Communication and Media

Essay
New media vs. old media
Examining the effects of social media on real-life relationships

The effects of social media on real-life relationships

Social media have become part of everyday life for people all over the world and is influencing society, individual persons and even interpersonal relationships. Social media are defined as “web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, p. 211) and many scholars believe that this new media is transforming social life (e.g., Anderson, Bikson, Law, & Mitchell, 1995; Attewell & Rule, 1984; King & Kraemer, 1995, as cited in Kraut et al., 1998). For this reason, I would like to discuss in this essay in what way social media are changing social life. Does it mean that people only gain more social contacts by the new phenomenon? Or does it mean that people spend more time with their new friends on the Internet and neglect their real-life social contacts? In other words: how do social media affect real-life relationships? In order to answer this question, I will divide real-life relationships into romantic relationships, family and friends. I will discuss by using several sources how social media can increase relation happiness, but can also make couples more jealous and attentive. After that, I will examine the effects of social networking sites (SNS) on family life and real-life friendships and how social media are able to cause less real-life contacts, but are also able to bring people closer together.

Social media and romantic relationships
Since social media have been spread, many people are experiencing the consequences of the new phenomenon on their social lives. Although it would seem logical that social media would expand social contacts, the common thought is that they decrease real-life friendships and even destroy romantic relationships. When talking about romantic relationships, I mean relationships between homosexual people and relationships between heterosexual people. Studies have not found differences in results between these relationships. Two studies who have focussed on the effects of social networking sites on real-life romantic relationships are Utz and Beukeboom (2011) and Tokunaga (2011). Utz and Beukeboom (2011) focused on the negative and positive consequences of social network sites for romantic relationships, which was interesting since many studies are conducted on the negative effects of social media. The results show that people experience, in contrast to what most people think, more happiness than jealousy in reaction to the partner’s activities on social networking sites. SNS allow for expressions of affection in the open and therefore seem to increase relationship happiness. The researchers conclude that partners are very delighted with this kind of attention. An example of this public display could be when partners use a profile picture that displays them together with their romantic partner. However, it was interesting to read that “people with a low-self-esteem do experience more jealousy through the new media than high-self-esteem individuals, whereas the groups do not differ in experienced relationship happiness” (Utz & Beukeboom, 2011, p. 522). This example shows that even though researchers examine their topic very well, there will always be exceptions on the results. A whole different but still relevant research about the connection between social media and romantic relationships was conducted by Tokunaga (2011), who states that social networking sites have slowly changed into a place for interpersonal electronic surveillance (IES) in romantic relationships. Tokunaga (2011, p. 706) defines IES as “strategies individuals use over communication technologies to gain awareness of another user’s offline and/or online behaviours. Internet-based content such as message exchanges, newly-formed contacts and personal status updates are sought by people who engage in IES.” This claim seem to match the common idea that everybody is continuously checking on each other via Facebook and Twitter and that every new status, picture and like is seen by people. Previous research found that IES has been accused as a cause of relational problems (Muise et al., 2009, as cited in Tokunaga, 2011) and thereby actually state that SNS are able affect romantic relationships negatively. These findings are in contrast with the conclusions of Utz and Beukboom (2011). However, Tokunaga claims that IES can be seen as something normal in healthy real-life romantic relationships (Tokunaga, 2011) and thereby agrees with Utz and Beukeboom (2011) that social networking sites do not affect romantic relationships more negatively than positively. Although the study of Tokunaga (2011) seemed very different, his findings quite correspond with the results of Utz and Beukeboom (2011). Both studies agree with the fact that social media do not cause real problems in romantic relationships, although previous research had whole different findings about this, for example Muise et al. (2009, as cited in Tokunaga, 2011). Tokunaga does not agree with the fact that IES could be a cause for relational problems, while Utz and Beukeboom (2011) even state that social media cause more relationship happiness than jealousy. So, according to these two studies and certainly in contrast to the common belief, SNS have more positive than negative effects on romantic relationships.

Social media, family life and real-life friendships
At first sight it seems odd to examine the effects of social media on romantic relationships separately, while investigating the effects on family life and real-life friendships together. The first idea was to explore the effects on these groups all separately, but then it seemed like almost all studies called family and friends in one sentence while exploring the effects of social media. Social networking sites seem to affect real-life friendships and family life in quite the same way, although there might be small differences. Just like with romantic relationships, the common thought is that social media are bad for family life and bad for real-life friendships. One study indeed found that SNS have a bad influence on real-life contacts. Kraut et al. (1998) found that more use of the Internet lead to smaller social networks and less family communication. It seems that the time that people previously spent with real-life contacts, they now spend on the Internet. As Kraut et al. (1998, p. 1029) explain: “The paradox is that the Internet is a social technology used for communication with individuals and groups, but it is associated with declines in social involvement.” After this research was published, a lot of researchers disagreed with the results. It often occurs that different researchers disagree, but in this case a new study of the same researcher contradicts his old one. In 2002, Kraut conducted another study with several colleagues about the effects of the Internet on social life and the outcomes were very different. The results of the second study show that more use of the Internet leads to more social engagements (Kraut et al., 2002). According to Kraut et al. (2002, p. 68), the differences between the outcomes of the studies could be caused by “maturation of participants between the early and late phases of study one, differences in samples between studies one and two and changes in the Internet itself.” The reason for the greater social involvement seems to be that people nowadays are ‘blending’ their Internet-world and real-world by using the Internet to keep in touch with people from their real lives and visiting people they first met online (Kraut et al., 1996; McKenna et al, as cited in Kraut et al., 2002). These conclusions are significantly different and contradict the first study in most aspects by saying that the Internet has very positive consequences for real-life social contacts instead of negative ones. Two studies which correspond with the second study are conducted by Hughes and Hans (2001) and Bargh and McKenna (2004). Hugh and Hans (2001) carried out one of the few studies that focusses just on the effects of social networking sites on family life. They found that social networking sites is able to bring family members closer together via online support groups, because people are able to talk about family-issues as divorce and death in those groups (Mickelson, 1997, as cited in Hughes and Hans, 2001). Another research that agrees with the findings from Kraut et al. (2002) is done by Bargh and McKenna (2004). They emphasise that social media are the perfect manner to keep in contact with distant family and friends. It seems clear that the social networking sites are affecting social life in more positive than negative ways. Although Kraut et al. (1998) found many negative consequences for real-life social contacts when using the Internet, the second study contradicts almost all these unfavourable effects. The studies conducted by Bargh and McKenna (2004) and Hughes and Hans (2001) support this second study and confirm the fact that social media is more likely to expand and maintain real-life social contacts instead of decreasing them.

Conclusion: how do social media affect real-life relationships?
Instead of trusting the common thoughts, I wanted to investigate myself what kind of effects social media have on real-life relationships. In order to answer my question, I divided real-life relationships into real-life romantic relationships, family life and real-life friends. SNS seem to cause more romantic relationship happiness than jealousy from partners. Corresponding to these results, studies also claim that interpersonal electronic surveillance is used in healthy romantic relationships and do not cause relational problems. Thereby, social networking sites seem to affect romantic relationships more positively than negatively. According to several studies, family life and real-life friendships are also very positively affected by social media. Greater use of the Internet appears to lead to more social engagements because people nowadays blend their Internet-world with their real-world. Moreover, social networking sites are able to bring family members closer together and seems the perfect device to keep in contact with distant real-life social contacts. As a conclusion, I would like to state that in contrast to what most people think, it turns out that social media affect real-life relationships more positively than negatively.

References

Bargh, J. A., & McKenna, K. Y. (2004). The Internet and social life. Annual Review of Psychology, 55(1), 573–590. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141922
Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
Hughes, R., & Hans, J. D. (2001). Computers, the internet, and families a review of the role new technology plays in family life. Journal of Family Issues, 22(6), 776-790. doi:10.1177/019251301022006006
Kraut, R., Kiesler, S., Boneva, B., Cummings, J., Helgeson, V., & Crawford, A. (2002). Internet paradox revisited. Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), 49-74. doi:10.1111/1540- 4560.00248
Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukophadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?. American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017-1031. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.53.9.1017
Tokunaga, R. S. (2011). Social networking site or social surveillance site? Understanding the use of interpersonal electronic surveillance in romantic relationships. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(2), 705-713. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.031
Utz, S., & Beukeboom, C. J. (2011). The role of social network sites in romantic relationships: Effects on jealousy and relationship happiness. Journal of Computer‐ Mediated Communication, 16(4), 511-527. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01552.x

References: Bargh, J. A., & McKenna, K. Y. (2004). The Internet and social life. Annual Review of Psychology, 55(1), 573–590 Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship Kraut, R., Kiesler, S., Boneva, B., Cummings, J., Helgeson, V., & Crawford, A. (2002). Internet paradox revisited (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? Utz, S., & Beukeboom, C. J. (2011). The role of social network sites in romantic relationships: Effects on jealousy and relationship happiness