Intimacy and Social Media

Recently in class, we discussed intimacy in terms of social media. Although some individuals believe that social media hinders intimacy, others believe it improves relationships and satisfies intimacy requirements. The problem with both of these claims is that intimacy is not just one component but a combination of several qualities, such as: verbal communication, body language, physical touch, communication through text, etc. With that in mind, social media does not necessarily hinder intimacy between individuals, but at the same time, social media does not fulfill all of the requirements of intimacy.

First and foremost, I believe that social media has benefited society in many ways. The service is changing journalism and provides personal information to friends and acquaintances with little effort. One can send private messages, share photos, and boost their friends' self-esteem through retweets, likes, and other ways of approval. However, intimacy is much bigger than any social media service can provide. Although social media may allow two individuals to communicate with one another, I do not believe that alone should be considered intimacy, but rather, a quality that is a part of intimacy. If intimacy were a car, communication through social media could be considered the transmission, a component of the final product.

Most people want more out of their relationships with friends, family, or significant others than just messages, Skype chats, or Tweets, showing that social media can only provide certain parts of intimacy. Even after Skyping with a significant other, a service that provides face-to-face interactions, one would typically prefer to see the individual in real life.

Many people believe that social media sites fulfill all of their intimacy (intimate?) needs, causing them to feel lonely or unfulfilled. This unrealistic expectation is something that is fueling our individualistic society, replacing the all encompassing, intimate communities that individuals had 40 years with ago with more abstract and psychologically unfulfilling communities that we see today. Don't get me wrong, social media can provide parts of intimacy and improve aspects of relationships, but it cannot provide every quality within intimacy that face-to-face interactions provide.