Author: Nur Fatikh Rifana
Social media interaction now
dominates both online and offline teens’ conversations. In a society where
online interaction is the norm, teens are probably more likely to speak to
friends and family through electronic devices rather than speak face-to-face.
But are social media and
modern technology destroying teen’s social skills? Is reading called
socializing? Are status updates same as saying hello in person? Do social media
users use social networking websites to self‐disclose and make new friends when they might be too shy to do so
in real life? If that so, teens who interact through social media have less
social skill than teen who do not.
In the past when we talked face-to-face to other was called socializing, but these days the world became more virtual with all the alternative communications. In the past teens interact directly; they speak to their friend without disturbance from their gadgets. Nowadays it is not difficult for us to find teens who are attached to their gadgets tweeting or texting in the class, or in the party, even when they walk. Researchers at the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business say the desire to indulge in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is just as addictive as smoking cigarettes. And other studies have shown that texting has become more popular than talking on the phone among all age groups.
What makes face-to-face interaction is important? In a face-to-face interaction we can truly listen to speakers. We can see speakers’ expression, and the most important is we can see directly through their eyes and their body gestures. When we are doing ava-to-ava (online) interaction we cannot listen to the speakers’ tone, and it could be misinterpreted and it could cause miscommunication. While a person may try being sarcastic in a text, the person reading sarcasm message could think it was meant to be serious. When we are doing online interaction we do not know whether he or she is lying or not because we cannot see the person’s body language or eye contact, except if we are doing video chatting. Therefore the face-to-face interaction is more effective.
When teens are doing ava-to-ava interaction continuously -more than face-to-face interaction- they may lose their verbal communication skills. As we have known that when we are texting we usually use abbreviation and that habit unconsciously affects the way we speak. Many children and teens will say “OMG, LOL, IDK,” and many other annoying abbreviation phrases in their daily speech. This is caused by repetitive use of abbreviation while texting and using various social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, twoo etc.
We have to admit that social media has many advantages to those who use it properly. At the same time, social media also puts teens at severe disadvantage –and they will not even realize it-. As time goes by teens will grow up and develop their social skill online, and that is not a good thing. If teens tend to interact ava-to-ava continuously, it is possible that no one will have the right social skills to have a normal conversation in the future.
In the past when we talked face-to-face to other was called socializing, but these days the world became more virtual with all the alternative communications. In the past teens interact directly; they speak to their friend without disturbance from their gadgets. Nowadays it is not difficult for us to find teens who are attached to their gadgets tweeting or texting in the class, or in the party, even when they walk. Researchers at the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business say the desire to indulge in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is just as addictive as smoking cigarettes. And other studies have shown that texting has become more popular than talking on the phone among all age groups.
What makes face-to-face interaction is important? In a face-to-face interaction we can truly listen to speakers. We can see speakers’ expression, and the most important is we can see directly through their eyes and their body gestures. When we are doing ava-to-ava (online) interaction we cannot listen to the speakers’ tone, and it could be misinterpreted and it could cause miscommunication. While a person may try being sarcastic in a text, the person reading sarcasm message could think it was meant to be serious. When we are doing online interaction we do not know whether he or she is lying or not because we cannot see the person’s body language or eye contact, except if we are doing video chatting. Therefore the face-to-face interaction is more effective.
When teens are doing ava-to-ava interaction continuously -more than face-to-face interaction- they may lose their verbal communication skills. As we have known that when we are texting we usually use abbreviation and that habit unconsciously affects the way we speak. Many children and teens will say “OMG, LOL, IDK,” and many other annoying abbreviation phrases in their daily speech. This is caused by repetitive use of abbreviation while texting and using various social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, twoo etc.
We have to admit that social media has many advantages to those who use it properly. At the same time, social media also puts teens at severe disadvantage –and they will not even realize it-. As time goes by teens will grow up and develop their social skill online, and that is not a good thing. If teens tend to interact ava-to-ava continuously, it is possible that no one will have the right social skills to have a normal conversation in the future.
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