The world out there is in a continuous change and if you stopped for a moment and take a

look around you, you would most likely realize how many things have changed for just a couple

of decades. The emergence and raise in popularity of the Internet has changes our lives into

another way where people not fully aware about it. Social networking is a dedicated website or

the application which enable users to communicate with each other by posting information,

comments, messages, moments, and images. It is also allow you to find and connect with

anyone, from old high school friends to co-workers and neighbors. Social networking can

increase the gap of social relationships. This is because the growing of cell phones, especially the

rise of smart phones, has made social networking just a finger tap away. Fully 40% of cell phone

owners use a social networking site on their phone, and 28% do so on a typical day. Social

networking will give impacts to the relationship between family, friends, and communities.

Firstly, social networking influenced the relationships with family members. As we

know, children nowadays are always with their phone wherever they go even at home. This may

lead to them not wanting to interact with their parents or share about their day in school. For

instance, when parents spending their time at home by watching a movie, the children are on

their own phone rather than actually watching the movie with their parents. Sarah Zay, of USA

Today, stated that “With the rise of websites such as Facebook, social networking may be on the

verge of replacing traditional personal interactions for the next generation”. Other than that,

parents also busy with their phone or laptop to do their work at home. So they do not have time

to spend time with their children. “Spending too much time online could lead to social isolation,

loneliness and a negative outlook (Psychologist, Aric Sigman 12 Jan. 2008). Therefore, we must

make sure that we are very well-balanced about social networking. If use it to communicate with

parents, make sure to call them at least once in a while because it will be warmer and more

personable this way. Although this is just the beginning of the Internet era, it can be said that it

will bear an important place in our lives from now on, but that people need to find balance in

using everything on it, so that their real-life relationships are not affected. Parents also must get

involved and educate their children how to control the use of social networking.

Next, social networking can increase the gap between friends. Patricia Greenfield a

UCLA developmental psychologist and the director of the Children's Digital Media Center @

Los Angeles says, the research contributes to an emerging picture of how teens' ideas about

friendship and intimacy have been influenced by their immersion in the on-line world (Pauline,

2014, para.6). Years ago, before social networking existed, friends would go out and have a good

time but teenagers nowadays they go out together but they do not talk so much because they

busy with their own phone chatting with other people. “People these days find it easier to chat

rather than talk to a person” (Ankur Garg, 2011, para.3). Austen McCann makes a brilliant point

in his article, “Social media has allowed them to take their life online and instead of saying

goodbye to friends at school and waiting to see them the next day”( Rozlyn M., Reno, NV, n.d. ).

Other than that, friends like to share their feeling or problem with each other but these days, they

just post or share their feeling or problem in social networking. According to Blake Deppe

(2011) article, “International Business Times said that, too much time spent on social networking

can cause teens to develop narcissistic tendencies and anti-social behavior, according to a study

at California State University”. Social networking also made people less manners, kindness,

empathy, and respect for others. For example, when we go out to eat with friends, we put our

phone on the table and the phone began to buzz with new emails and text messages. This make

us didn't recognize that we was being rude. We was not aware enough to see that we was making

a bad impression and being disrespectful to others. So, to ensure that this is not happen to us, we

need to take care of our attitude when we meet with friends. Put away your cell phone and talk

with your friends because when we talk face to face, we will feel the feeling of each other.

In addition, social networking can increase the gap of the relationships between the

communities around us. This is because people always busy with their gadget in connecting to

social networking rather than find a new friends in their environment. For example, as

community in same residential area, in housing area, most of the people nowadays don’t know

their neighbours well and sometimes they refuse to know other neighbours because they often

busy with their gadget to connect with social networking. Moreover, the communication style

between people nowadays and the community is less meaningful. This is because in social

networking, people can communicate with their own style of the communication without being

face to face with another people to start their communication. This might encourage the people to

speak with their own words and style without knowing whether they speak in manner or not in

manner. According to Cornell University's Steven Strogatz, social media sites can make it more

difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real world,

and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media (Brian Jung, Demand Media,

n.d.). Steven Strogatz worried that the most important relationships is less meaningful because

they too focusing on time and psychic energy. People nowadays also do not bother with what

happened around them. The technology around us nowadays gives a big impact to human’s daily

life routine. Because of the powerful effect on technology, people start to stop caring and not to

bother about their community. This exciting social networking also encourage people to be very

selfish and always busy with their life without knowing their community’s condition and news.

For example, teens especially always busy with their own things without knowing the update

news about their country. This is because there are always enjoying the social networking such

Facebook, twitter and others applications that prohibited them from knowing the current issue

about their country. Moreover, with social networking also, people less in to get involved in

social activity that can unite between them in this their country. In Malaysia especially, we can

see that so much social activity that are being held, to reunite back the community in difference

culture to reduce the racism between them. But, most of the people think the activity waste their

time. They refuse to get involved with that activity, because they think that connecting to the

social networking is more exciting rather than involving with the community to get better

understanding about their difference culture. Other than that, we can see in Malaysia, if we learn

back in our history, Malaysian people are famous in caring about their own community. They

have their own moral value that is visiting others in whatever religion, culture and language.

That good manner has been disappeared because they too focused on social networking. People

nowadays seem to be more selfish and like to do their own business and the most important

things that, they became less in connecting to community.

In conclusion, avoiding social network can be very difficult because we use it daily and

transitioned over within a week. However, we should limit our time using social networking and

spend more time with family. Parents also must control the use of phone or another gadget that

connecting with social networking at home. Communities also should take place and do activity

such as campaign no phone for a day to strength the bond with each other. This is because social

networking can increase the gap of the relationships between family, friends, and communities.

REFERENCE :

1. http://www.teenink.com/opinion/social_issues_civics/article/687365/Social-

Media-Argumentative-Essay/

2. http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

3. http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/social-media-affecting-teens-concepts-of-

friendship-intimacy-1.2543158

4. http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2011/07/are-social-networks-making-us-unsocial/

5. http://peoplesworld.org/do-social-networking-sites-create-anti-social-behavior/

6. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-

27617.html

7.