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Social media is now a key part of most people’s daily lives whether that is checking the news, browsing through photos on Instagram, or simply messaging friends.
It is this last that is where we need to stop and take a closer. Has all this online communication through digital devices with no actual human interaction affected how we interact with one another in person? And how we build relationships with new people? And ultimately how we communicate in real life when we are offline?
This conference aims to answer these questions and give you a better understanding of just how much online social networks have affected us as a society.
People are preferring online interactions over going out and meeting friends
According to a study in the USA 11% of people reported that they preferred to stay at home and make social media posts rather than go out and meet friends(Fowlkes (2014) this shows us how social media is now starting to provide us with the same social stimulation as actually meeting up with friends in real life, and how we easily associate online avatars and personas with the real individuals, people are more inclined to give the perception that they are having fun and enjoying themselves than actually going out and doing so. It is this growing figure of 11% that is where the danger to in-person communication lies.
What is the quality of our social media communication?
While ae are communicating more than ever and at an extraordinary rate 41,666,667 WhatsApp messages per minute for example (Tankovska 2021), Just how much of this is considered good communication? Since only 7% of human communication is based on the verbal and written word and the staggering 97% that remains is based on non-verbal body language (Rampage US 2015) and as mentioned previously this ever-rising amount of written communication will only lead to decrease in the quality of communication, this would really begin to have a negative impact in places like office and work environment where nowadays the majority of communication is handled through emails or instant messaging, and with an estimated 50% of the workforce by 2050 being made up of the latest generation (Tardanico 2012) this issue is only likely to gain magnitude.
The effect social media is having on our language skills
With so many people throwing grammar and correct sentence structure out the window when communicating online, and with the introduction of many abbreviations and emoticons to our online conversations (Subramanian 2017) studies have indicated that there is a real danger that frequent users of social media will struggle to use the appropriate language and vocabulary in different situations (Tardanico 2012) for instance in an office environment, or when dealing with officials. Another study also suggests that this extensive use of online communication will lead to their tone sounding off and therefore these individuals can often come across as rude and lacking in manners.
Social media has no boundaries
Similar to how social media is affecting our speaking tones it is also affecting our social boundaries, since it allows for 24/7 communication and it allows everyone to see the intimate side of your life it becomes hard to find where the line between personal and personal lies. As Susan Tardanico discusses in her article (Tardanico 2012) due to the nature of how we communicate on social media it is hard for us to differentiate when we need to use a professional tone or when someone is being more casual for instance does all caps in an email really mean someone is yelling? or are they just trying to emphasize a point.
Building professional relationships online
Another phenomenon discussed by Susan Tardanico in her article (Tardanico 2012) is how social media is missing “The golf course” what she means by this is that in the past business relations were often formed over a round of golf since this allows for more expression and a less tension-filled environment. However, in this digital age, we are lacking this medium since the work environment is crossing over into the personal one, this is the case on a lot of social media platform with maybe the exclusion of Linked In. this is why in an effort to combat this, many companies have mandated outdoor activities and social events where coworkers and manages alike will have to interact in person in a not-work related capacity.
The anonymity of the internet
One of the biggest issues surrounding the anonymity of the Internet is freedom. it allows people, the sort of freedom that enables them to act online without any consequence. Studies indicate that when a user is anonymous they are more likely to use aggressive language and follow the crowd i.e mob mentality, a large contributor as to why this happening is feeling disassociation between typing something on a device vs saying it to someone’s face in real life, this has greatly affected the way the generation of the internet deal with confrontational situation in daily life when compared with previous generations (Rösner 2016). Another aspect in which internet anonymity has affected accepts of our daily life is how we convey opinions as facts and this largely down to the confidence we have gained by voicing our opinion online with no consequence or reparations. There is a well-referred to an illustration published by The New Yorker in 1993 of a dog looking up in shock at another dog who is using a computer with the caption “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”(Kimberly 2007).
Conclusion
To Conclude, this conference has presented a wide range of aspects in how social media networks have affected our lives from how we communicate and operate at work to how we build relationships or maintain friendships.
This conference has provided strong arguments for all its statements with proof of all that it claims.
Therefore, when it comes to the question “Has Social media affected how we communicate in real life?” This conference argues that it most certainly has. and almost in an entirely negative aspect.
References
Fowlkes, J. (2014). “Viewpoint: Why Social Media Is Destroying Our Social Skills.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network. Retrieved from college.usatoday.com/2012/10/11/opinion-why-social-media-is-destroying-our-social-skills/
Kimberly, M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol 23, Issue 6, 3038-3056, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2006.09.001.
Rampage US. (2015). The Negative Impacts of Social Media on Face-to-Face Interactions, Retrieved from https://rampages.us/peasedn200/2015/12/01/final-inquiry-project/
Rösner, L. (2016). Effects of Anonymity and Group Norms on Aggressive Language Use in Online Comments, Verbal Venting in the Social Web, Vol 2, Issue 3, https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116664220
Subramanian, K. (2017). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND RESEARCH, Vol 38, Issue 109. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kalpathy-Subramanian/publication/319422885_Influence_of_Social_Media_in_Interpersonal_Communication/links/59a96d950f7e9b2790120fea/Influence-of-Social-Media-in-Interpersonal-Communication.pdf
Tardanico, S. (2012). Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication?, Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/04/30/is-social-media-sabotaging-real-communication/?sh=5b0773ca2b62
Tankovska, H. (2021). Media usage in an online minute 2020, statista. Retrieved from, https://www.statista.com/statistics/195140/new-user-generated-content-uploaded-by-users-per-minute/
Hey Abdurrahman,
I found your paper very interesting to read, as majority of us can relate to this.
You have done an in-depth analyses of how social media has influenced the way we communicate.
Modes and methods of communication are presently very different from how they were before the emergence of social media.
I like how you have covered a range of different aspects of the how our communication has been impacted by social media.
I, too, used to believe social media has had a very negative impact on us. However, over the past year with the rise of the COVID-19 virus and the lockdown going on, I believe there were also many positive aspects of social media we were…
Hi Abdurrahman,
Interesting paper, you tackled the topic and presented it in such a way to make a basic topic quite intriguing for a reader. fascinating facts regarding how many messages are sent every minute, it is quite astonishing to think that many people use social media in their lives. I agree with your point of the affect on a persons vocabulary when communication on such a medium, especially with the slangs that are used can impact spelling and grammar of an individual. However, Do you not think that it can improve it as well ?
Overall, great job. very well written.
Hi Abdurrahman,
That was a very interesting read but I can also relate to it.
Such as the fact that social media usage has increased quite a lot over the years and because of that the way that people write and talk has also changed like hru and lol. how the language has been minimized so that it can be typed faster. though it does mean that it might come off as rude. Which is really relatable.
Hi Abdurrahman,
Good job on your paper! It is very important to realise the impact of social media on our day-to-day life.
It is sad to agree that I too, prefer online interaction over going out and meeting with my friends. I guess this comes with other issues such as my anxiety of not knowing what to wear or what other people in the mall might think about me. Fortunately, I have good friends and family that pushes me to go out and so, I could enjoy and not overthink when spending time with them! :)
Hey Abdulrahman,
I enjoyed reading your paper. I totally agree with all the statements you have mentioned. Social media has affected our way of communication physically and we start to use these same words in our daily lives talk whether with friends, teacher or even our parents. I agree when you mentioned the part of COVID-19 when we all the people were stuck at home so using social media was the only for people to communicate with each other.