Reading is perhaps one of the few activities that are truly antisocial. You sit alone, absorbed into a different place. Sure, you can share your impressions of this place with others but the fact remains that when you are there, you’re alone.

I recently signed up for the social networking site “Goodreads” before this I had been writing down the books I have read in a journal. I know… so analog. When I finished this most recent book I was gave it my traditional mark (between one and ten) and then I logged onto Goodreads to assign a similar score to the novel online.Once I got to the profile page of this book I started reading others reviews as well as looking at the profile of the author herself. The author turns out to be from my hometown. I go from site to site until I end up on her personal blog. I enjoy reading her rants and observations and in the end, I feel like we could be friends. I discover that my opinion of her book, which was originally lukewarm has been adapted by learning about her as a person. I grew to identify with this name on a cover. I rated the book much higher online than I did in my own journal.

Social media has the power to connect strangers. To unite us with celebrities in ways we never could before. The question I have about social media is why do studies continue to reveal that humans feel lonelier after the rise social media than they have before? I imagine it’s because the connections it creates are superficial and fleeting rather the personal and lasting. I don’t really know that author. I might have some shared memories of places but we’ve never had a conversation. In fact she doesn’t even know I exist. She is to me another character to read about. I know she exists independently of me but the connection can still be bridged with a couple of clicks.

Social media can help us connect on a superficial level after all, the book wasn’t that good anyway.