SOCIAL MEDIA: Is Technology marginalising our society?

As a digital native, most of my life has revolved around using various technologies.

In my early childhood this technology was somewhat limited, but it was there. However, the older I am getting, the more technology is becoming part of my day to day living.

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My childhood consisted of finding ways to gain enjoyment out of the natural environment around me, and spending most days outside, playing with friends.

Whereas, the majority of children today spend their time inside using the latest technology, not only for enjoyment but to interact with their friends. And this is my point exactly, is technology marginalising societies willingness to interact in person?

Historically, the whole "sitting in front of a computer" was always associated with the "geek" of society, and predominantly deemed to be uncool. Now it seems as though this coin has been flipped entirely.

No longer is the use of technology associated with such inferior adjectives, even Hollywood has recently glamorised the once "geek," in 'The Social Network' for example. It is becoming more and more easy to fall into the 'reclusivity' trap.

Now don't get me wrong, I agree with a significant amount of benefits that technology provides, it is vital for pretty much everything we do in this day and age, but have we gone too far? Are we moving towards a world where face to face interaction will become obsolete? Will there be a need or in fact a desire to talk in person?

Arguably the biggest contributor to the questions aforementioned, is that of the introduction of social networking. My first taste of this came in the 'MSN' days, where emoticon's were used after every other word, and emails were exchanged in school or on holiday.

Then came the turn of bebo and myspace respectively, which incorporated further advances with the option to have a profile and bio.

These however, fell by the way side when Facebook made its entrance in early 2004, which is now used by close to one sixth of the worlds population. When you consider the significant percentage of people who live in poverty and haven't access to a computer or internet, and those who are too young to make a profile, this number shortens even more.

In recent years, Twitter has began to truly compete as a global phenomenon with the likes of Facebook, mainly because it allows users to gain a true insight into the lives of celebrities.

There has become an inherent desire to increase the followers each individual has, and in reality all that really is, is a number on a screen. When you strip social networking back to the basics, is it all just a bunch of numbers? How can you truly display your personality through the medium of social media?

The problem I see with social media sites in particular, is that a lot of people cannot find a balance between that and socialising itself.

I for one spend "too much" time trawling through my Facebook and Twitter news feeds, when in all actuality, unless I am learning something or enjoying what it is I am reading, then my times being wasted. It has got to a point where we cannot really get away from social media.

If I am not using it on my computer at home, then I will be checking for updates on my phone. At what point can ones time spent on social media sites be classed as an addiction?

Whilst studying for my degree at University, on countless occasions when working in public environments I would see other students flicking between their work and social media.

I wouldn't allow myself to use social media whilst working, as I knew it was too much of a distraction. It would have been fascinating to research how these sites affected both the focus and the overall attainment of those particular students. I can't help but feel that the likelihood of a negative correlation would have been high.

Similarly, when going out to eat recently with a couple of family friends, I got chatting to the manager of the restaurant, who had been in the role for a significant period. After some discussion, he mentioned how socialising was becoming less and less frequent, and that on one occasion a large group of girls ate, and all they did was sit on their phones in silence. I

find it ironic that sites like Facebook and Twitter, fall under the name 'Social Networking,' when socialising itself, well to me anyway, is the act of interacting with friends, family and colleagues in person.

Now don't get me wrong, in no way do I disagree with social networking. I believe there to be a plethora of benefits in using it. It is a multimedia platform that has revolutionised the world as we now know it, and has become the main form of interaction, as well as a global opportunity for businesses through advertising.

The world is constantly changing, and no month, or even week is the same, due to the advances in technology. Each day something new and innovative is created, and who knows what is round the corner?

In some respects it excites me to think about what the next big advancement will be, but my only hope is that marginalisation doesn't occur, not in my lifetime anyway!

The minute we become entirely reliant upon technology, where face-to-face interaction isn't required, will be a hateful day in my opinion. Do I believe this will happen? There is a definite possibility, but I truly hope not.