Social Media and the Personal Connection

            I read an article this evening on Mashable that suggests that social media is making us less connected on a face-to-face conversational level. While I agree that our social skills have begun to deteriorate on a personal level I believe our social skills otherwise have increased. The MIT psychologist Turkle, who is referenced in the article, almost seems to be a bit of a technology curmudgeon, similar to Andrew Keen, however, not nearly as dramatic and paranoid.

            I understand Turkle’s concerns but I believe the advantages of social media and other forms of technology drastically outweigh the weaknesses. Not only do these technologies benefit the general public but they also benefit journalists. Journalists are already accustomed to communicating with the public at large but technology now allows the public to communicate with the journalists. This is a valuable tool that will give journalists different public perspectives on possibly important issues.