Social Media Loneliness

Social media greatly contributes to increase feelings of loneliness in our world. Firstly, people start to depend on social media as a source of entertainment, and eventually forget how to socialize in person. From a young age, children are being introduced to websites that make it possible to talk with friends, without actually talking. Social media causes people to replace real life communication with typing through a screen. It tricks the mind into thinking that they are being social, when in reality they are spending more time isolated on a screen than interacting in real life, which evidently leads to more feelings of loneliness. A University of Michigan study found "Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction." (Hu, National Public Radio, Aug

These harsh remarks leave people feeling poorly about themselves and lonely. In addition, comparing oneself to others on social media affects how one thinks about themselves. In a survey conducted at the University of Salford, about half of the "298 participants noted that their self-esteem suffers when they compare their own accomplishments to those of their online friends." (Indvik, Mashable, July 8, 2012) Lastly, spending so much time secluded from the real world causes the most important people in our lives start to gradually drift away. Valuable relationships are lost due to deficiency of a face-to-face connection. Not only does it mean slowly losing friends or family members, it means losing people you can surround yourself with for vulnerable and lonely times. "In 1985, only 10% of Americans said they had no one with whom to discuss important matters, and 15% said they only had one such good friend. By 2004, 25% had nobody to talk to, and 20% had only one