UNC Study: Overusing Social Media May Negatively Impact Adolescents

With social media rapidly becoming the main source of communication between teens, some concerns of developing key interpersonal skills have arisen.

Researchers at UNC and NC State University collaborated in a new study on the potential for negative effects when overusing social media as an adolescent.

“With electronic communications, there are fewer interpersonal cues,” Jacqueline Nesi, the lead author of the study said, adding, “You’re not seeing facial expressions or using nonverbal communications. So, the predominant use of social media may limit the opportunity to practice in-person conversations that are crucial for adolescents, particularly boys, to develop important skills.” 

This study consisted of analyzing 487 adolescents at two separate time periods, one year apart, to determine the amount of time spent communicating via texting and social media outlets versus communicating in person or over the phone with their partner.

Nesi and her colleagues focused on assessing two main relationship skills, the ability to manage conflict and asserting their needs within their relationship. They found that teens who spent more time communicating with their partner using texting and social media outlets, struggled portraying those relationship skills, more prominently shown to effect the boys in the study.

“Social media allows adolescents to be in touch with their peers 24/7. It’s a great vehicle to allow adolescents to feel like they’re connected to those who are most important to them in ways that people who grew up before the social media age can’t imagine,” said study co-author Mitch Prinstein, adding, “But in the area of handling some of the tricky parts of relationships, it looks like the more adolescents are using these electronic forms of communication, the worse they’re doing over time in some of these traditional skills.”