Blog Post 8

Social media has completely revolutionized the way that we communicate with each other. Now anyone, anywhere, at anytime can be contacted via twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and numerous other social networking sites. Social networking has also changed the way business is done. Now a businessman in New York can attend a presentation or interview in Dubai, without ever having to leave his desk through Facebook video chat. Social media has also proved very useful for various businesses, for social networking has proven to be a great way to promote a business. Also, you can find almost everyone on social media, which has allowed childhood friends, or loved ones who live overseas to connect with one another and get a look into what is going on in their life. Social media has brought along a lot of positive things to it, though as with almost all technology, there are some negative repercussions. I think that with so many ways to communicate through social media it has begun to take the human element out of communication. Instead of meeting face to face, or at least talking on the phone, many choose to communicate through the keys on a computer. True, it is more convenient, fast, and less intimidating then talking face to face with someone, but communicating through social media takes away from the real human connection during communication because it is so impersonal. Also, everyone needs practice talking to people in person, for it is very important to have good speaking skills in the business world, and just life in general. I believe social media has become an easy alternative for people to communicate, for when chatting online or sending an email you always have time to think of what to say, and usually your in your own comfortable environment. Though, the easy thing is not always the right thing to do. Now people are not getting that same practice of socializing face to face as they would otherwise, thus many are not very good at retaining real-time conversations. For me, there have been a few times when I would just rather email my boss then have a potentially awkward interaction face to face.  I don’t think my use of social media has totally undermined my ability to retain real-time conversations, but I definitely think I would be better at it if that was the only way I chose to communicate. I actually try to call during business situations, for I believe that calling someone or talking to them face to face, even though it may not be the most convenient, is the most effective way of communication. At my internship at KJR I actually have never used social media in my work there. All of the communication I have done there has either been face to face or over the phone. I am very grateful of this because it will only give me more practice for having real-time conversations.