Nothing that involves psychology is easy to understand!! Don't beat yourself up over that!
Is this the article?
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/
"Is Facebook making us lonely"
Just to check my understanding on this article,I decided to write a summary.. Please check by reading this article..
Basically the author is trying to say that Facebook connects people with each other but it does not bond people together,as does communicating face to face does,thus causing loneliness.
I don't quite get this: "the danger with Facebook is not that it lets us isolate ourselves,but that it threatens to alter the very nature of solitude"
Does this mean that we become more narcissistic as we become more lonely?
I also don't understand this: "Facebook denies us a pleasure whose profundity we had underestimated: the chance to forget about ourselves for a while,the chance to disconnect."
Does this mean that Facebook causes us to think about ourselves too much that we need to fulfill ourselves to not be lonely? Is the author trying to say that disconnecting ourselves from Facebook allows us to experience solitude,which involved self-reflection?
By the way,do you think that I am not smart because I don't understand this article?
Any tips to help me become a better reader?
2 answers
I compare direct interpersonal relationship and Facebook to the analogy of sugar vs. saccharine, respectively. Both can give us an immediate sweet taste, but only sugar leads to nourishment. With direct personal interaction, not only do you have verbal interaction, but also a multitude of nonverbal cues, facial expressions, body movements, etc. Also you cannot hug on Facebook.
If you emotionally close to others but separated in location, Facebook is a good substitute, but so is the telephone, Face Time and e-mail, which are less public. Thus you can share with specific others, and the communication can be confidential.
I don't know if this is helpful, but here are a couple of articles on loneliness.
http://drdavespsychologypage.homestead.com/Loneliness.pdf
http://drdavespsychologypage.homestead.com/Lonely_Holidays.pdf
If you emotionally close to others but separated in location, Facebook is a good substitute, but so is the telephone, Face Time and e-mail, which are less public. Thus you can share with specific others, and the communication can be confidential.
I don't know if this is helpful, but here are a couple of articles on loneliness.
http://drdavespsychologypage.homestead.com/Loneliness.pdf
http://drdavespsychologypage.homestead.com/Lonely_Holidays.pdf
1 answer