At the present stage of development, the modern world is characterized by the influence of social media: they have become an integral part of people’s everyday lives. As a result, the way people communicate and interact is now different from what it used to be. In other words, the dynamics are different. Konnikova refers to the research conducted by Dunbar and informs that “The amount of social capital you have is pretty fixed” (238). It means that the number of individuals a person can meet and associate with is limited. In the context of social media, the essence of communication is new, and the question is how people will develop their social skills in these circumstances. According to Maria Konnikova, social media have altered the authenticity of relationships: the world where virtual interactions are predominant is likely to change the next generation in terms of the ability to develop full social awareness in the context of real-life communication and interact online.
Initially, communication among people demanded the cultivation of relationships face to face. One cannot have unlimited contacts. The studies demonstrate that “the number of people the average could have in her social group was a hundred and fifty” (Konnikova 236). It is the nature of a human being that makes them include approximately 150 persons in their social circle. The number of people who may be invited to a large party exemplifies this characteristic. The author argues that early childhood experiences form future social relationships and interactions. This idea seems relevant to any society: people’s background prescribes a certain model of social behavior that will be used in adulthood. To put it bluntly, children translate their real-life experience into their future.
However, in the context of social media, the situation is different. One of the most important features is the lack of touching. According to the research, it plays a significant role for human beings since it provokes emotions directly connected with communication (Konnikova 239). Deprived of touching, a person interacts in a different way. Social media give the opportunity to exchange facts, but they cannot provide tactile perception. As a result, they cannot replace the face to face full communication. People do not communicate in the usual way: they do not obtain most of the non-verbal information even if they use, for instance, video. Something is always missing. The author conveys the idea that communication almost equals to guesstimation. It is unknown how the next generation will communicate face to face: the level of social awareness is likely to decrease.
Apart from the different contents of communication, social media also enlarge people’s circle of acquaintances. The number of contacts rises dramatically. A human being contacts not only with persons from the same city but also from all over the world – there are no barriers. However, the majority of these people are not friends or relatives. The author gives an objective assessment of these social networks. Facebook “allows you to keep track of people who would otherwise effectively disappear” (Konnikova 237).
To sum it up, social media have changed human interaction to a large extent. The way people view their partners in real-life differs from communication within online settings. What the future holds is not clear, but Maria Konnikova attempts to analyze the current tendencies and arrives at the conclusion that people may become less communicative in terms of face to face interaction. Taking into account the present-day environment, online friends will probably continue to be more important for people than their real-life fellows.
Works Cited
Konnikova, Maria. “The Limits of Friendship.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. Ed. Barclay Barrios. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. 236-239. Print.