Online Socialization vs. Face-to-face Interactions

 

Online Socialization vs. Face-to-face Interactions

 

Writing Prompt

Nowadays, more people are choosing to socialize online rather than face to face. Do you think this is positive or negative development?

 

Over the decades, the Internet has immensely revolutionized communications to such an extent that it is now our preferred medium of everyday interaction. With the exponential growth of the social networking platforms, the majority of tech-savvy people, especially the millennials, prefer to socialize virtually rather than face to face. From my perspective, this is a negative development which could lead to j cyber fraud and k leakages of confidential information despite some advantages.

Undeniably, Internet-based socialization has given people immediate access to staying digitally connected while being physically apart. This function seems to have filled the gap for the isolation created by mandatory quarantine and lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic that is still raging across the world. For example, after the interpersonal interactions have been interrupted by an invisible, life-threatening disease, billions of people worldwide have hunkered down at home, observing governments’ social distancing guidelines in order to flatten the curve of COVID-19. In response to the unprecedented crisis, people have turned to cutting-edge technologies such as Google Meet and Skype to maintain social connections. However, this does not necessarily imply that every form of communication can be replaced by the internet.

In fact, the first serious problem arising from socializing online is internet fraud which is rampant in the countries with the highest broadband penetration rate. There is evidence that the impacts of cybercrime can range from emotional betrayal to financial loss. For instance, the federal government of the United States cracked down on a transnational fraud ring involved in conspiracy to defraud pensioners of about $980 million. Online fraudsters of this illegal organization created a fake identity using their “sweet” words to gain the trust of the elderly who failed to stay vigilant against the pitfalls behind the cyber world. Then, these honey-mouthed scammers cajoled the gullible victims into wiring large sums of money to their checking accounts before they disappeared forever.

Another repercussion is the risks associated with the leakages of personal information. People might send private photos or reveal passwords to the ones they socialize with. Nevertheless, they are unaware that online scammers might photoshop the pictures or misuse the confidential information for their own benefit. Even more disturbing, though, is that some computer geeks might feel intimidated by someone who shares their intimate photos without their consent, and reporting the crime becomes the only way in which otaku can retrieve their digital information.

In conclusion, the negative impacts of online socialization, such as internet fraud and leakage of personal information, far outweigh the benefits it can bring to people. Although it has become more popular for people to socialize through the internet, it has brought about too many problems for this to be considered a positive trend. Therefore, people should strike a balance between online and face-to-face interactions.