Social Networking

Okay guys. Let's get serious for a moment. I recently read two articles pertaining to a widely debated topic. I know what you're thinking "Is this dress blue / black or white / gold?" (Totally blue / black by the way). Is that even still a thing that people are talking about? I doubt it. Unfortunately, that's not what we will be discussing today.


Anyway. Like I said, I just read two articles not about a confusing dress, but about social networking. One article from www.theguardian.com was basically about how social media is affecting teens. The second article from www.inc.com said that research has shown that the use of social media is making people stupid, thus its title.


Thompson writes in his article that social media is making teens antisocial and that they are unable to connect with people in "real life". However, Thompson also includes that some social networking is beneficial. But the article claims that research has also shown that these kids do interact with others their own age. Ultimately, Thompson states in the article that parents should allow the social networking in moderation, and set a good example for their kids with their own cell phone use.


In the second article, Stillman argues that social media does, in fact, make people stupid. "It could be making you dumber by supplying answers and insights without requiring any actual thinking, so that your analytic powers begin to waste away like an unused muscle" (Stillman). She makes the strong point that the brain is a muscle and, like all muscles, if you don't use it you lose it. The Internet can give you the answer to almost any question, so with the world at our fingertips, there is a serious lack of critical thinking.


Personally, I believe that both of these articles make very valid and mostly true points. Many teens may spend too much time on their phones and on all of the social media websites, but they really should do so in moderation. Also, I completely agree that although it is so much easier to get all of our answers from the Internet, we should really strive to rely on our own thinking and exercise our brains.


Here are the articles that are discussed in this post:

http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/social-media-is-making-you-stupid.html

Stillman, Jessica. "Social Media Is Making You Stupid." www.inc.com. N.p., 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.



http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/05/teens-social-networking-good-for-them

Thompson, Clive. "Teenagers and Social Networking – It Might Actually Be Good for Them." www.theguardian.com. N.p., 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.