How youth have Replaced Human Interaction with Social Media
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How youth have Replaced Human Interaction with Social Media
The emergence of the internet appeared to have altered the communication process from interpersonal, face-to-face, to computerized forms. According to Gapsiso and Wilson (2015), computer networks have become a social space in which people connect with others. Technology-mediated communication is now dominant globally, thereby transforming interpersonal relationships. Face-to-face links previously helped form and sustain interactions, but a social technology that creates a new type of interpersonal relationship has helped. Zeitel-Bank and Tat (2014) note that young people cannot imagine communication outside online-networks like Facebook and Twitter. The new technologies of virtual interaction help fulfill humans’ nature as social beings because social media allows people to perform their crucial feeling of social belonging. The mobile phone has facilitated a shift from the classical computer communication tool because of increased access to mobile-cellular signals, which reached a global penetration of 96 percent in 2013 (Zeitel-Bank & Tat, 2014). Therefore, young people who use social media use it to voice their concerns and promote active citizenship to air opinions on matters that interest them. However, if users of the digital space do not properly regulate their behavior, there is a risk that it becomes consuming and unhealthy. Therefore, youth have replaced human interaction with social media because they have become less attached in the real world. Nonetheless, there is the possibility that the internet is a useful tool for connecting with friends and families because people interact more with those they are familiar with within the digital space.
For instance, teenagers spend a significant amount of time on social media, chatting and interacting with their virtual friends, which disrupt regular contact with their immediate family members and friends. According to Gapsiso and Wilson (2015), the internet allows young people to establish cordial and strong relationships with others who are far away. Contrariwise, their interaction and personal communication level with other people in the physical world are very weak. In fact, some teenagers avoid spending time with their parents and prefer surfing the internet. They may use social media to communicate and relate with other youth in the same location or apartment instead of meeting face-to-face (Gapsiso & Wilson et al., 2015). The simplicity with which they can send and receive messages and make plans on the internet plays a significant role in the preference as a tool for communication. Besides, the ease of access to mobile phones facilitates the change in lifestyle for adolescents from human interaction to virtual connections (Procentese et al., 2019). Consequently, there is a disruption of family functioning because of weakened social bonds between children and their parents and siblings. The preference for technology as an efficient and fast communication tool makes youth ignore those in their social circles and focus on the friends they make online.
Furthermore, adolescents prefer using social media than engaging in human interactions because teenage is a developmental phase when peer relationships become more salient and complex. Wood et al. (2018) argue that friendships with age-mates are critical for the psychosocial development and general wellbeing of young people. Therefore, technology and online communication are ubiquitous for youth and are important socialization tools. Teenagers have the urge to be constantly in touch with their friends and maintain relationships through the internet. Since friendships are a primary system of dyadic peer experience, Youth benefit from the reciprocal bonds with friends in a different way from the relationships in daily human interactions (Wood et al., 2018). For instance, young people might encounter other peers in school but do not necessarily form close connections with them. However, due to the importance of friendships to the psychosocial development of teenagers, they will pursue relationships with virtual friends they like. They always establish links and base their interactions on liking and disliking others (Wood et al., 2018). The adolescent’s value similarity to their friends and the significance of social status, which they can obtain from connecting with people on social media. Therefore, the internet helps them join social circles that offer opportunities for shared values and preferences and to attain positive friendships; they might not get in human interactions.
Additionally, young people prefer social media to human interactions because the internet allows them to form their unique identities. Uhls et al. (2017) identify the development of a coherent identity as one of the benefits of youth digital presence. Adolescents on social media engage in identity exploration or search for a coherent sense of self in various ways. For instance, some young people use the internet for self-presentation, evidenced by how they choose to represent themselves. The pictures they post and aspects of their lives they share indicate what they desire to communicate to the world (Uhls et al., 2017). Identify formation also entails impression management, whereby the teenagers attempt to use social media to control how other people perceive them and how they act. Therefore, youth use the internet for self-exploration, which helps them discover aspects of themselves. For instance, young people who communicate more in the digital space may have greater clarity regarding their self-concept (Uhls et al., 2017). In other words, they can understand who they are more clearly and stably on the internet than if they were interacting in face-to-face situations. Human physical interactions limit self-exploration because older members of the society, such as parents, might want to dictate communication, limiting adolescent self-expression. Accordingly, youth replace human relationships with social media because the virtual space is a good forum for practicing skills of identity development, encompassing self-disclosure, and presentation.
Moreover, social media afford youth opportunities to explore common teenage concerns with their peers, which they may not obtain in human interactions. According to Manago (2015), anonymity and the disinhibiting effects of technology-enabled communication are crucial for adolescents to learn about matters affecting them, such as sexuality or dealing with parents. Therefore, social networking sites are crucial platforms facilitating interactive learning with peers outside the immediate social circles. Teenagers actively shape discourses in the virtual space by projecting their ideas and issues onto digital screens (Manago, 2015). They can tell their stories on blogs because they are no longer just consumers but producers of media and content. In other words, Youth co-construct online media settings to make them more precisely appropriate to their personal preferences and needs. Some of the issues they discuss on social media are appropriate to explore among peers and anonymously, as opposed to discussing them with people in the real world. Hence, social media’s relevance for discussing teenage concerns makes it more attractive for adolescents, who may be unwilling to open up to their immediate family members and friends. Since youth select who to interact with online, they can interact on the same level and understand common issues affecting them. Therefore, they can dictate the topics relevant to them, unlike in the human interaction scenarios where they only consume communication from others.
Similarly, youth use social media more than they prefer human interaction due to the fear of missing out (FOMO). According to Christensen (2018), individuals face the psychological mentality that they might be missing out on social opportunities or situations. Therefore, they desire to stay constantly connected with others and updated their friends’ activities. Social medial allows them to stay abreast of all happenings because their peers’ posts are usually current. Christensen (2018) argues that FOMO negatively affects teenagers because problematic smartphone use causes decreased emotional self-control, involving reduced cognitive reappraisal and heightened emotional suppression. The need to keep updated about others interferes with other pleasurable activities and disrupts social activities. Consequently, youth become depressed due to reduced behavioral activation (Christensen, 2018). Emotional suppression also disrupts adaptive emotion processing, thereby heightening depression. FOMO is a manifestation of the adolescents’ desire for inclusive social experiences, which help them maintain a positive state of mind. Therefore, social media offers them an opportunity to interact with events they care about from their friends. Teenagers need self-approval, and they can obtain it by constantly returning to the internet to enhance their awareness of the state of mind of peers involved in positive social interactions (Christensen, 2018). Baruah (2012) terms the influence of online communities on the awareness of the movements of users’ professional or social contacts as ‘social proprioception.’ For instance, a platform like Twitter updates the individual about things people are doing at a particular time. Therefore, social media enhances the feeling of connectedness and awareness of others without directly communicating with them. Significantly, face-to-face human interactions cannot provide youth with sufficient cues to understand the activities of their friends. Hence, they resort to social networking sites to fulfill their psychological need to keep track of their peers.
Equally, the privacy of social media communication favors youth quest for intimacy because they cannot obtain it in face-to-face, human interaction. Shields-Nordeness (2015) asserts that traditional communication has been from one person to another, but technology has changed it into a form where one can link with hundreds of people. Hence, social media has made social exchanges less meaningful and less personable. Research shows that there is no intimacy without privacy, purporting that youth share more on social media, thereby promoting less intimacy in their world (Shields-Nordeness, 2015). Hence, the ability of strangers to connect in the virtual environment and share their opinions means they can make connections they would not have made in face-to-face situations. There is a likelihood that family members may not support youth experiences in the family context. Accordingly, adolescents do not feel accepted or trusted, thereby turning to social media to establish relationships (Shields-Nordeness, 2015). Connections on the internet are usually based on similar interests, with most sites consistent with the likeness format. Adolescents can easily identify with the strangers they meet on the internet and become intimate due to the privacy social media offers. Youth can also use the virtual environment to connect with people they already know and be more open with them than in a real physical setting.
Besides, youth have replaced human interactions with social media because the internet allows them to create and share content. Shields-Nordness (2015) emphasizes that adolescents usually enter a phase of development when they start to form intimate relationships or experience negative intimate connections and withdraw into isolation. Therefore, social media is likely to promote intimacy because users can stay anonymous while sharing their issues. Christofferson (2016) emphasizes that contrary to the notion that social networking sites (SNS) take time away from friendships, youth use the internet to influence their peer networks. They can use technology for rapid, asynchronous connections with many friends at once. Therefore, youth can learn appropriate socialization skills with their peers and build on their social development (Christofferson, 2016). Unlike in face-to-face interactions where others dictate messages, social media supports the development of adolescent social skills within their peer groups. They learn to coexist in harmony with friends of both sexes, make marriage and family life decisions, prepare for a career, or become socially responsible (Christofferson, 2016). The interactive nature of SNS means youth can create and exchange meaningful content about various aspects of adolescent life and influence each other. The developmental perspective of social media use supports the notion of identity formation because youth strive to develop an image of themselves among their peers.
Likewise, adolescents can obtain instant feedback regarding the issues they share on social media, as opposed to face-to-face interactions. According to Shapiro and Margolin (2015), when youth share their likes and dislikes and worldviews with their peers one-on-one on the internet, the known and unknown targets respond immediately. Therefore, SNS offers opportunities for teenagers to express themselves freely to recipients. Since social media permits varied profile formats, adolescents choose self-identifying information to provide. Accordingly, the privacy the internet provides facilitates youth to share information widely, with varying degrees of honesty, accuracy, and openness details they would otherwise keep private in face-to-face interactions (Shapiro & Margolin, 2015). Information exchange in physical settings is usually reserved for select people, which could deter adolescents from expressing themselves. They may be unwilling or lack the confidence to discuss a matter with their parents, but can share with peers on the internet who will not judge them. Youth also value feedback because it enhances their self-concept and helps them make better choices, an aspect that might be unavailable in human interactions. Therefore, since they can hide under the veil of anonymity to communicate with peers on social media, the opinions shared in response help shape their social lives.
Furthermore, social comparison is another aspect supporting youth preference of social media over human relationships. Shapiro and Margolin (2015) note that adolescents value invitations to social gatherings because they are avenues for comparing their accomplishments. Therefore, SNS are important platforms for inviting peers to spontaneous parties and good news. The specificity of invites is attractive because youth belong to groups or express interest in activities relevant to them. Their compulsive information exchanges facilitate gauging oneself against others’ accomplishments. Hence, youth can gain by comparing their progress in careers and social life with peers on social media. The internet serves as an avenue for self-assessment and setting goals to match those of the people they are connected with online. Contrarily, human interactions only expose youth to their immediate environment. Consequently, there are limited opportunities for evaluating their progress relative to the accomplishments of peers. Social comparison is a motivator for exerting more effort in what they do to match their friends. For instance, if a friend graduates college and shares it on social media, an individual can work harder or reenrol to achieve similar goals. The online environment’s potential to encourage free and honest disclosure of personal issues is unmatched by face-to-face exchanges, which are relatively secretive.
Although the discussion above indicates that social media has replaced human relationships, research shows the internet complements, rather than replacing, face-to-face interactions. According to Procentese et al. (2019), the family systems perspective acknowledges the value of processes and interactions in meeting the needs of members, making decisions, defining goals, and establishing rules. Therefore, the level of openness of communication and the healthiness of connections is essential for the family’s adequate functioning. Since most research concerns the negative effect of social media on human interactions within the family, it is important to assess how the internet can be useful as the primary social unit. Procentese et al. (2019) claim that since adolescents negotiate autonomy and independence within the family system, SNS can help meet their needs. Youth value peer relationships, which they cannot obtain in the family setting. Hence, adopting a positive perspective on social media use can help realize how it benefits teenagers to function better. For instance, when a family member has his or her needs fulfilled, there is less chance for disagreements. Youth can avoid isolation or depression by connecting with friends on social media, which benefits family stability. Hence, parents should consider the beneficial effects of the internet on the personal needs of youth and integrate it to enhance human interactions in the physical world.
Besides, youth who are far away from home use social media to connect with people they already know in the physical world. For instance, adolescents who study in distant schools can communicate daily with their parents and siblings via the internet. Thus, rather than just seeing the negative influence of social media, families should consider its effectiveness in keeping connections. Adolescents can also use technological means to communicate issues to their parents, which they would otherwise not share in human interactions (Procentese et al., 2019). Therefore, social media breaks family barriers to communication and ensures that parents and children relate better by becoming more open. In other words, SNS act as a tool for promoting higher social support in lower family cohesion circumstances. Members who are isolated from the rest can get closer by sharing issues more openly. Parents exercising more monitoring of the adolescents’ activities can also reduce the negative impact of social media. They can encourage them to keep some sensitive information more private to limit any adverse consequences, such as bullying and identity theft. Social media’s negative perspective limits members from keeping in touch and making plans that may benefit the entire system. Hence, parents need a more positive view because the internet can also promote their children’s safety as it can be used for communicating in emergencies. Parents can track their children’s movements in physical and online spaces, thereby promoting autonomy in security situations.
The effect of technology on youth in replacing human interaction with social media is reflected in Harari’s (2016) text, where he predicts humans are in the process of acquiring divine capabilities. Harari observes that technology facilitates people’s reengineering of human minds, which will cause the disappearance of Homo sapiens. The adoption of divine powers implies that people will control the environment because technology gives them a choice to undertake activities remotely. For instance, since gods could communicate at a distance, social media enables people to connect with families and friends from afar. Hence, the internet will render human interactions unnecessary because individuals can interact in virtual space. Family members who are away from home might not find a reason to travel distances to meet their relatives physically. They can send messages and keep in contact with the happenings at home from far off places. Some of the capabilities were considered divine, but they have become commonplace (Harari, 2016). Therefore, social media has transformed social media from traditional interaction to a divine format where people are omnipresent. The transformation also implies the killing of human emotions because people no longer have to be physically present to establish relationships. Besides, social media consumes the time individuals would spend with family members. They end up concentrating on relationships with virtual friends while ignoring the immediate people in their physical environment.
References
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