(Anyone else a Hunger Games fan? No? Okay just me then)

An interesting almost philosophical debate was breached in Media 1 Lectorial today, about the rise in technological socialising versus the old school face-to-face interactions. Brian Morris brought up a slide entitled ‘Debates about mediated vs unmediated communication’ which basically referred to social society within 2 distinct categories. Pre-Modern society in which the social world was predominantly experienced through direct experiences and interactions – and Modern Society: characterised through media/texts/maps/books and an online platform to interact with peers.

And it got me thinking, are friendships and interactions online as authentic as face to face? Did mass media technology create a fake ‘imagined community’ while actually bringing about the downfall of genuinely real interactions?

Hell no.

My opinion on this matter is fairly set in concrete, and I guess it’s because I’ve been made to think about it long before this Media class. Older generations love to critique the youth and the way we communicate – even younger artists like to pretend they’re being profound by making some kind of un-original art statement about the death of social interaction as a direct result of social media. If these people actually interacted with the medium though, they’d find that at it’s core is something so much more than that.

Social media is a platform in which everyone from around the world have the ability to interact and relate to one another in a way that never existed before. You can communicate with distant relatives, maintain long distance relationships and get regular updates from friends or family as they travel overseas. Twitter alone enables thousands of people from all walks of life to find one another in a collective space and… socialise. Facebook is a website that allows you to chat with your friends online after school, or get updates about your Uncle and his family on their trip to Rio. I find it so fascinating when people comment on other people’s use of phones as if they’re ‘stuck in their own bubble’ and being ‘anti-social’ – when it comes to me and I’m sure many other teenagers like me, we’re probably on FB talking to our friends, so that logic is ludicrous.

From personal experience, I wouldn’t have half the friends I do today if it weren’t for social media. Regardless of the ‘pathetic’ sort of stigma attached to the idea of online friends, I’ve actually found it to be entirely a positive experience. As someone apart of the LGBT+ community (which is small, I’m sure you know), finding likeminded people who understand your sexuality is difficult in the public sphere. Online however, I’ve been able to find many Gay, Lesbian and Trans people who not only get me, but generally have a lot of similar interests, too. Of course, that isn’t to say we should spend our entire friendship talking online – that is a little unhealthy – but some of my closest friends were made via Tumblr (even if that is a little lame), and we’ve continued strong personal connections in real life (IRL, if you’re into that kind of slang). I’ve got friends in America, a friend in Adelaide who visits often and who is honestly my favourite person from Adelaide (and I’ve got relatives there… shh don’t tell them). I’ve got a best friend who lives in Crib Point for god’s sake – who even knows where that is? I certainly don’t, but she remains one of my favourite people, and we catch up regularly.

So there you have it, social media is not destroying the very way in which we socialise. If anything, it’s improving it. It’s allowing young people who can’t find others to identify with or teens who struggle with social anxiety and giving them a chance to find real personal connections.