Effects of Online Social Networking on Offline Relationships
The moment people enter the online world the communication becomes impersonal. Even a use of different emoticons and feeling expressions through different site’s features does not substitute the real, face-to-face conversation. The question is whether this online interaction with friends and peers negatively affects the ability to communicate with “real life” people. According to Psychology & Psychiatry Journal (2008), every medium has its pros and cons. Internet and social networking sites can help to form individual’s identity but also reduce the ability to interact offline. The article explains that “empathy and other human qualities may get reduced because of less face-to-face contact”.
Another question related to social networking sites is whether people actually take their online relationships seriously. Many Facebook or Myspace users have hundreds and hundreds of friends. It would take years before the individual could meet and have a chat with all of them. Psychology & Psychiatry Journal (2008) explains, that the reason why Facebookers surround themselves with additional “online” friends is to relate and compare themselves to them. True friend “relationships now may be more fleeting and more distant”.
In conclusion, social networking websites can be a great tool to help us communicate with friends, peers and family more effectively. At the same time, such communication lacks personal involvement and can affect the way we interact with people in a real life.
References:
Anonymous. (2008, December 6). University of California - Los Angeles; Crafting your image for your 1,000 friends on Facebook or MySpace. Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2009, from ProQuest Database.
Another question related to social networking sites is whether people actually take their online relationships seriously. Many Facebook or Myspace users have hundreds and hundreds of friends. It would take years before the individual could meet and have a chat with all of them. Psychology & Psychiatry Journal (2008) explains, that the reason why Facebookers surround themselves with additional “online” friends is to relate and compare themselves to them. True friend “relationships now may be more fleeting and more distant”.
In conclusion, social networking websites can be a great tool to help us communicate with friends, peers and family more effectively. At the same time, such communication lacks personal involvement and can affect the way we interact with people in a real life.
References:
Anonymous. (2008, December 6). University of California - Los Angeles; Crafting your image for your 1,000 friends on Facebook or MySpace. Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2009, from ProQuest Database.
4 comments:
Social networks became a part of our almost everyday lives I appreciate this blog is focused on the topic discussing its effects on face to face human communication. I definitely like the funny video about Facebook, which shows us "true stories" of Facebookers. It's very good!
Hey Martina,
I loved reading your blog, it was very wellwritten and the topic is extremely 'hot' in these Facebook-days.
I was gazing across a scientific world class the other day, and I found that 9/12 people with laptops were actually sitting on the exact samme website: Facebook. It really made me wonder if this is a healthy movement in our society.
In relation to your post here, I'd like to point out that alot of companies focus on improving the internet chat experience. As you said yourself, emoticons are quite known and it is possible to find smileys for almost any occasion.
Additionally, voice-chat such as Skype, Ventrilo or even MSN have been improving immensely over the past couple of years.
Not only is it possible to now hear the voices of your chat-partners, but it is also possible to buy a webcam and with that satisfy the need to 'see' eachother.
Many businessmeetings around the globe have been held using highly digital tools for communication. It is cheaper and much less complicated/faster than flying 20 people from different countries to the same hotel.
While I agree with you, that nothing will ever replace the feeling of actually being next to someone in real life, I think we must accept that media is evolving to a degree where we're nearing real life standards. So far the only senses you can't get satisfied over chat communication are smell and touch.. the first hopefully less important than the latter haha.
/Nicolai
Hey Martina!
To start with, though it is perhaps of a minor importance when compared to the informed and knowledgeable ideas you have presented, I strongly appreciate the videos you have used in order to support your points and to virtually open the people’s eyes. Those clips are employing the, in my opinion, most efficient tools – humor, sarcasm, parody, exaggeration and finally the materialization of the on-line Facebook activities into real off-line life, and do expose your readers to a naked truth mirror.
Secondly, I must admit that after more than 2 years of resisting the efforts of my foreign friends to get me on Facebook, I fell into this social network in October 2007, after moving to Prague and after starting my studies on UNYP. Especially the latter factor played an important role for me, since almost everyone at school is on Facebook, so it was literally the last incentive for me to change my attitude and to join
Despite certain risk issues regarding safety, privacy etc., I must strike out the opportunities and possibilities Facebook brought into my life – I can easily and on a regular bases communicate and stay in touch with my friends all over the world. Even though I could have done so before as well, e.g. via email, this Facebook way is far more elaborate, flexible, easier, user-friendly and gratifying. Besides, it is fun =)
Just to make my stance clear – I am definitely not a naïve and truly committed Facebook freak – I just feel the way that the positive aspects and advantages overweight the negative ones.
Hi, Martina.
Similarly to Verca, I have also lived happily without using Fecabook for a substantially long time. I was even proud of myself for not having my profile. However, at the same I quite often encounter problems with communication; I was often the only one who did not know what was going on with my friends, especially during the summer holiday. I just simply felt a bit ‘excluded’. So one day, I gave up and made my profile, and I actually quite like it :) Of course, as you have mentioned on your blog, there are recently being some safety concerns. However, similarly to the joke you have posted, “only 273 people on Facebook know that I’m a dog, the rest of them can see only my limited profile”. And as for the problem with virtual communication replacing the real face-to-face one, I hope that we go out together soon. If you refuse, I will keep poking you until you agree :) Sona
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