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Social media was born from a desire to connect—a revolutionary tool that turned the once-complicated art of coordination into something as simple as a group chat. Now, with a tap, we can share life-changing events or everyday musings with hundreds, if not thousands, across the world.
This borderless connectivity has defined a generation, making it possible to stay in touch with people across oceans and time zones. But ironically, in bringing us closer, it may also be tearing us apart.
Because what begins as connection can easily morph into comparison.
We’ve all felt it—that pang of FOMO when you're left out of an event. But now, instead of hearing about it the next day, you see it. In real time. Photos, videos, live updates—evidence of the memories you’re not part of. That once-innocuous fear of missing out becomes a tidal wave of anxiety and self-doubt. Social media packages this isolation with a dopamine ribbon, amplifying loneliness under the guise of connection.
Even when you are included, the intimacy of friendship seems diluted. What happened to popping over to a friend’s house just to hang out? The spontaneity of friendship has taken a backseat to the scheduled Zoom call, the six-hour text thread, or the voice note exchange. Is this an evolution that allows us to stay close from afar—or a dangerous habit that keeps us apart under the illusion of closeness?
Post-pandemic, screen-based interaction is the new normal. Kids are growing up socialising in digital playgrounds. Will they grow into adults who struggle with face-to-face connection? Who default to filtered personas over real vulnerability?
Then there’s the scroll—the doom scroll. We ignore messages from our closest friends while tapping endlessly through random videos, each hit of content giving us just enough pleasure to keep us disengaged from the real relationships waiting on the other side of the screen.
So what is a friend on social media, anyway?
Is it someone you've met? Someone you admire? Someone you only know by their username? Social platforms blur the lines between friends, followers, and strangers. And within that blur, a new breed of relationship has formed—one where connection exists without commitment, presence without presence.
At its best, social media helps us share our lives with people who care. A photo post might help a distant aunt feel like she's still part of your world. But at its worst, these platforms introduce “forces”—faceless accounts, anonymous critics, opinionated mobs. Their words can cut deep, amplified by the comfort of a screen they’ll never have to step out from behind.
Anonymity breeds cruelty. Edited images mask reality. Captions become carefully curated lies. Online, we can perform friendship without practising it.
But true friendship isn't a performance. It’s presence. It’s showing up—not just in comments or likes, but in person, with honesty, vulnerability, and time.
Social media gives us followers, but real life gives us friends.
And when it comes to connection, one is worth far more than a thousand.
Words by Alexander Dymalovski
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The Casper Magazine Team ❤️
