Category: Family

Does Social Media Isolate People?

Social media is designed to be, well, social. But does it actually have the opposite effect, isolating users?

People who use a social media platform do it to keep in touch with people.

You might use Facebook to keep tabs on your family, or maybe LinkedIn to see what your co-workers or others in your field are up to. You might find people who share your interests on Meetup, or perhaps you follow your favorite celebrities on Instagram. Or, alternately, you may just like watching funny videos from random strangers on Tik Tok.

Whichever platform you use, one of the frameworks commonly used is to track and display your connections. They literally display the size of your social network.

That doesn’t sound isolating at all. Just the opposite, in fact. You are plugged in to everything that is happening with the people that interest you.

The end result, though, can be quite different. While you are socially connected to people, that connection is most often just online. There is no body language, no touch, no physical interaction at all. For animals that evolved in a tribe, that lack of in-person communication can be isolating.

In addition, seeing pictures from your friends and family of their highlights might only remind you of your own shortcomings. Look at the delicious meal that you are not eating! On the vacation you are not taking! With the beautiful family that you don’t have!

On top of that, there is the possibility of doom scrolling, and being bombarded with dis- and mis-information.

How do you see this? Is social media a new way to connect with others? Or is it instead a way to make you feel more alone than ever?

Related questions: What do you get out of social media? How has social media changed your social life? Why does social media often bring out the worst in us? Can an Internet friend be a true companion?

How Important Is Family?

Many of our holiday traditions are centered around family. But just how important are the people related to us, and how do they impact our lives?

If pop culture is to be believed, family is all important. Gathering together, exchanging gifts, eating a festive meal — that’s the image we have of the season. There are numerous songs, movies, and TV shows that make this point. Businesses even try and draw that comparison: “When you are here, you are family.”

But is that true? Of course, it is important to be supported and to be loved. That support and love, however, could just as easily come from friends or neighbors as from people who are genetically related.

In fact, who you are related to is somewhat random. Parents know that their kids can be wildly different from one another. One might be athletic, another studious and uncoordinated. One loud and outgoing, another quiet and shy. There is no guarantee that you will share traits or interests with someone who happens to be a sibling, parent, cousin, aunt or uncle.

It is difficult to deny, however, the role that our relatives play in our lives.  Our parents provide guidance and support. Siblings are often drawn close from the shared formative experiences they have.

Is that simply a remnant of our evolutionary development? Humans evolved as hunter gatherers, where a tightly-woven clan probably increased the odds of survival. Of course, what was true for our ancestors may also be true for us.

As you maybe visiting some right now or in the past week or two, ask yourself: How important is family?

Related questions: Why do we feel the need to belong? How have your parents influenced you? What does the holiday mean to you? Is your pet part of your family?