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Increased Reliance on Online Social Networks to Render a Less Socially Adept Society |
Article Submitted by: Mallory Woodrow
Monday, 29 June 2009
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Over the course of past decade, technology has begun to serve an increasingly significant role in American's lives. Among its feats, technology has revolutionized the way in which individuals are able to communicate with others. The internet and mobile phones, in particular, have been prominent players in increasing the number of ways in which individuals can communicate. The internet has provided the framework for the emergence of social networks, in which young adults have flocked to in the millions. More and more teens use their favorite social networking sites to maintain relationships with friends and establish new ones. In addition, rampant text messaging has become extremely popular, serving as a more convenient and straight forward method of communication. Although these devices have generated efficient modes of communication, allowing individuals to readily reach people all over the world, they have begun to replace face to face contact, a crucial element in the development of successful social skills. Individuals have already begun to have difficultly interacting with one another in person, a result of the increased reliance on technology and the displacement of face to face social contact. In the future, social networks and text messaging may act as a catalyst for the destruction of healthy social skills and eventually hinder the formation of them all together. Replacing face to face contact and even phone conversations with text messaging could potentially impede the development of healthy social skills of future generations and has already begun impact "Generation Text". According to a study, Americans each send or receive 357 text messages a month, compared with 204 phone calls and it is predicted that this number will continue to increase over the next couple years (Steinhauer). Frequent text messaging is even more prevalent among the youth of America, as teens and youth adults text at an alarmingly high rate. Market research indicates the individuals mostly likely to send and receive text messages are those between the ages of 13 and 24 (Pressler). "What we have to see is that connections are very different than when we were growing up," said Lilli Friedland, a Los Angeles psychologist. "Text-messaging," she added, "is how kids feel comfortable communicating today. Think it, text it, keep it short, have to have it." The increased number of teens tapping away at their phones will prove to have negative effects on this generation of incessant text-ers, reducing the skills that young individual need in order to be well-adjusted adults. Face to face contact and interactions help young people to acquire the tools necessary to say difficult things and to form healthy relationships ("Teen Texting Hindering Social Skills"). Many teens today admit that that they would rather text message than have a phone conversation, claiming that sometimes it can be difficult and awkward to have phone conversations because of the pauses and need to think quickly (Pressler). Add face to face contact to the equation and it sends many teens and young adults running for cover. Instead, the youth of America would rather text message, a mode of communication that allows them to have time to think about how they will respond and further gives them the courage to say things that they might not otherwise say in person or on the phone. Many young adults, wary of rejection, will initiate the first contact with a new person via a text, rather than introducing themselves in person. Psychiatrists warn of the dangerous effects that this increased dependence will have on the youth of America's social skills ("Teen Texting Hindering Social Skill"). Like any skill that is acquired, communication and social skills are obtained through practice. Without the pressing need for face to face interaction, the youth of America is not receiving an essential element in the development of effective social skills. This lack of practice creates socially inept children, further hinders shy kids from opening up and fosters the development of disorders, such as Social Anxiety Disorder, which often needs to be treated by intense psychotherapy or with certain drugs ("Teen Texting Hinders Social Skills"). Additionally, well-developed social skills provide the framework and foundation for a whole host of other life skills. They are the basis for the way in which we present ourselves and relate to other people, as well as how well we are able to function in everyday society. Social networks are yet another forum for virtual interactions. Millions of Americans, particularly the youth, are spending more and more time browsing the pages of their various social networks. In January of 2009, Facebook had over 236 million visitors worldwide, Myspace 156 Million, spending an average of 266 minutes on MySpace in a month, and 176 minutes on Facebook (Grover). Students spend up to 5 hours a day surfing these social networks, looking at pictures, exchanging messages, posting on one another's "Walls" and "Friending" their acquaintances (Copeland). Many College Students and young adults admit that the first thing they do in the morning between they go to class or head off to work is check their various online Social Networks to see if anything new has occurring while they were asleep. Even Albion College students cannot fathom a world without Online Social Networks: "If I didn't have Facebook, I honestly don't know how I would be able to keep in touch with my friends from home while I'm away at College. The cell service here sucks and I just don't have time to stop everything I'm doing to make a phone call. Facebook allows me to communicate with them when it's most convenient for me to do so and I can look at their pictures and wall and see what they are up to. I can't remember the last time I actually had a phone conversation with one of my friends from back East, that sounds bad, but I'm not a bad friend, I swear!" says one Albion College senior. Students have become accustomed to this convenient form of communication and rely on it to maintain their friendships. Because of the popularity of Online Social Networks, many websites have emerged to share in the profit. Websites, such as Twitter, allow its users to receive alerts sent straight to their mobile phones in the form of text messages, so that they can be informed the minute that their friends update their online status. Moreover, users can upload pictures straight from their phones to the various Online Social Networks. In addition, Online Dating Websites offer the opportunity to meet a life partner without actually ever seeing or interacting with the person face to face. Many experts agree that obsession with online social networking will possibly present the risk of people losing their social skills during face to face or phone interaction. Psychiatrists and experts alike both agree, "Yes, online social networking does present a danger," says communication expert Leslie Ungar, president of Akron, OH-based Electric Impulse Communications, Inc. "People have already lost the ability to read people." Communication experts are not the only group of individuals taking heed to the issue of increased reliance on Social networks; Pope Benedict XVI recently made statements regarding this issue: "If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction." The Pope went on to warn how this could potentially damage the family structure and strain relationships between spouses. In the age of technology, even the Catholic Church has taken a stance on the danger affects that can come about from extreme dependence on technology for social interactions. The excessive rate at which technology is used to communicate is already starting to negatively impact the youth of America, as they struggle to acquire successful social skills in the light of reduced face to face contact. If individuals continue to rely heavily on technology to maintain and foster relationships, it may render a population of individuals who are not capable of interacting in person. Because Social skills remain to be a crucial aspect of becoming a well rounded and well adjusted adult, the fewer social and communication skills an individual possesses, the less likely they are to succeed in other realms of life. If the trend continues at this fast paced rate, America will be faced with a scary reality in the near future, as the nation is placed into the hands of the new technology obsessed generation, who will be responsible for the fate of America. Will they be able to prevail? Only time will tell. Works Cited Copeland, Libby. "Click Clique: Facebook's Online College Community." Washington Post. 24 Feb. 2004. WashingtonPost. 3 May 2009 <WashingtonPost.com>. Grover, Ronald. "MySpace: A Playbook for Beating Facebook." BusinessWeek. 12 Mar. 2009. McGraw-Hills Company Inc. 5 May 2009 <www.businessweek.com>. Osit, Michael. Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2008. Pressler, Margaret. "For Texting Teens, an OMG Moment When the Phone Bill Arrives." Http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901284.html 20 May 2007. 4 May 2009 <www.washingtonpost.com>. Steinhauer, Jennifer. "As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks." New York Times 19 Sept. 2008. "Teen Texting Hindering Social skills." NBC BayArea News. NBC Universal. Sanfransico, California. 2 May 2009. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
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