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...
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
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