Do Social Media and Texting Lessen In-Person Communication Ability?

Introduction

Social media comprise websites, applications and other online platforms that allow for the easy sharing of content that amounts to social working. The current technological advances have resulted in an increasing number of people who are active users of social media platforms as preferred means of communication. Social media allows for an easy and swift way of sharing texts and multimedia, that have seen a significant number of people turning away from conventional communication methods. Social media and texting lessen in-person communication ability but have some notable advantages.

Negative Impact of Social Media and Texting

There are a lot of conveniences when communicating or texting on social media, such that users do not pay attention to grammar and spelling mistakes, especially when chatting with peers. Prolonged involvement in such mistakes has damaging effects on literacy levels and writing quality that has evident effects on the communication abilities of a person. Most social media users assume that texting mistakes are simple things, and a large number of them are not aware of the associated long-term effects. Some of the spelling mistakes involved by social media users are deliberate ways to shorten the conversation or to match the texting culture of peers. Prolonged exposure and involvement in such mistakes can reflect when a victim is involved in formal writing, where they might fail to detect them (Lakhal, 2021). Spelling mistakes lower the quality of writing and the intended communication in a formal or academic context.

Overreliance on social media as preferred means of communication has a likelihood of reducing the proficiency of a person when involved in face-to-face conversations. Communication using social media platforms eliminates the use of common nonverbal clues, which improves the quality of the communication process. This results in a scenario where a person is exempted from body language and facial expression for a considerable amount of time (Saha, 2019). Such a person is prone to a lot of challenges when interpreting certain ideas whenever they are involved in face-to-face communication with persons with a good command of nonverbal clues. Overreliance on social media as a communication method thus results in a scenario where interpersonal skills important in a communication process tend to diminish.

The ease of sharing content on social media results in instantaneous communication such that users do not pay a lot of attention to most of the details shared in a conversation. Such a communication process is characterized by shallow interactions most of the time, such that the concerned people are unable to get involved in lengthy discussions that require that a lot of attention be paid to some details. A person used to shallow interactions also finds it hard to engage in deep conversations, especially when deliberating on sensitive issues requiring a lot of consultations. Also, prolonged exposure to the informal language that is widely used on social media results in a scenario where a person develops a preference for offline communication, which negatively affects their professional communication skills.

Getting used to texting and social media reduces the confidence level of a person important in enhancing in-person communication capabilities. The two result in cases where a person ends up getting involved in prolonged conversations without interacting face-to-face with the person on the other end. Such a scenario lowers the boldness of a person when deliberating on sensitive issues requiring a person to remain firm in convincing other people involved in a conversation (Marengo et al., 2021). Additionally, social media has created an avenue where people can post filtered content to suit their intended messages to their followers. Access to filtered content might implicit a sense of denial in persons who only access good stuff posted by their peers at a time they might be faced with a lot of challenges. In such cases, a victim of filtered content might develop an inferiority mentality such that they would opt to avoid face-to-face conversations with peers they consider to be leading better lives.

The impact of social media on in-person communication skills is not a factor by the mediums involved but rather by the extent to which a person utilizes them or the ability to balance with other conventional communication means. The ability of a person to balance the usage of social media to communicate and ordinary communication methods enables a person to reduce the negative effects of social media on in-person communication abilities. Success in mitigating the adverse impact of online communication thus helps a person to improve their communication skills either when using social media or engaged in face-to-face communication.

Positive Impact of Social Media and Texting

Contemporary society is characterized by increased usage of online platforms as meeting places for many consumers of technological resources. Most of these online platforms have integrated social media to support communication through video calls and texting. The trend has resulted in a generation of an online community that depends on social media to support most of their conversation when logging into the existing online platforms. Proficiency in communication on social media requires that a user is used to texting and other tactics that improve the quality of in-person communication when using social media platforms. It means that prolonged usage of social media has a positive impact on people currently using various online platforms for various reasons, such as conducting business and learning purposes (Ibrahim & Wang, 2019). In this case, it requires that a user of social media is sensitive about remaining professional in their texting to avoid getting used to informal language commonly used on social media. A person used to face-to-face communication or those getting started on social media a likely to face some challenges marinating constructive conversation when deliberating on important issues via online platforms.

Conclusion

Social media and getting used to texting lessen in-person communication abilities to a considerable extent. Getting used to common spelling and grammar mistakes increases the chance of getting used to an informal language, which adversely affects the professional communication skills of a person. Communication using social media and texting eliminates the use of nonverbal clues that improve the quality of a communication process. The two are also associated with reduced attention and confidence levels when involved in face-to-face communication. However, the ability to balance communication using social media and face-to-face communication works well for most people. Also, social media and texting improve in-person communication capabilities for persons who have embraced online platforms in their daily lives.

References

Ibrahim, N. F., & Wang, X. (2019). A text analytics approach for online retailing service improvement: Evidence from Twitter. Decision Support Systems, 121, 37-50.

Lakhal, M. (2021). Social Media Use and its Effects on writing Ability among Moroccan University EFL Students. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 6(3), 132–143.

Marengo, D., Montag, C., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Settanni, M. (2021). Examining the links between active Facebook use, received likes, self-esteem and happiness: A study using objective social media data. Telematics and Informatics, 58, 101523.

Saha, K. (2019). The impact of social media on language. International Journal of English Learning & Teaching Skills, 2(2), 1080–1091.