Elijah Garcia

Professor McGriff

ENC 1101

4/2/2018

Social media, the result of the ever-growing evolution of communication. It has come a

long way from where it once began; but we humans fear this change because we don’t want to

change. We fear this change will turn us into mindless brain-dead tech zombies and limit our

communication skills, but I am here to explain and support why I believe social media is

increasing the way we communicate. The first reason enlarging social interaction, the next

reason is the increase of the English language, and finally how they limit of communication have

expanded. Many famous icons of history despised it and yet look at the world now striving and

evolving, every day we make great discoveries and it is because of “Social Media” but I have

reasons and facts to prove that social media is only expanding the way we communicate and

evolving our skills.

To begin with I believe that social media is enlarging our “social interaction”, but first

let’s see what the world “Social Media” is because modern day because many of the elderly and

intellectuals claim, “Social Media and texting” is nothing but a bunch of teens using Snapchat,

Facebook, and Instagram but from Tufts University say, “Social media refers to the means of

interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in

virtual communities and networks”. Now another question was “Social Media” around in the

past, yes it was. In fact, the earliest facts of social media were around dated as far back as the

550 B.C with postal services then later in the 1770’s the telegraph machine, we associate “Social

Media and Texting” in the wrong way today such as Facebook as I stated earlier but remember
Tuft University says what social media is and apply it to the past where the internet never existed

yet people were still able to share ideas, thoughts, opinions and communicate. Back to topic and

enough of a brief history lesson social media has brought the world closer together. Whenever

you see someone on their phone what do you think they’re doing, they’re interaction and talking

to other people; one guy is probably texting his mom state, another is probably emailing his

homework to his professor at the last minute because he completely forgot the due date or simply

didn’t care until he realized it was twenty-percent of his grade, but to simply put it everyone on

any sort of device is communicating one way or another. Scientist and many people of the past

generation say people spend more time on their phones and social media than reading a book

which is wrong, that’s all coming from a generation who made someone rich for selling “pet”

rocks, but studies show that in fact staff reporter from The Atlantic, Alexis Madrigal did a study

on how many people read compared in 1950 until now and studies show forty-seven percent of

us read more than the 1950’s until now.1 Why do books go with social interaction you may ask,

its simple, social media and texting has brought the world together to spread news like weather,

traffic, and even when the police are around. “Social Interaction” isn’t just talking to people it’s

also learning about modern day events as well. So, if you ever see anyone one their phone

they’re simply communicating with someone and that is social interacting. Also, schools want to

enforce “face-to-face interaction” that is a big flop like trying to teach a tortoise to swim, the

reason I say this is because of many people with mental or social disabilities such as Mutes,

Asperger’s, ADHD people with these effects don’t want to look at people and talk to them I

myself have Asperger’s and I don’t want to look at people in the face because of anxiety, so

forcing people to try to talk to each other face to face is a bad idea. It will bring more stress upon

1
Madrigal, Alexis C. “The Next Time Someone Says the Internet Killed Reading Books, Show Them
This Chart.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 6 Apr. 2012. Web.
students who wish not to talk to people thus texting is a more viable plan for them since they

won’t have to worry about embarrassing themselves or being stressed from the peer pressure

teachers put onto them.

Next is the increasing English language, have you ever wondered why people get all

worked up whenever someone says English is an American made language, well they’re wrong

English a mixed language with many words coming from other languages. What this must do

with well “Social media” has been a huge role into adding into the English language in fact

increased with acronyms like “LOL” “BRB” “TTYL” these are small examples of what I mean,

small things like that change life drastically by spending less time writing all that out. Imagine

being so busy in the middle of something and acronyms didn’t exist, social media has literally

made a new form a language ranging from simple letters to just plain emojis. The English

language is an ever-increasing language and it will continue to grow and “Social Media” is a

huge and major faction that increases it with each new acronym it makes sending texts much

more easier and safer, giving simple four letters, a huge message thus saving lives of millions,

for example people who are in a texting while cooking, driving, or going to rest. These simple

little letters can save us allot of times instead of writing such a long message for example let’s

use this one. “I’ll be right back talk to you later.” Instead it can be written as, “BRB TTYL.” Not

only was that simple for me to type it’s also very easy for even the elderly to learn and make

even them more social by being able to write more faster and easier. A linguist by the name of

Ben Zimmer even goes onto say and I quote, “I don't see it as a threat to written language, but as

an enrichment. The punctuation that we use to express emotion is rather limited. We’ve got the

question mark and the exclamation point, which don’t get you very far if you want to express
things like sarcasm or irony in written form.”2 Thus stating many of these texting emojis and

acronyms can bring in a new simple way to convey emotions and a simple message that no one

can see from a distance in such a simple way that everyone can understand.

Finally, the limit of communication has expanded so far everyone can talk to anyone,

“Social media” and “Texting” has allowed many things to happen in life remember “Social

media” isn’t just Facebook it is the means of spreading ideas or opinions; such items like

televisions and newspaper are sources of social media thus it brings out the most informational

time in our lives. I mean at home we can learn what the weather is like in Egypt, it’s always hot

you’ll be in The Nile if you think it’ll cool down, bad pun. As I was saying we can learn the

news from other countries, learn language and cultures from people who live in such small or

remote areas, you can go to church and be at home, even Virtual Reality will soon allow us to

see the world at the comfort at home, but this will make us lazy you may ask and it is an

argument that has been going from generation to generation, that is the fear of evolution as

humans we all fear it. While yes, new technology does make us somewhat lazy you must also

thing how it affects not just us but those who need it, imagine if grandma got that new toaster

she’s always wanted or auntie can’t connect to the Wi-Fi which she calls “Wee-fee” that is where

social media kicks in you can contact a repair man or tech support to help them with video chat,

but let’s face it you’ll be trying to get your aunt to stop touching the darn modem cause you’ll

both be there forever since you need Wi-Fi for video calls. You can even be taught at home by a

teacher who is also at home. Which also brings up a new point many claim “social media makes

us lazy” is literally saying it one social media not only making them not that smart but also a

2
Robb, Alice. “How using Emojis Makes Us Less Emotional” The New Republic Magazine, The New
Republic, 7 July 2014. Web
hypocrite. “Social media” is more than the internet it can be a newspaper which was the social

media of back then where people would tell the news, post their opinions on worldwide matters,

In conclusion change is upon us, it happens daily and changes the lives of everyone it affects us

all each day. Communication will never stop expanding and social media won’t be the rise of the

tech zombie apocalypse, because believe it at one in point in our eons on this planet the father of

philosophy himself, Socrates states this and I quote, “The written word creates forgetfulness in

the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external

written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is

an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the

semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will

appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having

the show of wisdom without the reality.”3 Now doesn’t that sound very familiar, it almost sounds

like what many of our scientist are saying about “Social Media” and yet they praise and

encourage us to read books. The father of philosophy himself says that reading is bad because it,

“they will not use their memories” meaning all the lectures we hear every day would be useless

that we would be a world of forgetful and ignorant people who can’t distort reality and fiction,

but look at us now. We build monuments, send objects into the endless space, and people to the

depths of the seas all because of “Social Media”. Just remember this whenever you want to bash

“Social Media” for “limiting communication skills” social media isn’t just the internet its books,

newspapers, and telegrams, at one point even a Swiss Biologist named Conrad Gessner tried to

urge various kings and queens of the monarchy to try to lower and limit the number of books

being traded at the time because he believed people would suffer from and I quote, “confusing

3
Nowak, Peter. “Boo! A brief history of technology scares.” Maclean’s. Rogers Media, 1 Nov. 2011.
Web.
and harmful abundance of books”.4 That also sounds familiar that’s all because we fear evolution

and communication is changing soon you will probably be appealed by the new language the

new generation brings upon us, but remember change is upon us don’t be afraid of it.

4
Nowak, Peter. “Boo! A brief history of technology scares.” Maclean’s. Rogers Media, 1 Nov. 2011.
Web.
 Bibliography

Nowak, Peter. “Boo! A brief history of technology scares.” Maclean’s. Rogers Media, 1 Nov.

2011. Web.

Robb, Alice. “How using Emojis Makes Us Less Emotional” The New Republic Magazine, The

New Republic, 7 July 2014. Web

Madrigal, Alexis C. “The Next Time Someone Says the Internet Killed Reading Books, Show

Them This Chart.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 6 Apr. 2012. Web.