Social Media Sites,Part 1: The Dark Side

In this first of two editorials about the positive and negative aspects of the rise of social media sites (SMS) in the last decade, we explore the dark side of SMS—the dangers of which have been widely reported in other media. Because we reward media outlets with profits for fear-based news programming, ¹ you have undoubtedly heard more about these studies than the ones that will be cited in next month's editorial on the benefits stemming from use of SMS. While other effects are still being investigated, what follows is a sampling of the proven drawbacks of using SMS.

A student at California State University summarized both the boon and the bane of SMS: “It can be argued that online social networks have brought us closer than ever before. It can also be argued that without these tools, we would find ourselves void of connections to distant family and friends without the ability to instantly share our thoughts, pictures, and news. Simultaneously, however, the social interactions and skill set utilized to engage in these relationships does not benefit our development of the social skills we desperately require to maintain the critical social relationships that exist face to face.” ²

Confirming this student's perception, a study of 100 students noted that “People are becoming more reliant on communicating with friends and family through technology and are neglecting to engage personally, uninhibited by phones and devices, even when actually in the presence of others.” In this study, most survey respondents felt that the presence of technology degraded the quality of their face-to-face conversations. Nearly half of survey respondents used technology to communicate more frequently than in-person communication. ³

Another study of 128 students showed that SNS benefited their communication, information gathering, and academic work, but had a negative impact on social interactions, emotional health, and completion of work. The students recognized that SNS “can be addictive, distractive, and a threat to their privacy.” ⁴

A different type of study explored the ability of SNS to change users' attitudes toward the negative. The researchers used nanotechnology as the subject because most people don't know anything about it. The study found that “uncivil blog comments contribute to polarization of risk perception of an issue depending on an individual's level of religiosity and support of that entity. Specifically, among individuals who do not support nanotechnology, those who are exposed to uncivil deliberation in blog comments are more likely to perceive the technology as risky than those who are exposed to civil comments. Similarly, highly religious individuals are more likely to perceive nanotechnology as risky when exposed to uncivil comments compared to less religious individuals exposed to uncivil comments.” ⁵

In addition to these findings, researchers have found associations with decreased subjective well-being and self-esteem, and increased psychological distress with social media use. Possible reasons for these negative effects have been cited in other studies: information overload, Internet addiction, and a negative peer effect (e.g., modeling risky behavior). ⁶

Certainly, SMS are the most obvious of disruptive technologies ⁷ that are changing the way we communicate—but are these changes all bad? Building on some of the positive results we touched on in this editorial, in next month's editorial, we present the lighter side of SMS: the positive changes permeating our social exchanges as SMS creation and participation accelerate.