Social media has not only become a platform to connect with classmates and co-workers, but it became a reliable connection to families as well. For example, I use social media for communicating with my family in Mexico who I haven’t seen in numerous of years and with relatives I haven’t had the opportunity to meet in person. This useful tool of communication does have positive and negative effects on family relationships. To emphasize, it can be possible to meet with distant relatives and share memorable events with them, there are more opportunities to keep in contact by messaging and calling through Facebook Messenger, and it can affect the relationship negatively by posting images and small clips claiming to be offensive towards an opinion or lifestyle. I will begin by describing my experience meeting with relatives and sharing eventful times with them.
For instance, I have relatives on my mom’s side of the family who reside in California and as a result of social media, I had met them for the first time since I was born. My father’s side of the family also contacted me through social media and I was able to share significant times with all of them. Likewise, they were able to introduce me to their family and post photos of their accomplishments, birthdays, and how they celebrated holidays. As you can imagine, there were countless of photos and videos displaying experiences between us. We were developing a closeness owing to social media giving us an opportunity to observe how we are doing and what we endure even though we live apart. Speaking of keeping in contact, the next effect social media has on the relation is creating an easier manner to contact one another by messaging and calling for free through Facebook Messenger.
Early in the 90’s, the only way to communicate with my relatives in Mexico was by purchasing a time card for international calls. These cards were confusing and frustrating to use at times and the amount of minutes in the card would not match the minutes you actually used in the call. It would cost five to ten dollars at a time and during those years, it was not simple to buy a card every day let alone every week. Therefore, with the help of social media being free for all to use, they were able to call me and message me for free anytime they were available. It is an exceptional advantage in which families are grateful for and it aids to keep those in long distance feel close and know they are not alone. This makes the family stronger when they go through terrible times and need consoling during a time of need. Yet, there is an unfavorable effect as well and it involves relatives posting disagreeable opinions and replying in a hostile manner towards other relatives.
We all have particular views and interests in our lives, but with family it matters a great deal. In this case, I witnessed a situation where a relative would post about children being disruptive and she wrote” thank goodness I have no children,” and soon after, another relative responded with “maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself.” It went back and forth for a few minutes and finally they decided to remove each other from their social media. At family gatherings, they would avoid one another and began spreading rumors in the family to separate them. This would continue for an elongated period of time. With one comment, it disintegrated a bond in the family due to social media providing the gateway to this spiraling effect.
Given these points, the effects of social media that has on the relationship between families is both pleasing and displeasing. The possibility to meet with relatives for the first time in years and partake unforgettable moments in our lives, in addition to calling and messaging all relatives at no cost is favorable. Though, it has separated families in some circumstances because one relative posted a comment or a video that another member of the family considered offensive. Social media seems to be more positive than negative, but we can all agree that social media does have a vital part between families, friends, and in the workplace.
ContrerasElisa1101 