<P> There are arguments that "privacy is dead" and that with social media growing more and more, some heavy social media users appear to have become quite unconcerned with privacy . Others argue, however, that people are still very concerned about their privacy, but are being ignored by the companies running these social networks, who can sometimes make a profit off of sharing someone's personal information . There is also a disconnect between social media user's words and their actions . Studies suggest that surveys show that people want to keep their lives private, but their actions on social media suggest otherwise . Another factor is ignorance of how accessible social media posts are . Some social media users who have been criticized for inappropriate comments stated that they did not realize that anyone outside their circle of friends would read their post; in fact, on some social media sites, unless a user selects higher privacy settings, their content is shared with a wide audience . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions . (August 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions . (August 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Data suggest that participants use social media to fulfill perceived social needs, but are typically disappointed . Lonely individuals are drawn to the Internet for emotional support . This could interfere with "real life socializing" by reducing face - to - face relationships . Some of these views are summed up in an Atlantic article by Stephen Marche entitled Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?, in which the author argues that social media provides more breadth, but not the depth of relationships that humans require and that users begin to find it difficult to distinguish between the meaningful relationships which we foster in the real world, and the numerous casual relationships that are formed through social media . Sherry Turkle explores similar issues in her book Alone Together as she discusses how people confuse social media usage with authentic communication . She posits that people tend to act differently online and are less afraid to hurt each other's feelings . According to Chouinard, "You always see a bunch of friend groups hanging out together when each of them is caught up in their digital devices; they constantly want to check what everyone's tweeting, what they are doing, instead of talking to the friends they're sitting with, or holding conversation and engaging with each other" Some online behaviors can cause stress and anxiety, due to the permanence of online posts, the fear of being hacked, or of colleges and employers exploring social media pages . Turkle also speculates that people are beginning to prefer texting to face - to - face communication, which can contribute to feelings of loneliness . Some researchers have also found that only exchanges that involved direct communication and reciprocation of messages to each other increased feelings of connectedness . However, passively using social media without sending or receiving messages to individuals does not make people feel less lonely unless they were lonely to begin with . </P>

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