The Impact of Social Media on Interpersonal Communication

Social Media and Interpersonal Communication

In today’s society, social media has become the preferred form of communication for many teenagers, adults, and even young children who have never experienced a life without the convenience of seamless communication at their fingertips. At the rate that social media is constantly evolving, many people are questioning if it will hinder people’s abilities to communicate offline. A study has shown that one in four people admit to spending more time socializing online than they do in person. To many, their lives online are much more interesting than the ones that they actually exist in. It has even reached the point that it is not uncommon to see people talking over text even when they are in the same room as each other. Will the rise of social media be the demise of our interpersonal social skills?

Thanks to the rise of technology and social media, people who are otherwise reclusive can find ways to reach out to others with ease. On the other side, too much time spent online is thought to have a negative impact on how a person communicates in real life. It is hard to tell tone of speech through messages online which may impact the way people perceive emotions in face to face conversations. It is not uncommon today for people to pursue both platonic and romantic relationships online. While it is great that people who would have otherwise never met without the help of social media, it can set unrealistic expectations for forming real life relationships.

The recent creation of vine, an app where users can only upload videos that are 6 seconds long, has been a major influence on recent pop culture. Many vines have gone extremely viral and has introduced slang that has become regular vocabulary in the conversations of many teenagers. With vines only being 6 seconds long, unlike videos that became viral in the early 2000’s, many teenagers attention spans are gradually decreasing. Sitting down to watch a movie is for the most part a thing in the past.

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