"Not so long ago the Net was presumed to be an unrelieved social backwater. "Nearly all the initial studies about people who used the Internet for social interaction suggested that they were getting lonelier," says University of Chicago social neuroscientist John Cacioppo, co-author of Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. Those studies were predicated on the notion that people used the Internet to replace face-to-face interactions and that relationships formed online would stay online. "For disabled users who couldn't get around, that [practice] worked well," Cacioppo says, "but for others, it didn't." A person could not even know for sure who was really on the other end of the line. Psychology research focused on this scene with critical eyes, often dismissing online socializing as lonely escapism from the disquiet of real relationships.
This dire view of social networking began to change as research grew more nuanced. In a 2008 study at California State University, Los Angeles, psychologists Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Gloria Lin interviewed 192 high school students about how they used the Internet for communication, how much time they spent online and which sites they typically frequented. The study participants then completed psychological tests for assessing loneliness and social support. Neither total amount of time spent online nor time spent communicating online correlated with increased loneliness."(disalvo)
This captures how important online networking has become. In years past you were a loner, nerd or unattractive if you used the internet to be social. I would say years ago I used to be one of those that thought it was tabu to be online and talking to all your friends and making new friends online. But these days even study's show that this is not the case, many persons on social sites are well educated, well socialized person just getting another way to talk to eachother. Its a way to find a job, create business, build friend ships and talk to people and communicate with person far away from us and its cheaper than long distance calls.
It has defiantly been beneficial to many but can still make people that feel lonely even worse. Take the person that is not well liked in person, maybe the same could occur online. Or the ex you get to watch move on in status updates, pictures or possible you change to single and everyone wants to know your pain. I also think people seem to be more apt to be meaner because they are not face to face so you have to beware of that also.
I think just like anything, moderation is the key. make it apart of your social science but not the only part. You still need to meet face to face, still need to be there in person for your friends and family and still need to be meeting new friends off the computer.
DISALVO, D. (2010). Are Social Networks Messing with Your Head?. Scientific American Mind, 20(7), 48-55. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
3 comments:
Sara,
You are right it really is more than socially acceptable today to make friends on the internet.
From a healthcare point of view it opens up the world of the shut in people who are unable to be ambulatory and stuck in bed.
You are correct about moderation but the world does open up to those who need it the most.
Yvonne H
I think that friends on the internet should replace friends outside the internet. Yeah the internet lets people stay more social later in life but, I think that everyone still needs to get outside and meet people. It is a little hard to talk over coffee or lunch when you are only communicating through the internet.
I think that communicating and socializing over the internet are great ways to exapnd your personal network. However, I worry about the ability to communicate face-to-face. The more avenues we have to (more easily) communicate with people withhout physical contact, the less likely we will be able to communicate with people when physical contact is required.
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