The Influence of Technology and Social Media on Fostering of Relationships in Youngest Generation

By: Kelsey Rzepecki

Feature Writing 1- Professor Alice Tallmadge

As the clock strikes noon on another weekday, the teenagers of South Eugene High School in Eugene, Ore., emerge from the front doors in what resemble herds of sheep. Their eyes are glued to their iPhones and other media devices. Somehow they maneuver through neighborhoods and traffic. Numerous clusters form social circles outside the school property, eyes transfixed on their hand-held screens. Their bodies are present but physical interaction with each other is minimal.

The short lunch hour passes and the students slowly shuffle back into the doors of the school. A few boys on skateboards make their way along the sidewalk; barely stubbing the heels of the young girl walking in front of him, one of the boys looks up anxiously and takes his ear buds out, making a clean getaway.

All across the country, the newest technological devices are opening up means of communication that attracts the on the go lifestyle of societies youngest digital generation. Whether positive or negative, new media, from the internet to smart phone devices, are changing the ways the current generation relates to each other.

Some believe the avid usage of social media and texting gives teens a self-esteem boost and a deeper way to feel connected with their family members and friends. However, some parents are concerned that their children are at the mercy of the hypnotizing glare of the computer and cellphone screens, which are eating away at their social skills.

Developmental Psychologist Marilyn Price-Mitchell believes those fears are exaggerated.

“It’s going to be a different way of understanding the world but it can’t completely replace personalized relationships,” she says. She thinks technology will help members of this generation develop relationships in a different way that has never been done before.

A 2012 study by Common Sense Media of 1,030 teens found that 90 percent (nine out of 10), use various forms of social media. Texting dominates the everyday usage of media activity each day at 68 percent.

Parents who are frequent users of technology do not see the issue as problematic. André Chinn, Instructional Technology Coordinator at the University of Oregon and father of two, exposes his two kids, ages 6 and 8, to iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads daily.

“For the last hundred years technology has been facilitating relationships and communication. People may have been asking the same questions about the conventional telephone 50 years ago, he says. If something becomes an addiction, then it is a problem, but if not, “it’s just another tool.”

Technology has the ability to allow anyone to express and share their thoughts with the world without having to open their mouths.

Child advocate and journalist, Marjie Knudsen claims that social media such as Twitter and Facebook, provides a productive outlet of communication for teens and children as a brave, comfortable way for shy kids to express themselves.

According to a study by Common Sense Media, 52 percent of teens believe social networking positively helps their relationships with their friends; 37 percent believe it helps their relationships with their families, leaving only 6 percent of teens who think it hurts their relationships.

“Social media and technology allows for a more level of a playing field; as long as they can get access,” she says.

Others believe that, along with the productive aspects of new media and technology, comes some drawbacks. Some believe SAY the usage of texting and online communication compared to simple phone calls and face-to-face interaction leads to a “dumbing down” of conversations that are merely superficial and surface based.

Many students today, “don’t seem to have a clear sense of boundaries with adults and their peers. No subject seems to be off topic,” says Suzy Rock, 5th grade teacher at Howard Elementary School in Eugene, Ore.

Rock, who’s been teaching for 12 years, says she notices her students today seem to expect instant gratification and feedback, which doesn’t always happen in physical interactions with people.

The way in which people adapt to the introduction of new digital communication and technology will always have the potential to alter the level of human connectedness.

MIT Professor and Psychologist Sherry Turkle says digital communication is not productive for the degree of understanding and relationship-building you get when you are present with your friends sharing intimacies, difficult news, and overall for truly getting to know someone.

“There is a responsibility of intimacy that is necessary in the sense of genuinely connecting with someone,” she says.

Cindy Strickland, a businesswoman and mother of two teenagers, ages 18 and 16, is concerned that her son and daughter find it difficult to engage in simple interactions for an extended amount of time without the distractions from their technical devices.

“It’s the worst when I repeatedly remind them over and over of a simple task and they end up never doing it. It is frustrating because we rely on technology to stay connected with our kids when away, then face-to-face it effects them as well,” she says.

As an avid user of technology her children’s constant usage of technology.

Some people’s concerns regarding youth who are engaging in digital communication revolve around the lack of education of safety of disclosing personal information.

Many sources agree that there needs to be an effort to teach youth a healthy balance between using technology and being aware of its consequences. The importance of reputation in the lives of teenagers is a significant priority; now they are using social media as an up-to-date documentation and digital diary of their lives. Many teens don’t understand that their information can be seen by more people than they realize.

Sue Kanies, 7th grade teacher of 21 years, says she has witnessed students complaining about the lack of privacy and control they have over media. Some have boycotted certain social media sites completely.

“It’s assuring to see that they realize how these sites are effecting them and their relationships. I think they’re finally beginning to understand some of the repercussions that will eventually follow,” she says.

In a most recent study by Common Sense Media (SAME ONE AS ABOVE?) , 49 percent of teens 13 to 17 years old say their favorite way to communicate with a friend is in person, while 33 percent prefer texting.

Knudsen stresses the importance and awareness of creating healthy usage of technology, leaving it up to the individual in how they want to display their image of themselves in the scrutiny of the online world.

Chinn, the IT expert, says the lack of civility and discourse surrounding sites such as YouTube and chat rooms are his biggest concerns for his children. He says the discourse online in general is ugly and inappropriate, because anyone is able to hide behind their keyboard not having to reveal their true identity. This, he says, can be a result of a persons lack of security and self-esteem. Such individuals may use technology as an outlet to escape from the outside world.

Parents have a large effect and responsibility in teaching their children ways to be safe through digital communication, and also know when to intervene and determine if it progressively starts to alter their behavior.

Marilyn Price-Mitchell emphasizes the need in simply paying closer attention to the amount children use technology.

“Technology gives an escape from the world that they didn’t have before; if we’re not paying attention as adults, other online catastrophes are bound to happen,” she says. Technology is to be used wisely and with balance.

A recent study published by the Journal of Social and Personal Relationship found that the simple presence of cell phones hinders the development of feelings of closeness and trust, while reducing the amount of empathy people feel for others.

Kanies believes social media can become addictive, even though her students may complain about it, “I can tell some students feed off of it and feel the need to be connected just so they can stay in the loop; even if they are not active online, they want to have a presence,” she says.