Literature review: non-verbal communication on friendships and romantic relationships.
SOCIAL NETWORKING EFFECTS 5
Running head: SOCIAL NETWORKING EFFECTS
The Impact of Social Networking Media on Adolescents
Student Name
Arizona State University
The Impact of Social Networking Media on Adolescents
In recent years, a rapid increase in technology has changed the way people communicate and socialize. Social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter among others have introduced a new form of communication to the masses, specifically, computer mediated communication. According to Livingstone (2008), social networking websites are popular to people of many different ages. However, primary users of such sites tend to be young people, adolescents in particular. Young people find that social networking websites offer ways of socializing that were not available to previous generations (Livingstone, 2008). As such, the way adolescents are becoming socialized is changing.
Some research suggests that there are unforeseen consequences associated with self disclosure via computer-mediated communication (McKenna & Bargh, 1999). A study by Valkenburg, Schouten, and Peter (2005) suggests that social networking websites have created virtual social communities in which individuals can socialize and experiment with identity creation and manipulation in ways that are entirely new and different in comparison to forms of socialization encountered prior to the expansion of social networking media. What remains unanswered, however, is what effect these new forms of socialization have on adolescents’ ability to socialize in face-to-face interactions. This paper explores this question through an examination of various interpersonal communication theories, including self-disclosure and social penetration, and how these theories might help explain the socialization process. From there, this paper examines how these socialization processes might differ in a computer mediated setting and what effect these difference might have on adolescents’ abilities to socialize in offline, face-to-face interactions. Before turning to these theoretical discussions, it is important to first demonstrate the extent to which social networking has permeated society.
Background and Need
Social networking website use rates have rapidly increased in recent years. Facebook, arguably the most popular social networking website, was created in 2004 and by 2007 had over 21 million members (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). Soon after the website’s introduction, Facebook, originally created as a means for college students to connect with other college students, launched a second version of the site geared towards high school age users. Two thirds of Facebook users access the website daily, which results in 1.6 billion site visits per day (Ellison et al., 2007). With the digital divide becoming less and less apparent, internet use rates globally, even within technologically undeveloped countries, are climbing rapidly (Orchard & Fullwood, 2010). According to Orchard and Fullwood (2010), the amount of time internet users spend online, as well as the number of online services, forms of entertainment, and social networking forums has increased dramatically in recent years. Internet use for the purpose of socializing, according to Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, and Scherlis (1998), may take away from time internet users would spend socializing face-to-face or via more traditional means. With such a dramatic increase in the use of social networking media and obvious changes in the way people are socializing, further research about the impact of social networking media use on face-to-face interactions is certainly warranted.
References
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168.
Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017-1031.
Livingstone, S. (2008). Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: Teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression. New Media Society, 10(3), 393-411.
McKenna, K. Y. A., & Bargh, J. A. (1999). Causes and consequences of social interaction on the internet: A conceptual framework. Media Psychology, 1(3), 249-269.
Orchard, L. J., & Fullwood, C. (2010). Current perspectives on personality and internet use. Social Science Computer Review, 28(2), 155-169.
Valkenburg, P. M., Schouten, A. P., & Peter. J. (2005). Adolescents' identity experiments on the internet. New Media and Society, 7, 383-402.
