Impact of Social Media on Interpersonal Connections and Interactions
Due to the fact that we rely on social media for communication, networking, and keeping in touch, it has become an essential part of our daily existence. However, we must take into account how this might be impacting our interpersonal connections and interactions. Social media has many negative effects, most notably on how we interact with other people, even though it can be claimed that using it can improve our lives and make us happier. However, frequent use of social media negatively affects our capacity for maintaining interpersonal interactions and face-to-face interactions. Our current society's inability to communicate as well as we used to is beginning to negatively impact our relationship and how we choose to relate to others. Having constant access to any information that we desire, particularly social interaction, creates the delusion of a false reality when really it is cyber interaction. Social media causes us to alter our relationships with others because of the pressure to continually be involved with the overwhelming amount of information being presented to us. Although social media made our lives much easier in regards to communication and being aware of what is happening around us, its constant use is causing detrimental impacts on our ability to maintain relationships and human interactions because of the deterioration of language, inability to keep face to face conversations and the abundant effects social media has on our daily lives.
Negative Impact on Culture and Relationships
Although communicating through social media can be very beneficial because it has allowed us to connect easily with our families and friends around the world and allowed us to break down international borders and cultural barriers it has come at a price. It has a negative impact on our lives as it has disintegrated our culture because of the combination of isolation and global reach. Social media is slowly robbing us of trust and comfort that we once had for each other and has left us with a virtual connection which has taken the place of human fellowship, physical and emotional support that we gave each other (Al-Deen & Hendricks, 2013 p.255). The ability to think independently and have self-control has been robbed from us by social media, and instead, we have been left gullible whereby we join any group that posts contradictory information which tickles our ear and amuses our sense without gauging the consequences. Social media has turned us into one of the most antisocial generations yet as we would rather text to phone conversations, have online chats than a face to face meeting, and human interactions have been replaced by convenient sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It has also become a tool for criminals, predators, and terrorists which has made it easier for them to commit illegal acts (Al-Deen & Hendricks, 2013 p.259). Communication through social media frequently results in misconceptions, bitter and desolate exchanges and emotions of loneliness and depersonalization (Al-Deen & Hendricks, 2013 p265). This is often because of the characteristics of social media that hinder the ability to interpret voice, gestures, and facial expressions used to conduct the conversations we have in person (Freitas, 2017 pp.186).
Deterioration of Language and Interpersonal Communication
Electronic communication through social media has been shown to exhibit proof of "deregulation", "disinhibition", and "depersonalization" through impoliteness and crude language (Markus, 2012). Increased usage of electronic communication has been observed to create social isolation by dissociating the users from personal relationships. This statement is true as many of the times we get consumed with feeds from Facebook, twitter, or even Instagram while having dinner in the house or when out in a restaurant. Social media becomes more entertaining than the people in our lives that we forget to want to know how the other person is doing. The separation of social media users from personal relationships is becoming increasingly more indisputable as social media begins to become the norm (Al-Deen & Hendricks, 2013 p.269). The distance between social media users and their personal relationships can be attributed to the deficiency of one-on-one conversations and the misinterpretation of electronic messages because of the lack of gestures, voice, and facial expressions in social media.
Social Isolation and Adverse Effects on Society
Since computers were popularized in society, scientists have been studying the possible social impacts because of the significant change that it brought in our communication methods. As technology continues to evolve rapidly with increasingly more uses, the amount of social activity we participate in continues to decline (Filiciak et al 2013 pp.606). A study completed by Kraut and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University observed the social and psychological impacts of internet use over the course of one to two years. Within this study, the internet was mainly used for the purpose of communicating. "Over the course of the study the time that was used on the internet directly correlated to increases in depression and feelings of loneliness along with a decrease in the communication of the participant with their family members as well as the drop in the intensity of their social circle" (Filiciak et al 2013 pp.610). If an increase in our time spent on social media and the internet leads to decreases in social activity and our wellbeing, a logical explanation would be time dislocation. More simply put, the time we spend on the internet is beginning to replace the time we previously used to care for our wellbeing and participate in social conversations and gatherings. "The escalating lengthy time we spend on social networks and the internet is proven to lead to more social disengagement" (Filiciak et al 2013 pp.613). An increase in social withdrawal has been established to be detrimental to our society. Social disengagement has been found to lead to a community with less efficient governments, more crime, less efficient schools, and more dangerous streets (Filiciak et al 2013 pp.614). At a personal level, being less involved in society leads to a more mediocre quality of life both physically and mentally (Filiciak et al 2013 pp.617). The reason for this is that less time and even at times none at all is used on doing activities that challenged us to go beyond what we know we are capable. It limits us to go beyond our potential and at times pretend to have the life we see others portray on social media and when we are unable to meet those standards we are left feeling disappointed in ourselves.
Impact on Language and Communication
Social media and technology have revolutionized the way we do nearly everything most specifically in the way we socialize and spread information. Through the internet, vast amounts of data can be distributed to the entire world. As we continue to rely on social media and technology to communicate our language and vocabulary becomes increasingly more polluted with abbreviations, neologisms, and acronyms that are causing the deterioration of language. The ubiquitous existence of social media is revolutionizing interpersonal communication (Farzindar and Inkpen 2015 pp.138). Given that as little as seven percent of communication results from the spoken word, we can assume that the other ninety-three percent of communication is acquired from nonverbal prompts like eye contact, body language, and tone of voice. We must remember that although social media may be convenient and efficient, face to face communication is still essential to our society. Through the variety of studies completed by Farzindar and Inkpen, it has become clear that as social media becomes increasingly more popular, messages and communication becomes shorter.
Impact on Relationships
The relationships within social media are what makes social media social (Lapine & Curtis, 2015 pp.322). Relationships can be evaluated by their "tie strength" (Lapine & Curtis, 2015 pp.322). There are two main types of tie strengths; weak ties are known as casual acquaintances that can help you generate ideas and strengthen the relations with your family and close friends who are there to help you through times of crisis at an emotional level (Lapine & Curtis, 2015 pp.326). When Granovetter wrote his article in 1977, he suggested four dimensions of the tie which are the amount of time, strength, intimacy, intensity and reciprocal services (Granovetter, 2012 pp.347). A more study done by Gilbert and Karahalios used social media to predict the tie strengths of participants' Facebook friends. Social media can give us the illusion of having a healthy tie relationship with someone online because of the feeling of false intimacy it allows for. We are fooled into believing we know people online on a much more personal level than we actually do causing us to mistake weak tie relationships for strong tied relationships. This is dangerous to our society because it misleads users into believing they have large, robust support systems when in reality, few of those people would honestly be there to help in a time of crisis (Granovetter, 2012 pp.354).
Negative Impact on Teenagers' Mental Health and Relationships
Social media is described as any network that makes possible social interaction such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube (Markus, 2012 pp.496). Social media is most commonly used by teenagers and young adults to communicate, share personal information and keep in touch with the people in their lives. A shocking sixty percent of teens admit to exchanging text messages every day with the people in their lives, almost double the percentage of teenagers who choose to participate in face-to-face communication outside of school (Lenhart 2012). This rise in the adoption of social media can be explained by the fact that seventy-seven percent of teenagers aged twelve to seventeen own a cell phone (Lenhart 2012). The most significant consequence for teenagers who engage in social media is the possibility of cyberbullying (Markus, 2012 pp.499). Because teenagers have poor self-regulation and are more inclined to succumb to peer pressure the risk of cyberbullying is increased as they use social media (Markus, 2012 pp.503). Research has indicated that online expressions are often repeated offline as well, such as bullying and clique-forming which are contributing to the ever-growing social issue of cyberbullying (Markus, 2012 pp.515). Cyberbullying can be defined as the intentional use of digital media to relay embarrassing, false, and hostile information in regards to another individual. Cyberbullying is prevalent and can affect anyone using the internet; evidence has shown that it causes psychological effects like anxiety, depression, severe isolation, and in some extreme cases even suicide (Markus, 2012 pp.519). All users, most specifically teenagers need to be cautious when using social media because of the increased risk of cyberbullying.
Impact on Teenagers' Romantic Relationships
Social media has been proven to have adverse consequences on the romantic relationships of teenagers. Although many young people have found social media to be a place where they can develop a deeper connection with their significant other, it has been found to result in fits of jealousy and uncertainty in regards to the strength of their relationship (Jordan & Romer, 2014 pp.495). Twenty-seven percent of teenagers have confessed that social media causes them to feel jealous or unsure of their relationship (Jordan & Romer, 2014 pp.497). These feelings of jealousy and instability generally come from seemingly harmless photos or posts on social media. One teen explained that something as meaningless as a photo of her significant other with their arm around someone else could initiate feelings of jealousy and put the integrity of the relationship in jeopardy (Jordan & Romer, 2014 pp.499). The sentiments of resentment could be arising from the idea that social media allows for a false sense of reality. More than three-quarters of teens using social media agree that a lot of people who are on social media are less genuine when compared to their real life (Jordan & Romer, 2014 pp.523). Although many teens like to publicly post about their relationships to get attention or express possessiveness, a lot choose to keep their relationship private from social media to avoid any unnecessary drama with their peers (Jordan & Romer, 2014 pp.527). Many teens (69%) claim that social media grants the general public too much access to their relationship. Because teenagers are most likely to use social networks, they must be conscientious of the obstacles and misunderstandings that it can cause in a romantic relationship.
Negative Effects on Mental Health and Well-Being
A false notion of reality is always portrayed by social media that leads us to feel a distorted sense of intimacy. Social media can lead us to believe that we are closer to the people we interact with on social networking sites than we really are. Although social media can help us keep in touch with some friends and family, it just cannot replace the personal communication that is experienced in person. A study of teenagers done in Hong Kong proved that the participants who made use the internet for a lot of hours in a week were more inclined to participate in delinquent and antisocial behavior and also the possibility of them helping others was very low (Twenge 2013 pp.121). Internet use has also been associated with higher risks of mental health issues, amidst all generations; Facebook was known to be related to symptoms of personality disorders (Twenge 2013 pp.124). Regular Facebook users were most likely to report symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, bipolar disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissism (Twenge 2013 pp.127).
Negative Effects on Young Adults' Well-Being
Social media has a massive influence on the daily lives of young adults with a wide array of effects on their development and mental health. Studies have shown that teenagers who use social media at night are increasing their risk of anxiety, depression, and insomnia (Granovetter, 2012 pp.356). It is a proven fact that teenagers are usually in need of more sleep than adults thus night-time social media can result in health impacts that are detrimental. Lack of sleep can lead to irritability, depression, more likely to catch colds, flu, and gastroenteritis, therefore, affecting teenagers' relationships with their friends and families. Teens who use social media at night have admitted to doing so because of the pressure to be consistently available to their friends. Using social networking sites results in the constant comparison between users and typically leads to one user feeling worse off. In reality, we only portray elements of our lives that we are the proudest of. This causes other users to believe that our lives are superior when really, we are merely bragging about our accomplishments and hiding our failures to impress our peers.
The Need for Balance and Awareness
It is indisputable that social media is all around us and is used by the vast majority of the world. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are examples of these media that have a substantial effect on the way people interact every day. The use of these social networking sites is advantageous, and with the development of technology, it has become effortless to communicate and interact with others from around the globe. Unfortunately, like the time we spend on social networking sites increases, the amount of time we spend having face to face conversations diminishes. This is evident when observing interactions at home, and even at workplaces, those friendships are becoming harder to maintain without the development of personal connections. Initially, the use of social media was used to unite us in an egalitarian community of billions of individuals sharing intimate details of our lives on social networking sites (Jordan & Romer, 2014 pp.530). However, social media has become anything but social. We rely on social media to help us communicate rather than learning how to interact and communicate with one another effectively. Social media hurts the way we communicate because we will post and send messages that we wouldn't typically say in real life. Social media can provide us with the shield we are looking for when we want to say hurtful things that we would never be accountable for in real life.
The Illusion of Satisfaction and Happiness
We have been conditioned to believe that using social media will ultimately leave us more satisfied with our lives. The Public Library of Science published a research by Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan, and Philippe Verduyn of Leuven University in Belgium revealed that the more often young adults use Facebook, the more dissatisfied they are with their lives. This study was done by contacting a group of participants five times a day via text message to evaluate how the participants felt as they used Facebook. Their results showed that the use of Facebook predicts adverse shifts over a period of time in both the variables. Individuals felt worse the more they spent time on Facebook, and the feeling got even worse when they were sent a text message. Over two weeks the more they used Facebook, the more their satisfaction levels in life decreased over time. On the other hand interaction with other people did not result in these adverse outcomes (Farzindar & Inkpen, 2015 pp.143). This study proves that social media is not exactly all it's promised to be and it will not always result is feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction.
Solutions to Mitigate the Negative Effects of Social Media
Solutions to the negative effects of social media can include parents screening their children to ensure legitimate use of both content and time being spent. Another solution can be the establishment of campaigns on the adverse effects of social media so that people become aware of its negative side. People will be able to understand the importance of keeping their vital information secretive and using their productive time to engage in constructive work rather than being on social media. Unfollowing those people who post things for unknown reasons which anger you or make you lose focus can also be a solution to the negative effects. The best solution for these negative impacts is through the moderation of access for young people to social networks as well as decreasing the time that is spent on these social sites (Jordan & Romer, 2014). Parents should motivate their children to spend more time concentrating on their schoolwork and they should also make ample time to sit with their children and have social interaction.
Conclusion
Despite the many beliefs that social media is generally a positive element of our society, it is causing harmful repercussions in the way we interact and maintain relationships. The constant use of social media is creating detrimental impacts on our ability to continue relationships and human interactions because of the deterioration of language, inability to keep face to face conversations, and the abundant effects social media has on our daily lives. Social networking sites have been proven to lead to the deterioration of language, mental health problems, and feelings of isolation, cyberbullying and the lack of communication within our society. We need understand how to balance the quantity of time we spend on social networks with the time we spend socializing and engaging in face to face conversations to preserve our society's ability to communicate. We need to acknowledge the idea that social media is not the same as talking in person and we need to be conscientious of the fact that a virtual life is very different from a real life. As global citizens we need to devise a plan that allows us to benefits from all of the incredible opportunities technology presents us with while ensuring that we do not lose our connection to the real world and continue to maintain personal and professional relationships.
References
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