Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

Technology has become such an integral part of our everyday lives. Additionally, social media has taken that attachment to technology to the next level. With this increased attachment, it is argued that social media, specifically Facebook, is making users lonely. How? With the incessant need for likes and approval by subscribers and followers is taking over our feelings, and creating this sense of loneliness when our expectations are not met.

The article “Facebook making us lonely?” by Stephen Marche talks about how the connection to social media is making our ability to connect to humans more difficult. This social media connection is making its users more introverted and isolated, because all the human contact they need is through their technology. However, Eric Kilienberg’s “Facebook Isn’t Making Us Lonely” contradicts Marche’s article by explaining that there isn’t evidence to support that people are becoming more lonely because of social media. Additionally, “The Intimacy of Anonymity” suggests that users sharing too much of their personal life on Facebook makes if feel like a reality TV show. The search for approval and “likes” create the social media culture that is over-sharing.

Technology has proved to be an important part of our history’s evolution, but social media is taking that evolution to a level that makes people think the users are lonely. Facebook is a good example of an outlet that allows people to share their personal lives to everyone that follows them. However, that ease has caused users to over share their information, and seek for approval through social media rather than in person. This concept is what makes people believe social media users are isolated from human contact, and are connected to technological devices that supply us with media connection.

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