The use of Social Media is replacing face-to-face contact with many people. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

As recently, huge technology advancements had occurred, many aspects of our lives have been affected by

this

phenomenon and one of which is our social interactions. Since social

media

apps had been developed, most of our face-to-face contacts have become obsolete.

This

change in our behaviour offers certain advantages like enabling accessibility while bringing disadvantages like providing an illusion of a utopian lifestyle. To commence with, we discuss the benefits of social

media

.

Firstly

,

in contrast

with traditional face-to-face interactions, technology offers a method to make contact with whomever we want in a matter of seconds.

For instance

, if you want to talk to your friend from another country, you could do that by a simple video call while the other way would be to book for planes, travel for a day or two and

then

you could meet him in person.

Secondly

, since all the travelling costs have been cut, you can make contact many times cheaper.

On the other hand

, social

media

has its own demerits.

Although

it has enabled us with easier social interactions, it

also

has provided a choice of selective projection of our lives. Since most people are not comfortable sharing their unpleasant moments and experiences, social

media

has transformed into a utopian community in where everyone is a contented individual with a successful career.

As a result

, most users tend to get more depressed by comparing their real-life to the illusion appeared by their friends.

For example

, as a 24-year-old student when I see celebrities and successful entrepreneurs, I can't help but feel frustrated. Set

this

aside, another disadvantage of social

media

comes with the lack of body language observation. As an evolved species,

this

physical interaction plays a crucial role in our mutual understandings.

Therefore

by contacting in virtual environments, we are discarding

this

factor which would probably lead to miscommunication. In conclusion, social

media

has provided many benefits like 24/7 contact availability, while bringing disadvantages like misunderstandings and depression.

However

, in my opinion, the merits far outweigh its demerits.