Personal Connections in the Digital Age

In Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Baym brings up many important points about how media is affecting our personal relationships. One of the most important points she brings up, in my opinion is about how media changes humans.

Social media is so evident in our culture and society, it has been able to change the way that people think. It puts instant gratification at our fingertips and throws away the idea of working through a problem or arguing face-to-face to find an answer. The new media takes away our focus and gives us a constant stream of mass information. Our brain doesn't know how to take it all in so it does it in chunks, 140 characters at a time (in the case of Twitter). This, however, is not a new phenomenon. Every time there is a new type of technology, it has changed the way that humans think. Even in the time of Socrates. He warned of the dangers of introducing the alphabet into society. Socrates claimed it would, "create forgetfulness in learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves" (25). This theory has proved to be true. Society trusts written records above all else. Many people now need lists just to get through their day. On the other hand, the alphabet and social media, has allowed humans to expand their capabilities in a way that would not be possible otherwise. For example, this blog post would not be possible without the alphabet and social media. They both give humans the power to share information. Society needs to find a balance when it comes to social media. Humans can harness its power and use it for good, but it cannot be overused or else it is detrimental to our brain. As in most cases, the key to successful technology use is moderation.