Perhaps, everybody has noticed how easy it is to stand alone in the creeping spider web of the digital world. You’re spending all day on an online platform, with a bunch of friends no less than several dozen people. With all those likes and cutest cats on the page. And still, you feel there is no one with whom you can have a word. This narrative sounds very familiar.
There is a strong belief that social nets could save us from loneliness, negative emotions, etc. These mostly unconscious reasonings are particularly relevant for the younger generation, which had less experience in real-world communication as compared to their parents and grandparents. Proceeding from this assumption, it should be highlighted that whether this is Facebook or Twitter, Tinder or Badoo, they all are just substitutes. And we know that substitutes can rarely be good.
According to this point of perspective, I need to claim that social nets cannot teach social skills. If you are modest, then social nets might help at first. But later everything regains earlier momentum.
I remember the time when I was a schoolgirl. I was a painfully shy child who lived in virtual isolation. Having one friend was enough. Completely enough. However, with the advent of the Internet and social nets, I began to feel safe-protected in online interactions. Nobody knew about my character and my habits. There was nothing to be afraid of, even to an introverted type of person, like me. However, as soon as I felt people got down too far in the weeds, I could change profiles or nicknames in the snap of a finger.
That was not the only problem point regarding social media. Having hundreds of friends, likes, and messages, something that was beyond my wildest dreams in real life, there was no one to trust and tell what was in my heart. No one was sufficiently close.
This story is not about me. It is about the whole generation who feel the same, stumbling through the darkness of the Internet. They do not clear the hurdles and shed inhibitions. They try to find the shortest route through the social nets. However, the truth is that we need to go out and confront reality anyhow.
Anastasia is an enthusiastic writer. Her major is Journalism. She has a passion and desire to discover something new and valuable while writing.
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