PR News 1

A recent post on PR News Online brought up the subject of whether or not social media have made people less friendly in person and more friendly online. Are those engaging in these social sites the outgoing and social butterfly type? Or are they the antisocial and awkward type and this is simply a way to be more personable? My personal thoughts are that these social media sites is that they are definately ways for those who have a hard time being personable outside of the virtual world, to put their thoughts and personality out there for the rest of us to see.

I have a friend who does not speak. We have been friends since fifth grade and I've probably never heard her speak more than an hour total in the almost ten years I've known her. It's simply not her personality to have conversations with people. She keeps her thoughts to herself and if asked a question, will respond with a one word answer. However she is obsessed with, MySpace, Facebook, IM, and other social sites. She will IM till any hour of the night and is constantly meeting people over MySpace. If you didn't personally know her, you would never guess she was a shy and awkward girl. She lets her personality come out over the internet and I've learned more about her that way than I could ever dream of in person.

The internet is crippling our in-person social skills. I even catch myself being more friendly in emails than I would be in person. It's important to keep our social skills in balance with the virtual world, as well as the one we live and work in.