As human beings we need to socialise and communicate with others. Of all the relations that we have in life, the most precious and strong are the ones with our families. Many a times during adversities when the closest of friends may leave us, our families – parents, siblings, spouses, children etc. are those who stand by us, giving all the support that we need. With the passing of time and evolving of technology, social media has creeped into our lives as an integral part. Having both good and bad sides, I think social media on our family time effects in connecting family members that are far away, creating distance among close family members and breaking of relationships. Connecting with family, relatives or even friends that live abroad is one of the greatest ways social media helps keep the bonds alive. In the past when a child would go abroad to study or when any family member would travel for a certain purpose, their family behind could only hope to hear from them via handwritten letters.
Thereafter came about telephone calls and then came e-mails. Now in this era, with people posting about their daily activities on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, the families or parents are well updated regarding their loved ones. Many lost childhood friends are easily found and reconnected. Moreover a growing number of married couples are seen to have found each other on some form of social networking sites. Serving well in its purpose of connecting people, social media does also cause distancing of those who are close to us. Too much of anything is bad. Balanced amount of time given in social networking can be good but when we spend hours after hours on it, we often see ourselves distancing from direct family. How often it is seen that a teenager or young adult remains busy on his or her phone completely ignoring their parents or siblings or having minimal conversations with them.