Texting and Social Media as Hyperreal

With the convenience of connecting online, the internet becomes a new virtual reality. We replace the face-to-face connections and conversations with a simple text, believing that will be sufficient. However, the virtual world is no where near the same as the physical, tangible world. Sitting down and talking with a friend cannot be equated to liking their Facebook posts and sending the occasional message. We often do take this to be enough, thus limiting ourselves in this hyperreal online world. We fail to realize that it is only a partial reflection of real communication. Being constantly connected to individuals online is supposed to increase the relationships we have with one another; however it starts to do the opposite when it is used as the main source of communication. In other words, it becomes harmful when it replaces the original, or the actions it is supposed to be replicating.