Fostering Relationships through Social Media

When people discuss the relationship between social media and face-to-face interaction, it is often a negative debate. It is often said that because of social media, people do not spend as much time interacting with others in person. Whether it is because people choose to be on their phones while with others or if people just choose social media interaction over getting together in person all together. However, that may not be the case after all.

In the article Does Social Media Make People Less Social: A Research Note, it looks at research that may actually show that social media encourages relationships. Some of the research studies that this article looks at actually found that using social media instead helped people form new connections, deepen existing connections, and maintain current connections. So instead of social media creating a wall around people and relationships, it was actually helping people form new relationships and help grow current ones. People use to social media to meet new people and also a way to stay in touch with others and to make plans to meet in person. The research studies also found that the use of social media didn’t change a person’s social behavior. So, if a person is very outgoing and talkative, then they remain that way in person and on social media. The same goes for people who are reserved and quiet. Using social media didn’t cause them to act differently in their daily, off-line lives. Rather than social media ruining or cutting off relationships that people have, it is actually a tool that encourages people to maintain and grow those relationships while also building new ones in their community.