Social Media has become an integral part of contemporary life. It is hard to imagine a single minute without using Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, etc. People use social media to communicate, share information, and entertain themselves. The majority of people generally prefer to spend hours sitting in front of their PC or smartphone. They can chat, which is one of the most common things to do when using social media, or watch different video content: from cute videos with cats to nuclear fusion explanations. Social media is also a vast opportunity for start-ups, as do my PowerPoint presentation for me especially when finding necessary investments and attaining public attention is essential.  Therefore, social media has a substantial positive effect on real-life communication by providing an opportunity for people to communicate freely with each other regardless of distance and time, but at the same time, it negatively affects oral and written language skills.

The ability to communicate freely regardless of distance is a substantial positive effect of social media on real-life communication. It must be said that the invention of the Internet has made communication much faster and more reliable than it has ever been before. Communication has always been crucial not only as a means of survival but also as a powerful weapon. In the modern era, information does not have that “vital” role anymore yet remains an even more potent weapon. Social media has affected these aspects the most because it has drastically changed the way information is transferred. Nowadays, a single click can send gigabytes of information to the designated receiver, thus, making information even more crucial and necessary.

Second, people are now able to communicate without borders and obstacles. Our relatives seem just as close to us even if they are in other parts of the world: one should just make several clicks and freely communicate with them online. Additionally, people can find many more friends than they have been ever able to. Nowadays, everyone has dozens of so-called friends on Facebook or other social networking sites. One can communicate with them, have mutual hobbies, or even fall in love, which was impossible before. In the “old times,” one had to meet someone out in the café, streets, at work, at school, etc. Nowadays, everything we need to do nowadays is sit in front of the computer and look for friends, lovers, mates, etc.

However, social media has also negatively affected real-life communication skills, thus making them less relevant in people’s everyday lives. As mentioned earlier, people can find friends on the Internet but it brings along negative tendencies. People have become more shy and they do not know how to properly communicate, especially in formal situations. It can be considered the most negative effect that social media can have on real-life communication. It is also worth mentioning that people who dedicate much time to social media are generally less literate. They also tend to shorten words and sentences hence making it impossible to maintain grammar and communication skills on the proper level.

In conclusion, social media can affect real-life communication in various ways. It generally helps people to connect with their distant relatives and find more people to befriend or even fall in love with, but it also strongly affects the way people perceive language and hold discussions. Essentially, the development of a new Internet language can be regarded as a relatively negative implication. It is important to understand that the human species has evolved through the development of intensive communication and people should not forget real-life communication. On the contrary, they should further develop both written and oral real-life communication.

• Adem Martin
• Alex Koval
• Martin Wilson
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