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Social Networking and the Real World

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Social Networking and the Real World The cell phone. Seems like there is one glued to the hand of every person you pass. When you are in a restaurant, how many tables are holding real conversation, and how many are just buzzing and clicking away? In a world full of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and texting, what has happened to a real face to face connection, not just finding the nearest wireless one? I will admit, I am on social media. I have Facebook, and text when it is a simple non-urgent matter. But more so, I value having face to face time. My best friend has made me realize this with the job that she has recently taken. She is currently traveling the country and doing catering for different concerts. Nothing is better than sitting across from her at a table in a restaurant after being away for several weeks, or even months, and just talking about what has happened in our lives since we last saw each other. We make it a point to leave our phones in the car, or the corner of the room we are sitting in. Just so we can have that quality time together before she has to leave again. While she is away, I get a few text messages here and there, and mostly see how she is doing, and where she is at via Facebook updates and Snapchat “story” updates. For someone that I have known for eight years, I find it sad that our friendship has taken this unfulfilling turn. Unfortunately, situations like mine are beginning to happen more and more, across the nation and across the world. As Facebook becomes the best way to catch up with far away family and Twitter the source of our news, we feel like we are more connected than ever, when in fact, we couldn’t be more wrong. Sherry Turkle, a radio and media commentator, evaluates how technology effects our relationships in her essay “Connectivity and Its Discontents.” In the essay, Turkle tells about an

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