Social media is changing how we relate and interact with each other. Before social media our relationships were purely based on face to face connections and real world actions. Since the emergence of different social media outlets more and more relationships have been based simply off of what is said and done online. This does not allow for a healthy thriving relationship because of the lack of personal connection. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of facebook, is quoted by Susan Greenfield in her book titled “Mind Change” as saying “Relationships are the fundamental unit of out society (Greenfield 99). Not only is this statement true it is also proven by science. In the same article Greenfield shares the statistic that “Women with fewer social relationships experience strokes at twice the rate of those with more, after adjusting for all other possible factors” (99). This was found in 2008 during a psychosomatic medicine study done by professionals on regular individuals like you and me. This overwhelming statistic not only supports the claim that the new way that we are forming connections is in fact bad for us but it also raises the issue of how we maintain healthy relationships using a hybrid of personal and online forums. Equal parts of both on line and in person connection are necessary. If people do not participate is real world conversation and socialization and they will have less successful social connections leading to a decline in their health.
