# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Human beings yearn for connection and belonging. Numerous studies have linked social support to positive mental health. Additional studies have cited the negative emotional impact of loneliness. Research has further revealed people with fewer social relationships die earlier on average than those with more social relationships. Yet with the rise of social media, there are concerns many people appear to be substituting virtual, online connections for real-life, social relationships.

There is no question the Internet is an enormously popular, convenient and immediately gratifying way to connect with others. Social media sites such as Facebook cite nearly one billion users worldwide. It certainly offers us an instant audience and attention. It allows us the luxury of easily keeping in touch. It can help combat feelings of loneliness. It allows us to keep tangible markers of times and places, archived for us, and available for all to see.

There is no question the Internet has offered many a convenient way to locate, reconnect and rekindle relationships that otherwise may have been lost. But what precisely does "friending" individuals on sites such as Facebook offer in the form of emotional connection? Many question the superficiality of such "friendships," which often leave one frustrated, lonely and struggling to connect on a deeper, more emotionally meaningful level. And there is concern that individuals might forego their real-life interactions in order to maintain online communication.

Many of those we "friend" on Facebook are also real-life friends. Should we be concerned about a trend toward developing online network connections instead of nurturing face-to-face relationships? How influential are our online "friends" able to be if we do not maintain a real-life relationship with them? As with anything, balance seems to be the key. Real-life relationships are unmatched for emotional and physical closeness.

Studies and personal experience reveal people tend to put their best foot forward while interacting on social media. Displays of emotional weakness, insecurity, or conflicts generally tend to be concealed or minimized on social networking sites. It is often difficult, if not impossible, on social media to reveal the qualities that define deep, intimate relationships. While our social media friends offer us a great deal, it is not a true substitute or even supplement for real-life interactions with others.

Social support can be a strong predictor of positive mental health. Emotional support has been shown to protect us from a wide array of both psychiatric and physical ailments. But unlike online friendships, real-life relationships take time and effort. They help us learn about others and ultimately ourselves.

Online friendships, while certainly valuable in many ways, lack the ability to provide us with opportunities for deep and lasting emotional closeness. So accept and seek out your online friends, rekindle lost connections and revisit childhood friendships, as long as it is not at the expense of nurturing and deepening your real-life relationships.
References
Cacioppo, J.T., & Patrick, B. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. New York, NY: Norton.

Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J.P., & Cacioppo J.T. (2014, September 15) Toward a Neurology of Loneliness. Psychological Bulletin. Advanced online publication.

Cohen, S. (2004). Social Relationships and Health. American Psychologist, 674-84.

Geller, J. (2000). Loneliness: An overlooked and costly health risk factor. Minnesota Medicine, April 2000, vol. 83.

Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T.B., & Layton, J.B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PloS Medicine, doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

Holt-Lunstad, et al., Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality. Perspect Psychol Sci, doi: 10.1177/1745691614568352, published online 11 March 2015.

Seeman, T.E. (2000). Health promoting effects of friends and family on health outcomes in older adults. American Journal of Health Promotion, 14, 362-370.

Stern, V. (2008). So lonely it hurts: Chronic loneliness alters genes and increases risk for life threatening diseases. Scientific American Mind, June/July, Vol. 19 (3).

Social Media's Impact on Relationships

Related Articles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Shelley Galasso Bonanno, MA ~ 2 min read

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Media's Impact on Relationships | Psych Central

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Human beings yearn for connection and belonging. Numerous studies have linked social support to positive mental health. Additional studies have cited the negative emotional impact of loneliness. Research has further revealed people with fewer social relationships die earlier on average than those with more social relationships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Human beings yearn for connection and belonging. Numerous studies have linked social support to positive mental health. Additional studies have cited the negative emotional impact of loneliness. Research has further revealed people with fewer social relationships die earlier on average than those with more social relationships. Yet with the rise of social media, there are concerns many people appear to be substituting virtual, online connections for real-life, social relationships.

There is no question the Internet is an enormously popular, convenient and immediately gratifying way to connect with others. Social media sites such as Facebook cite nearly one billion users worldwide. It certainly offers us an instant audience and attention. It allows us the luxury of easily keeping in touch. It can help combat feelings of loneliness. It allows us to keep tangible markers of times and places, archived for us, and available for all to see.

There is no question the Internet has offered many a convenient way to locate, reconnect and rekindle relationships that otherwise may have been lost. But what precisely does "friending" individuals on sites such as Facebook offer in the form of emotional connection? Many question the superficiality of such "friendships," which often leave one frustrated, lonely and struggling to connect on a deeper, more emotionally meaningful level. And there is concern that individuals might forego their real-life interactions in order to maintain online communication.

Many of those we "friend" on Facebook are also real-life friends. Should we be concerned about a trend toward developing online network connections instead of nurturing face-to-face relationships? How influential are our online "friends" able to be if we do not maintain a real-life relationship with them? As with anything, balance seems to be the key. Real-life relationships are unmatched for emotional and physical closeness.

Studies and personal experience reveal people tend to put their best foot forward while interacting on social media. Displays of emotional weakness, insecurity, or conflicts generally tend to be concealed or minimized on social networking sites. It is often difficult, if not impossible, on social media to reveal the qualities that define deep, intimate relationships. While our social media friends offer us a great deal, it is not a true substitute or even supplement for real-life interactions with others.

Social support can be a strong predictor of positive mental health. Emotional support has been shown to protect us from a wide array of both psychiatric and physical ailments. But unlike online friendships, real-life relationships take time and effort. They help us learn about others and ultimately ourselves.

Online friendships, while certainly valuable in many ways, lack the ability to provide us with opportunities for deep and lasting emotional closeness. So accept and seek out your online friends, rekindle lost connections and revisit childhood friendships, as long as it is not at the expense of nurturing and deepening your real-life relationships.
References
Cacioppo, J.T., & Patrick, B. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. New York, NY: Norton.

Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J.P., & Cacioppo J.T. (2014, September 15) Toward a Neurology of Loneliness. Psychological Bulletin. Advanced online publication.

Cohen, S. (2004). Social Relationships and Health. American Psychologist, 674-84.

Geller, J. (2000). Loneliness: An overlooked and costly health risk factor. Minnesota Medicine, April 2000, vol. 83.

Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T.B., & Layton, J.B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PloS Medicine, doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

Holt-Lunstad, et al., Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality. Perspect Psychol Sci, doi: 10.1177/1745691614568352, published online 11 March 2015.

Seeman, T.E. (2000). Health promoting effects of friends and family on health outcomes in older adults. American Journal of Health Promotion, 14, 362-370.

Stern, V. (2008). So lonely it hurts: Chronic loneliness alters genes and increases risk for life threatening diseases. Scientific American Mind, June/July, Vol. 19 (3).

Social Media's Impact on Relationships

Related Articles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
By Shelley Galasso Bonanno, MA ~ 2 min read

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Media's Impact on Relationships | Psych Central

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Human beings yearn for connection and belonging. Numerous studies have linked social support to positive mental health. Additional studies have cited the negative emotional impact of loneliness. Research has further revealed people with fewer social relationships die earlier on average than those with more social relationships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How American couples use digital technology to manage life, logistics, and emotional intimacy within their relationships

Summary of Findings

The internet, cell phones, and social media have become key actors in the life of many American couples- the 66% of adults who are married or in committed relationships. Couples use technology in the little and large moments. They negotiate over when to use it and when to abstain. A portion of them quarrel over its use and have had hurtful experiences caused by tech use. At the same time, some couples find that digital tools facilitate communication and support. A majority of those in couples maintain their own separate email and social media accounts, though a smaller number report sharing accounts and calendars. And fully two-thirds of couples share passwords. The broad statistical picture looks like this:

The overall impact of technology on long term relationships

10% of internet users who are married or partnered say that the internet has had a "major impact" on their relationship, and 17% say that it has had a "minor impact." Fully 72% of married or committed online adults said the internet has "no real impact at all" on their partnership.

74% of the adult internet users who report that the internet had an impact on their marriage or partnership say the impact was positive. Still, 20% said the impact was mostly negative, and 4% said it was both good and bad.

Tech as a source of support and communication

25% of married or partnered adults who text have texted their partner when they were both home together.

21% of cell owners or internet users in a committed relationship have felt closer to their spouse or partner because of exchanges they had online or via text message.

9% have resolved an argument with their partner online or by text message that they were having difficulty resolving in person.

Tech as a source of tension

25% of cell phone owners in a marriage or partnership have felt their spouse or partner was distracted by their cell phone when they were together.

8% of internet users in a committed relationship have had an argument with their spouse or partner about the amount of time one of them was spending online.

4% of internet users in a committed relationship have gotten upset at something that they found out their spouse or partner was doing online.

Young adults more likely to report that technology has an impact-good and bad.
Young adults are more likely to report feeling closer to their spouse or partner thanks to technology

41% of 18-29 year olds in serious relationships have felt closer to their partner because of online or text message conversations.

23% of 18-29 year olds in serious relationships report resolving an argument using digital tools that they were having trouble resolving in person.

At the same time, young adults are more likely to report tension in their relationships over technology use

42% of cell-owning 18-29 year olds in serious relationships say their partner has been distracted by their mobile phone while they were together (25% of all couples say this).

18% of online 18-29 year olds have argued with a partner about the amount of time one of them spent online (compared with 8% of all online couples).

8% say they have been upset by something their partner was doing online (compared with 4% of all online couples).

Overall, young adults are more likely to report that the internet has had an impact on their relationship

45% of internet users ages 18-29 in serious relationships say the internet has had an impact on their relationship, while just one in ten online adults 65 and older say the same.

Shared passwords:

67% of internet users in a marriage or committed relationship have shared the password to one or more of their online accounts with their spouse or partner.

Shared accounts:

27% of internet users in a marriage or committed relationship have an email account that they share with their partner. Older adults and those who have been in their relationship for longer than ten years are especially likely to share an email account.

11% of these couples have an online calendar that they share. Sharing of online calendars tends to be most prevalent among couples in their logistics-intensive middle-age period (i.e. mid-20s through mid-40s).

11% of partnered or married adults who use social networking sites share a social media profile.

As a broad pattern, those who have been married or partnered ten years or less have digital communication and sharing habits that differ substantially from those who have been partnered longer. Some of this is about timing- technology a decade ago was squarely in the pre-Facebook, pre-smartphone era, and just ten years into the development of the commercially popular Web. Those who were already together as a couple at the advent of a new platform or technology were a bit more likely to jump on together, as a unit, while those who begin relationships with their own existing accounts and profiles tend to continue to use them separately as individuals.

Long-term couples tend to view and utilize technology quite differently compared with those who have been together for a shorter period of time

Couples who have been together for 10 years or less show different patterns of technology usage in the context of their relationship compared with those who have been together for a longer period of time. Couples who have been together for a decade or less-also typically younger than those who have been together for longer-are much more likely to have used dating services or the internet to meet their partner, to use technology to help with the logistics and communication in their relationship, and to report that the internet had an impact on their relationship. Adults who are long-partnered use technology in their relationship, but are more likely to use some of it together-by sharing email addresses and social media profiles as a couple.

Sexting among adults is up since 2012

Technology in relationships is not just limited to coordination and logistics, it now encompasses even the more intimate moments. Sexting, or sending sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude photos and videos via cell phone, is practiced by couples and singles alike.

9% of adult cell owners have sent a sext of themselves to someone else, up from 6% of cell owners who said this in 2012.

20% of cell owners have received a sext of someone else they know on their phone, up from 15% who said this in 2012.

3% of cell owners have forwarded a sext to someone else - unchanged since 2012.

Married and partnered adults are just as likely as those not in a relationship to say they have sent sexts; single adults are more likely to report receiving and forwarding such images or videos.

About this survey

This report is based on the findings of a survey on Americans' use of the internet. The results in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from April 17 to May 19, 2013, among a sample of 2,252 adults, age 18 and older. Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (1,125) and cell phone (1,127, including 571 without a landline phone). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. For results based on married or partnered adults (n=1,428), the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points and for cell phone owners (n=2,076) the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

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The internet, cell phones and social media have become key actors in the lives of many American couples. Technology is a source of support and communication as well as tension, and couples say it has both good and bad impacts on their relationships.

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How have changes in media affected our everyday experience, behavior, and sense of identity? Such questions have generated endless arguments and speculations, but no thinker has addressed the issue with such force and originality as Joshua Meyrowitz in No Sense of Place.

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Around seven out of ten Americans (72%) use social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, up from 26% in 2008. . On social media sites, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more.

Proponents of social networking sites say that the online communities promote increased interaction with friends and family; offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials; facilitate social and political change; and disseminate useful information rapidly.

Opponents of social networking say that the sites prevent face-to-face communication; waste time on frivolous activity; alter children's brains and behavior making them more prone to ADHD; expose users to predators like pedophiles and burglars; and spread false and potentially dangerous information. Read more background...

Pro & Con Arguments

1. Social media sites are one of the top news sources for 46% of Americans, compared to 66% for television, 26% for printed newspapers, and 23% for radio.

2. Students who used social networking sites while studying scored 20% lower on tests and students who used social media had an average GPA of 3.06 versus non-users who had an average GPA of 3.82.

3. A 2018 Kaplan Test Prep survey found that 25% of college admissions officers checked an applicant's social media to learn more about them, up from 10% in 2008 but down from a high of 40% in 2015. 42% of these admissions officers discovered information that had a negative impact on prospective students' admission chances.

4. 81% of teens age 13 to 17 reported that social media makes them feel more connected to the people in their lives, and 68% said using it makes them feel supported in tough times.

5. Worldwide, people spent a daily average of 2 hours and 23 minutes on social media in 2019, up from about 1 hour 30 minutes in 2012. With a daily average of 4 hours 1 minute, the Philippines logged the most time on social media of any other country, followed by Brazil at 3 hours 45 minutes.

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Social Networking - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org

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Around seven out of ten Americans (72%) use social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, up from 26% in 2008. [26] [189]. On social media sites, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more.

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Shila joins Sheinelle Jones and Mike Jerrick on Fox 29's Good Day to talk about the impact of social media on relationships, including less sex.

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Here's How Social Media Is Hurting Relationships

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We ask dating expert Brooke Lewis her thoughts on online dating, and the effects of social media on relationships. ****** Subscribe to Pop Trigger: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c... Get the Pop Trigger ringtone (through iPhone only): https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pop...

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Have you ever lied about your age in a relationship? What do you think of online dating? Do you think social media affects relationships? Urban Fit went on a mission to find out what Bristol's public thinks about these sex and relationship issues, and more... https://twitter.com/rifemag https://facebook.com/rifemagazine https://instagram.com/rifemag www.rifemagazine.co.uk

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No matter what side of the spectrum your opinion falls on, there's one thing we know for certain: the digital age is upon us, and it's here to stay. What once started with dial-up AOL, chatrooms and Craigslist has become almost an intangible marketplace and media coop filled with little digital personas that interact within them: our social media accounts.

Social media is a beautiful thing. It lets us keep in touch with our cousins across the country, our elementary school friends with whom we'd otherwise never have contact with again. It lets us digitally document our lives, and bare witness to the lives of others', for better and for worse. It's informed us and connected us and incited social change at a rate which cannot even be measured. Indeed, the digital age will probably be responsible for the most significant bout of development in human history.

But we cannot disregard all of the ways it is an active detriment to our mindsets. Countless studies suggest that there is a direct correlation between a strong online presence and depression, but it probably wouldn't take research for you to believe that's true. The reality is that people are presenting highlight reels, up for viewing from the perspective of everyone else's "behind the scenes," as the saying goes. We have become, in many ways, performative about our existences, getting a high from the number of "likes" we can amass, and the amount of validation we can feel, despite it being an illusion at the end of the day. When we close our computers and turn to our actual realities, we're as alone as we've ever been, but now we're acutely aware of how much that stings (and looks very different from how other people's lives do). Here are all the ways social media is hurting, despite all the good it does:

We Measure "Friendship" By Everything But Genuine Connection

Generally speaking, it's not how many friends you have, but how truly connected you are to the ones you do have. Aside from the whole "friending" someone essentially just meaning you have access to their online profile (?), it also sets us up to feel as though our real life friendships are only as real as they are digitally present, and they're only as enjoyable as they appear to be. Friendship, now, consists to a startling degree just ignoring one another in favor of a phone, and then spending all your time taking photos to post online. That's not "friendship," that's acquaintanceship for the sake of some self-fulfilling desire. In the age of nothing but connection, we're lonelier than ever, and this is why.

Our Lives Have Become Incredibly Performative

"If you did [literally anything] and didn't post about it/take a photo of it, did you even do it at all?" (<- Perhaps the average millennial's greatest philosophical inquiry.) A lot of our desire simply to "look good," especially online, is to seek approval from ourselves through creating an image that we assume other people would approve of. We're not actually looking for their likes - we're looking for what their likes can allow us to feel about ourselves. The truth is that we mask this desire by just wanting to "document everything to remember it," but I guess the question is: when you look at your Facebook photo feed, do you remember what you were doing? You were ... taking more photos. You look at those photos and your first thought is "How do I look?" not, "Oh, I remember what a great time I was having!"

Our Idea Of "Normalcy" And "Success" Is Completely Skewed

It's very difficult for us to look around at our average-seeming lives, compare them to everyone else's filtered and edited and selectively posted existences, and not feel as though we're sub-par. (How emotionally liberating, to realize how much of our internal distress is simply that we assume we should have more, or be different than we are?) The truth is that our lives are probably not any different than anyone else's prior to us, historically at least. In fact, I'd argue that they're probably more comfortable and privileged than ever before. We just don't know to appreciate them, because we think that "normal" is extremely "successful" and "successful" is grandiose luxury to not even an unrealistic extreme, but one that we never truly wanted anyway.

We've Developed An Intense "Psychological Spotlight" Syndrome

Because our lives are documented so intensely, and consistently, we've begun to view ourselves as though we're constantly being "watched." We make decisions based on how they will look, we want our lives to be cohesive, and to make sense, and to be linear, and "clean." We're afraid, and suppressive, of our natural human emotions because they essentially are not aligned with the image that we feel we not only need to paint, but that we're going to have to expose regardless. It's like we feel as though we are emotionally naked at all times, and there's nothing we can do but seem perfectly numb to cope.

We Lose If We Do, We Lose If We Don't

We are actually addicted to our phones, and recovery doesn't seem anywhere in sight, because it's the equivalent of being an alcoholic and needing to consume alcohol everyday to remain a part of society. I don't really know anybody who doesn't need to be connected to a smartphone for work, or just because they feel completely disconnected if they go "off the grid" forever. We lose either way. We're stressed when we're connected, and seemingly more stressed (and actually at a disadvantage as far as careers go) when we're not.

Social Anxiety Has Turned Into A Norm, Not An Exception

The whole #Introvert trend isn't upon us just because everyone thinks it's "cool" to be a homebody who loves pizza, despite what some cynics would assume. It's upon us because people are under constant social stress, and are looking for an escape. Because we feel as though we're socializing constantly, we feel less of a need to exert ourselves even more, especially when doing so will accompany a whole slew of inevitable photos, posts, and other forms of documentation. It's honestly no wonder that we're getting lonelier than ever before. Maybe not just because we're replacing screens with experiences, but because we're exhausting all our fuel on worrying about images rather than realities.

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6 Ways Social Media Is Hurting Us Emotionally

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No matter what side of the spectrum your opinion falls on, there's one thing we know for certain: the digital age is upon us, and it's here to stay. What once started with dial-up AOL, chatrooms and Craigslist has become almost an intangible marketpl...