin” someone’s life – making them a scapegoat for profit and self-preservation. He also dives into the topic of how ruthless people may be- spreading information that hasn’t got plausible evidence for the humiliation caused except for their own personal opinion. But does this make them abhorrent people? No. It makes them human. I believe people may get involved because they want to be a part of a community – even if they don’t fully believe in what is being spread. We are so afraid of being singled out or not included I assume we would do anything to be involved- it is just simple human nature.
Moving on to Sherry Turkle’s TED talk, she describes how easily you can connect and be with others but be so alone. Showing how easily our mobile devices and social media shape us, it removes our physical interaction- preferring to just simply text the person next to you rather than actually speak. I found this TED talk so inspiring, making me realise I do this- especially over the summer holidays. When was the last time I actually called my friends? Went to town with them? Had a day off screens? I cannot remember. This depletion of day-to-day interactions has become a global pandemic; Turkle opened my eyes to how the introduction of social media has drastically damaged our ability to talk confidently to a stranger. She also dives into how it troubles how we relate to others yet how we relate to ourselves. We are trying to customize our lives, losing routines, losing relationships, just because we are trying to chase a sense of control. She explains how we can be physically together, yet completely disconnected mentally. We isolate ourselves while being surrounded by people. Connected but alone.
Overall, I believe social media changed how we communicate for the worse. We no longer have sympathy for people – we would rather shame and humiliate others just to feel included from the sanctuary of our bedroom. Our bedroom, that may be filled with family and friends but we would rather be attached to our phones and social media than try to create a physical connection and hold a conversation with them. Furthermore, I believe as a teenager that has grown up with social media all around me – the impacts have felt more significant, more isolating. Each new update stringing me further and further away from my friends and family.
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Isla Palmer
Prior to watching these TED talks I had mixed emotions about social media this is due to the fact that social media has changed the way we socialise and communicate with people face to face. However social media has allowed us to communicate with people hundreds of miles away across oceans and in different times zones. To be able to communicate with someone who isn’t in the same room or even in the same house is outstanding however social media is being used wrong and manipulated for the wrong use like bulling or giving powerful people voices to express feeling about a subject which can be hurtful to others.
After listening to Jon Ronson TED talk it highlighted the negative sides of social media. He expressed that it gives people the power to mock people has you are almost this “faceless” bully whereas in the older day before technology was invented Siber bulling was unheard off due to no social media was around. Another issue the Jon highlighted was the idea of educating people about the use of social media to eradicate these issues.
Furthermore, after listening to Sherry Turkle TED talks highlights to positives parts of social media such as the idea of staying in touch however it allows has created this idea of unknowing how to talk to people. Distance is created as even when you meet up with people it is spent scrolling on TikTok or snapchat. Social media has almost made interactions impossible due to distractions.
After watching both TED talks I do believe that social media has changed the way society communicates and interacts and i feel that social media has it benefits however when you used wrong and abused it can have a massive impact on mental health, friendships or just people physical health die to not excising enough. In addition, it allows people to have a voice who in real life may be too shy to speech up and stand on what they believe in. Therefore, i feel social media has positives if used correctly and doesn’t overtake people’s life.
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Prior to watching the TED talks, my view was that social media has definitely changed the way that we communicate as a society, although I was unsure if the positives outweighed the negatives. During John Ronson’s TED talk, he highlights how social media platforms can instantly destroy someone’s life and reputation with anonymity from behind a screen. He talks about social media creating societal divides and creating a toxic culture as a result of power differences and the shaming of individuals and the choices that they make. This has resulted in empathetic views being somewhat diminished from our society based upon ‘the norm’ of everyday life.
Turkles offers further evidence that social media is ‘sacrificing conversation for more connection’ resulting in individuals being able to take control of their situations more easily, offering them the opportunity to create their own identity online, often differing to their reality, getting to edit ourselves online so generating a false identity. She talks about families ‘being together without being together’ suggesting that they may be physically in the same space but not present with their mind and interactions creating shifts in relationships.
Overall, I believe that social media has improved communication in some ways, particularly in speed and accessibility but it has changed the quality of our interactions. Ideally, finding a balance of using social media and remaining present in every day life will lead to sustainable communication for the future. However, if there is an imbalance between the use of technology and human interaction we may find ourselves out of touch with human reality.
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Social Media has always been an unchecked experiment that has remained something that we have no reflection on. It is something that has a unwavering control on what we do. with everything, there are pros and cons. that is the nature of life. however have we really took a step back and weighed up these factors?
Some people use social media as a way to express themselves showing what they’re doing in life. on platforms such as instagram or snapchat however. our lives become so absorbed into what we put on these platforms. That we forget what our personailties are really about. As in Jon Ronson’s speech he perfectly put it as. one alone pup in the middle of a pack of wolves surrounding it. Social media is a man eat man world. and unless you have a lot of men backing you up, i fear that is good night vienna. People’s lives can get ruined by the most silliest of comments. And you can see that now in the Government that we live under now, that these comments can land you into prision. however they seem to be very two-tier. alas i speak to much.
If what we say and do on social media gets punished then. it will create a median where people will not be so horrible to another and we may finally become united as a society. There is also another killing factor that puts social media on a downwards spiral. the fact that the algorithm that some of these social media platforms have. it can be very dangerous. As i speak on my account, i struggled with life a couple of years ago. and once the algorithm sees that you keep viewing vidoes that will keep you depressed and upset. it places the videos for people to watch like mice traps. waiting for people to get caught in them. and when they do it sets a precedent that we will continue to satisfy the algorithm.
Social interaction. has been adversly affected dramatcially. as all of my friends now are glued to phones with playing video games as well. I ask a simple task of coming to watch my local team AFC North Kilworth. yet they simply are to busy with being glued to social media that they don’t want to come out. I also have conducted my own research into the matter of social interaction. As i feel that the research i found. It perfectly puts my point. most people my age have lost the art of speaking to elders and in person. i was on an away day last season with leicester. a very down and depressing 4-1 defeat away at brentford. as me and my dad were going round the pubs after the game. i started speaking to two old boys about the game. by complete off chance, and me being able to speak in person and not. lose my bottle and not be able to speak is something i hold adhere as. our lives are not simply ran my pixels. it’s ran by ourselves and what we make of it. I also am part of the North Kilworth sports club Committee and the football one too. i also interview the first teams players before and after the match. and share a joke and a drink after the game. but almost everyone my age won’t be able to as their nerves would kick in. i can’t believe we would let such a easy thing to do get away.
If we keep these downward cases in terms of social interaction i fear that we may lose the ability to even speak soon. as it’s just “easier” to speak and do something online.
But social media has its pros. the ability to view things we enjoy. and watch things we enjoy for free on things like tiktok and instagram. it creates collective joy overall. but collective joy will people you don’t know. and will they get to know you? i think not.
Overall, i feel that we almost procrastnate. the issue of social media as we wouldn’t like change however change may be the best thing. not to ruin people’s lives but we ruin our own on their as well. it’s like how the one ring corrupts gollum in the lord of the rings, that is whats happening to us. i think it is time for change
Lewis Simmons.
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Prior to watching both TED talk videos, I had a variety of different ideas of social media and the way it affects others mental and physical health. For example, in a way I viewed technology as a positive aspect of life, providing us with comfort and support when we so desperately want someone to listen when no one else can, providing solidarity. On the other hand, I saw technology as an obstacle impossible to overcome, filled with hatred and criticism ready to jump at us at any moment. However , after watching both videos my views have shifted completely, focusing only on the dehumanising aspect of social media.
In Jon Robson’s talk he expressed the idea of social media being ‘shameful’ as it is a way to punish people who abuse their privilege and sense of power. Robson further shows how this concept may be seen as a positive way of providing a voice to those who are ‘voiceless’ but in reality it only creates a more voiceless society in the process. This is highlighted through Robson’s message that many people on social media create comments that may be seen as funny to them, however could portray a hurtful message, symbolising how messages are very one sided and often misunderstood. These messages which are initially intended to create more humour rather than hatred can publicly deteriorate their reputation, tearing apart their life. Robson’s point of the story referred to throughout this speech is used to show how people are ‘either a hero or villain’ however in reality we are ‘smart and stupid’, further dehumanising the idea that we all have imperfections.
Similarly, Sherry Turkle talks about how at first glance messages can be used to create warmth and comfort such as people sending positive affirmations. However, when we explore technology more, it can create an uncertain path, causing us to lose ourselves in the process. This inspirational message that Turkle portrays helps us to understand how even though technology can be seen as a way to remove grief, it prevents us from spending time alone with ourselves and each other. Turkle highlights how the idea of being alone is essential in life as we are allowed to experience normal emotions and show our imperfections. Whereas, technology can be seen as a way to remove the idea of us ‘living in the moment’ as it ‘deletes’ our past whilst cleaning up our messy human relationships’. This means that eventually our society will lose ourselves and social media will drain our human qualities despite it momentarily inciting pleasure through our ‘comfort devices’
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From the time I first used social media I also felt that I had to option to write anything and everything freely without any backlash and regard for how my comment may impact people reading it. However, I have come to realise that all actions have consequences and this was reinforced by watching both TED talks.
Firstly, in Jon Ronson’s TED talk he discusses how social media is a powerful tool in todays society as it offers people who don’t have a voice the opportunity to speak freely about anything and everything. But as Jon soon brings up is that a simple joke or comment made about someone or something can quickly become your enemy, this opened my eyes as I never realised how so much negativity and judgement from complete strangers can lead to your life being completely wrecked overnight. Furthermore, it makes me realise that I need to deeply think before posting anything on social media due to myself not knowing who I can offend and also if I do see a so called “joke” posted on a platform such as twitter I can’t jump to conclusions before the entire story has been told.
Moving on now to Sherry Turkle, her TED talk has made me realise how much I’ve been neglecting others due to my phone dictating my life because I ignore what’s happening around me to focus on a twenty second video that’s popped up on my FYP. Later on in Sherry’s TED talk she mentions how we aren’t really connecting with one another, after hearing this it made me realise that in person you can tell someone’s emotions by either their facial expressions, tone of voice or even hand gestures. However, over text we don’t have that luxury to know someone’s true emotions and how they feel in that particular moment due to we aren’t making that in-person connection. This has further made me realise that I couldn’t go a few hours without texting someone on my phone and more often then not I text more than I talk to people each and every day.
In summery, both TED talks have made me think that humans say whatever they please on social media possibly because they feel like they need to please their followers or they believe that they cannot be touched hiding behind their profile pictures. Moving forward, I believe that a in-person conversation will be more impactful then simply texting as we have all grown apart from reality and those connections need to be remade.
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Jon Ronson’s explores how social media platforms have gradually become a hotspot of ‘online shaming’, including twitter which in recent years, has become orientated around politics and global issues, therefore acting as an influence on the actions of ordinary people as significant figures such as Elon Musk and Donald Trump outline their views and ideas. Ronson also highlights that social media as a whole has fuelled homophobic and racist behaviour as well as overall inequality, silencing those individuals that the abuse is targeted at.
However, Ronson highlights how this behaviour has started to shed light on issues such as homophobia and racism as ordinary people grow more aware of these types of behaviour so when scrolling through social media, we’d like to hope that they think about what to say on a post before taking action as these issues have brought communities of people together so those people who had lost their voice can regain it and speak louder than ever.
Furthermore, Sherry Turkle’s explains how once again, despite all the negativity it may bring, social media can bring people closer, whether it be friends or family or just two people sharing the same interest, establishing connections between us as it is seen to take the way we communicate as human beings to a whole different level.
As a user of social media myself, I would totally agree that social media can increase communication despite the inequality it cements, as social media has become a pathway for ‘slang’ to be invented and changed throughout generations which I would understand is viewed as controversial by older generations who feel that it is ruining the english language. I would like to think that it could become useful in the future to send warnings if people felt threatened or endangered, as if the purpose of ‘slang’ has changed from casual daily use to almost like code words for different messages or meanings. However, I do worry that future generations will go on to misuse social media entirely, using ‘slang’ to create offence or go on to create ‘slang’ words and use it in a negative manner as it’s purpose anyway, further driving the increase in unacceptable social behaviour for generations to come.
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Before I watched the two videos I believe that overall social media has a positive impact on commutation as it gives everyone a voice for there own opinions which if they were to not have social media would very likely never been heard. It also gives an easy option for people to communicate who may find it more challenging in real world, face to face.
However Jon Ronson does open your eyes to the negative side affects of commutation as people usually remove there filter which they would of had in the real world if they were face to face with the person that they were speaking bad about. It makes people feel comfortable shamming others while there own actions also deserve shame but they don’t receive it as others hype fixate on the Singler person or group that they are shaming and the other also shamming make people more comfortable shamming so they also do it more which creates a domino affect of shamming while they don’t realise the damage it cause to the said person they shame.
Furthermore After watching Sherry Turkles video it made me realise that while people race to talk online they end up disregarding in person connections which ends up isolating them without them realising it as physically they end up having no connections to anyone. They also end up ignoring they daily tasks and responsibility’s in favour of talking or spending there time online which cause’s negative affects in there one personal life and could also affect others around them making them feel unwanted or also isolated as they would prefer to be in there phone then be with them.
Overall i believe social media does have a positive impact on how we communicate but only by a small margin. social media allows everyone to communicate anywhere at any time which helps many people to have meaningful connections however it also gives away for hate and miss information to spread like wild fire as some people sit in wait for something to hate or spread miss information about it as they simply have nothing better too do.
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It is easy to suggest that social media has changed the way in which we communicate for the better. We can text, post, facetime and so many more convenient ways of talking to whoever, whenever.
However, in these TED talks, both Jon Ronson and Sherry Turkle discuss that communication via social media can spiral out of control.
Firstly, Jon Ronson describes how one twitter comment from a woman named Justine Sacco led to an ambush of shaming messages, changing her life forever. Sacco’s comment received responses that were the opposite of what she intended. Her comment, which was supposed to mock privilege views, was seen as a racial attack. Despite the aggressive and vicious messages her comment created, the only person to reap the consequences was Sacco herself. Ronson described that he met Sacco, and despite the cruel labels she was given by twitter users, she was a completely ordinary person. Her comment was blown completely out of proportion by the internet, causing her to get fired from her job, and suffer depression and anxiety. This talk highlights the way that when internet users band together, anyone with a different opinion gets shut down and bullied.
In Turkle’s Ted talk, she reveals that communication via social media has worsened our communication in-person. She goes on to make relatable points such as people preferring online communication over real life conversations due to having time to think and using our phone whenever we seem alone. This leads her on to her paramount concern and focus of the talk. Social media makes us ‘connected but alone’. We rely so much on the safety of online communication that we sacrifice real life connections. The consequences of having our relationships via the device in our pocket catalyses generations of lonely people.
Overall, these TED talks go on to prove that in the long run, social media hasn’t changed communication for the better, as it can so easily spiral out of our control.
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At first, i believed social media contributed positively to the ways in which we communicate. It seemed to make the world feel smaller by giving us the ability to connect instantly with our friends, family and even strangers across the globe. Social media platforms granted easy access to sharing ideas, maintaining relationships and listen to voices we might never have heard otherwise. In many ways , social media felt like a tool to encourage expression and individuality.
However, overtime my view has shifted greatly. Social media has became corrupted by toxicity and its atmosphere of genuine communication has been replaced by performance. Instead of encouraging people to express who they truly are, it pressures them to conform to modern day trends and unrealistic standards. The focus of social media today is less on honest interaction and more on projecting an image that fits what is deemed popular or acceptable.
As a result of this, my opinion is that we have became too afraid to be ourselves. Many people hesitate to express their thoughts, interests , or imperfections because they fear judgement or exclusion. The platforms that once promised openness now encourage comparison and inevitable insecurity. Social media often limits and shapes our identities to fit into narrow molds; therefore, for these reasons i no longer see communication through social media as positive or beneficial.
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At first, I honestly thought social media was a good thing for the way we communicate. It made the world feel smaller and more connected, letting us talk instantly with friends and family, and even with people we’d never normally meet. It seemed like a place to share ideas, keep in touch, and hear voices we wouldn’t otherwise come across. In that sense, it felt like it encouraged individuality and self-expression.
But over time, my perspective has changed. Social media now feels less like a space for real communication and more like a stage where everyone is performing. Instead of showing who they really are, people often feel pushed to follow trends or present a version of themselves that will get approval. The emphasis has shifted from being genuine to fitting into what’s popular or acceptable.
Because of this, many of us hold back from being ourselves online. We second-guess what we post, worrying about how others will see us. What started as a tool for openness has ended up promoting comparison, insecurity, and uniformity. Rather than broadening how we connect, social media often narrows it, shaping our identities to match unrealistic standards. That’s why I don’t view its impact as positive anymore.
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Jon Ronson’s explores how social media platforms have gradually become a hotspot of ‘online shaming’, including twitter which in recent years, has become orientated around politics and global issues, therefore acting as an influence on the actions of ordinary people as significant figures such as Elon Musk and Donald Trump outline their views and ideas. Ronson also highlights that social media as a whole has fuelled homophobic and racist behaviour as well as overall inequality, silencing those individuals that the abuse is targeted at.
However, Ronson highlights how this behaviour has started to shed light on issues such as homophobia and racism as ordinary people grow more aware of these types of behaviour so when scrolling through social media, we’d like to hope that they think about what to say on a post before taking action as these issues have brought communities of people together so those people who had lost their voice can regain it and speak louder than ever.
Furthermore, Sherry Turkle’s explains how once again, despite all the negativity it may bring, social media can bring people closer, whether it be friends or family or just two people sharing the same interest, establishing connections between us as it is seen to take the way we communicate as human beings to a whole different level.
As a user of social media myself, I would totally agree that social media can increase communication despite the inequality it cements, as social media has become a pathway for ‘slang’ to be invented and changed throughout generations which I would understand is viewed as controversial by older generations who feel that it is ruining the english language. I would like to think that it could become useful in the future to send warnings if people felt threatened or endangered, as if the purpose of ‘slang’ has changed from casual daily use to almost like code words for different messages or meanings. However, I do worry that future generations will go on to misuse social media entirely, using ‘slang’ to create offence or go on to create ‘slang’ words and use it in a negative manner as its purpose anyway, further driving the increase in unacceptable social behaviour for generations to come.
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Before watching these TedTalks, I had mixed opinions on social media. On one hand, I thought social media was a great place to connect with people from a variety of backgrounds that had similar interests and beliefs but that it could also be a place of hypercriticism. However, after watching them I’m more inclined to believe it’s harmed communication more than helped it.
During Ronson’s talk, he explains the impact social media can have on people’s lives. The showcase of the negative side of social media highlights the huge impact one statement on social media can have on people’s entire lives. This made me aware of how these platforms enable many people to attack individuals online from an anonymous account that completely protects them from criticism for their actions. This allows for negative communication to become increasingly more common as it can be completely guilt free.
Additionally, Turkle’s talk also showed the negative side of social media and how it’s decreased opportunities for face to face human interaction and therefore reducing the amount of connections we have. This also decreases connections between families as younger generations have immediate access to communicate with their friends and peers and so seek out less communication with their family members, creating more isolation between people in the real world.
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