The rise of social media has transformed the way people keep in touch, and opinions about its impact remain sharply divided. I largely disagree with the view that its effect on human interaction is mostly negative, although the concerns it raises deserve serious consideration.
The strongest argument for social media is its capacity to maintain bonds across distance. A student who moves abroad can remain part of a close-knit group of friends back home, and migrants can follow the lives of relatives overseas. Such contact, even when brief, often provides a crucial emotional lifeline. Furthermore, online communities allow people with rare illnesses or unusual interests to find others who truly understand them.
That said, the criticism has real substance, and it is most persuasive when applied to younger users. Platforms are designed to capture attention, and the constant comparison they encourage can damage self-esteem, particularly among adolescents. Moreover, the pressure to perform for an audience can crowd out face-to-face conversation, so that friendships become a matter of reactions and reposts rather than shared experiences. These harms deserve serious attention.
Yet the evidence suggests that the problem lies less in the technology itself than in how it is used. Passive scrolling tends to leave people worse off, whereas active messaging, shared projects and online collaboration tend to strengthen ties. A teenager who uses a group chat to arrange a football match on Saturday is building a friendship, not hollowing one out. The more sensible response is therefore to teach discernment rather than to dismiss the medium altogether.
On balance, then, social media is not mostly negative. It harms those who use it passively or compulsively, but for many people it enriches relationships that distance and busy lives would otherwise erode.