Nowadays, an increasing number of people meet and talk to their friends online instead of in person. Some people warn that this is a negative development which can lead to potentially harmful situations and also problems later on in our life. Why it can be harmful and what is the critical issues for us? This essay will discuss about both viewpoint.
Positive development
Current social online tool is greatly developed to have a meeting while seeing their face online, or sharing some data and information over the screen. Text message on mobile phone with some sticker can share real-time feeling beyond distance. Wherever and whenever we are, we can communicate each other. This is time and cost-effective way for both sides. It seems to be perfect tool. However, in reality, it’s not.
Negative development
Mental matter
One serious problem that can arise from people socializing online is that it can lead to isolation. Before the internet, people would frequently go out to meet friends in café, bars or restaurant, whereas now people prefer to stay at home alone, chatting online. As a result, people start spending majority of their time at home. This is not healthy and can sometimes lead to depression and other issues.
Issue for children
Another issue is that meeting people via online can be risky. In other words, people can assume fake identities online as well as hide their true characteristics. This is particularly concerning for teenagers who are impressionable and can easily be led into dangerous situations. Since this interaction is online, parents have no way of monitoring it and protecting their children.
Impact on remote worker
For people working at companies, it is not big issue if they can see each other physically. Occasional indirect meeting must be required for quick update. However, for some international companies which have employees who work from home only, it is quite difficult to establish trustworthy relationship with other employees as they cannot see directly each other easily.
Some executive, management team and investors don’t take it seriously. This is because they are focused on up-down of sales result and the stocks over the computer mainly and cannot see the issue. However, people who contribute company’s success are employees. Although it may not easy for executive people to take care of employees’ feeling and human quality, leaders should take some action for healthy internal relationship.
Regarding remote worker, self-management must be required in order to maintain good work-life balance.
Privacy matter
Finally, some photos on social media may cause some troubles. Some of them may share photos with intimate communication with other friends. This leads to break up relationship or trustworthiness. Therefore, cautious maintenance is required occasionally to protect themselves. This situation is currently critical for many people, especially for teenagers who do not think carefully before posting online.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although it has become more popular for people to socialise through the internet, we need to understand the serious challenge and the convenience separately. The challenge can be privacy and mental health.
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