How Social Media is Changing the Way We Communicate

By: Mallory-Grace

As a teenager, social media has completely changed how my friends and I talk to each other. We always either facetime, text, or send a snap. It’s fast, simple, and it feels normal. But when you really think about it, the way we communicate has both gotten better and worse.

One of the best things about communicating through social media is how quickly we can connect. If I want to send my friend something like a reel on Instagram, I can easily send it to them within seconds. I can talk to anyone anywhere from different schools, states, or even countries just by opening an app. Group chats make it easy to talk to friends all at once or just joke around all day whenever we want.

But at the same time, the majority of our conversations are short and filled with emojis. To put it simply, it feels like we’re talking more, but saying less. People now don’t always want to have full conversations. It’s also way easier to ignore someone in a text or a post. Being left on read can feel worse than being ignored in real life sometimes.

Another thing with social media I’ve noticed is that some people, including me, feel pressured to look or act a certain way online. We’re aware and concerned of how many likes and followers we get. It makes communication feel less honest sometimes.

In the end, I think social media has made it easier to stay in touch, but harder to really connect. Especially in a meaningful way. It’s fun, but we have to remember how to actually talk to each other in real life too—not just texting or snapping each other.