Social Media and Loss of Social Skills Technology Essay

Technology: Social Media and Loss of Social Skills

Social Media and Loss of Social Skills: Technology

Technology has changed our lives in numerous ways. Today, people can keep in touch by sending messages on Facebook or Twitter, without necessarily having to travel long distances. Psychologists are, however, raising concern that this loss of physical touch is driving individuals to lose their social skills. This text demonstrates why this is so.

Social Media and the Loss of Social Skills

It is not very uncommon today to encounter a group of friends sitting around a table supposedly catching up or enjoying a meal together, yet everyone is on their phones, tablets or other mobile devices. In reality, no one is talking or interacting, all eyes are focused on the gadgets before them, and everyone is busy tweeting, face-booking, chatting or texting. Research evidence shows that approximately 93% of college students in America today have a Facebook account. It is no surprise, therefore, that a professor in a modern class will find himself having to call out more than one student who is staring blankly onto their lap during a lecture, and laughing at something that is obviously not their lecture notes. Well, thanks to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, students such as these may have found an opportunity to connect, at the touch of a button, with a close relative who lives miles away, or a childhood friend whose family moved to another state due to work-related commitments. These are the norm in the modern-day setting, and one is more likely to speak with friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, or whatsapp than face-to-face. Well, this obviously has its advantages; however, concern is being raised that increased indulgence in such sites is destroying our interpersonal social skills. A number of weighty arguments have been raised both in favor of, and against this ideology. This text interacts with the arguments presented by both sides of the divide with the aim of testing the hypothesis that more use of online social networks has an adverse effect on individuals' social skills.

Hypothesis: more use of online social media and less interpersonal communication results in a lack of social skills

Arguments for One of the core arguments that have been put forth in support of the hypothesis stated in the preceding section is that increased online communication at the expense of face-to-face interactions causes people to have a decreased sensitivity to emotional cues (Wolpert). Studies have shown that being sensitive to other people's emotional cues is a key social skill in the formation and maintenance of physical relationships, and it is built and developed through physical interactions (Uhls et al., 2014). In their 2014 study, Uhls and his colleagues (388) were able to show that children who were able to understand the emotions of others were generally able to maintain friends longer than those who lacked such abilities. This clearly portrays the importance of emotional sensitivity as a social skill in communication and relationship maintenance. Research has, however, shown that over-engagement in online communication thwarts people's abilities to develop their abilities to understand others emotions', particularly because it does not provide as much intimacy as face-to-face interactions, and does not allow for physical connectedness between people.

In their study, Uhls and his colleagues selected 105 sixth grade pupils from the same school and divided them into two groups. The first group (the test group), consisting of 54 pupils was sent to n nature camp, where they were denied access to electronic gadgets and were required to only communicate physically among themselves. The other group stayed at home and continued with their usual interactions and communications online. After five days, both groups were tested for their ability to recognize emotions in videos and photos displayed to them. They were shown images of people and asked to identify which emotions the people there were displaying -- the results showed that pupils from the test group were better at correctly identifying emotions than their counterparts who had unrestricted access to online communication and social media. The researchers thus concluded that face-to-face communication and interactions are crucial in helping people learn to understand others' emotions, and skills in reading such emotion could be diminished if face-to-face interactions are replaced by computer-mediated communication.

Another argument that has been put forth by those in support of the negative correlation between social media engagement and social skills is that such engagement impedes on our ability to identify with and accept the views of others, and this affects our ability to maintain healthy interpersonal relationships. On social media, people tend to follow and identify with people who share the same interests (Keller 10). They have the option of 'un-friending' or 'unfollowing' anyone whose interests or views do not match theirs. This breeds a culture of not being ready to listen to and consider the views of others. In real-life interpersonal relationships, this culture is an ingredient for poor interpersonal skills and an inability to form and maintain healthy relationships with people.

A third argument that tends to support this hypothesis has to do with the issue of relationship strength. On social media, people tend to place more emphasis on the number of friends or followers they have (the size of their network) as opposed to the quality of the relationships formed thereof. People are regarded as being social based on the number of friends they have, and not based on the intimacy or closeness inherent in their networks. This focus on quantity at the expense of quality breeds a culture where people are not so much concerned about taking measures to strengthen their relationships (Keller 10). As a result, their social skills are ruined, and their ability to maintain long-term relationships in both the physical and the virtual setting is affected.

Arguments against

Two crucial arguments have been raised against the hypothesis in question. Some researchers have argued that contrary to popular beliefs more use of social media builds social skills because people who are less socially adept such as those with self-esteem issues can effectively use the same as a form of social compensation (Subrahmanyam and Smahel 90; Ahn 1490). This argument is based on the social compensation hypothesis -- for introverted individuals, social media platforms provide ample opportunities to make friends and self-disclose in ways that may never have been possible in face-to-face interactions (Subrahmanyam and Smahel 91). Allen and his colleagues (55) make reference to the popular cartoon for The New Yorker, where a dog standing in front of a computer says to another dog, "on the internet, nobody knows you are a dog." In our case, this could be translated to mean that on the internet, one is able to behave like the dog they are, and this gives less socially adept persons the right to feel more comfortable building social networks.

The second argument is based on the 'rich get richer' hypothesis, which suggests that people only use online social media to reinforce relationships that they had already formed and keep in touch with long-distance associates; as such, social media networks do not reduce the time spent on physical relationships, and neither does it ruin individuals' social skills (Honeycutt and Brian 304).

Well, both sides put forth rather convincing arguments; however, I choose to side with the proponents' side and accept the hypothesis that over-engagement in social media communication ruins individuals' social skills. I feel that this side puts forth a stronger argument than their counterparts. Moreover, based on the displacement hypothesis, one would question the validity of the second argument that has been put forth by those arguing against this hypothesis. The displacement theory postulates that when one increases their engagement in one area, they compensate for it by reducing their engagement in another area (Acar 48). This only implies that when an individual is engaged more in social media, they are definitely engaging less in face-to-face interactions (Acar 48). This perspective weakens the side's argument even further, lending credence to my decision to accept the hypothesis in question. I can, therefore, rightly conclude that more use of online communication has an adverse effect on individuals' social skills.

Works Cited

Acar, Adam. Culture and Social Media: An Elementary Textbook. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014. Print.

Ahn, June. The Effects of Social Networking Sites on Adolescents' Social and Academic Development: Current Theories and Controversies. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 62.8 (2011): 1435-1445. Print.

Allen, Joseph, Evans Meredith, Hare Amanda, and Mikami Amori. Adolescent Peer Relationships and Behavior Problems Predict Young Adults' Communication on Social Networking Websites. Development Psychology 46.1 (2010): 46-56. Print.

Honeycutt, James, and Bryan Suzette. Scripts and Communication for Relationships. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2011. Print.

Keller, Maura. "Social Media and Interpersonal Communication." Social Work Today 13.3 2013): 10-13. Print.

Subrahmanyam, Kaveri, and Smahel David. Digital Youth: The Role of Media in Development. New York, NY: Springer, 2010. Print.

Uhls, Yalda, Michikyan Minas, Morris Jordan,…