I’ve begun my first blog with a fairly general question, and one that I have wondered about. Does the quality of social interaction change when people interact via social media or on the internet, compared to when people meet in person or have a discussion on the phone? As an individual in the middle of their late forties, I have grown up with the belief that friendships are maintained through connections in a face-to-face environment. I have however, like many people in their forties, taken up social media, the internet, and texting as a means to stay in touch with existing friends. I am not afraid of technology. In fact, I embrace it. That said, I do prefer quality interactions with friends in a face-to-face environment. Is this a generational phenomenon, or can relationships be maintained to the same level as in face-to-face?
There has been a steady increase of social media use to communicate over the last few years. Baym et al., (2004) conducted a study of college students in 2002 in which students recorded the amount of quality and significant communication interactions in a diary. The meaning of significant was left up to the individual.
These diaries demonstrated an online social life that was both connected to communication in other media and had its own limited but pervasive us in interpersonal communication. Although these users were adept at using the internet socially and had integrated it into their daily lives, face-to-face communication clearly remained their dominant mode of interaction (p. 306).
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) found different results. Their research shows a 56% increase in the use of blogs, chat, social media and instant messaging between 2007 and 2008. In fact, the phone didn’t ever factor into their results. My own personal experience tells me that it is a rare occurrence when I actually rely on the telephone for personal communication. This goes against my own personal beliefs of communication through electronic media where I don’t hear a voice is impersonal. I text, chat, email, but rarely if ever do I hear a voice. I appear to be part of a growing trend.
As part of my blogs for this course I would like to explore the effects that technology has on the every day lives of people and how it helps them form relationships. In doing so, I would like to perhaps focus on some of the following areas:
- · Is there a generational gap when it comes to communicating through social media, and if so, how does it manifest itself?
- · Does the quality of the communication improve with social media, or is there a skill that is lost that we will never get back?
- · Does over use of social media lead to depression and loneliness? Are social skills affected? Are new social skills created?
- · How has business adapted to the increased use of social media?
I grudgingly accept the new role technology and social media play in how I communicate with the world, but is it in fact the best way when forming and maintaining relationships?
References
Baym, N. K., Zhang, Y. B., & Lin, M. (2004). Social interactions across media: Interpersonal communication on the internet, telephone and face-to-face. New Media and Society, 6(3), 299-318. doi:10.1177/1461444804041438
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53, 59-58.
