Social Use of the Internet: Friend or Foe?

Social Use of the Internet: Friend or Foe?

As internet use in the 21^st century progresses, so does its popularity. The internet is used by almost everyone, in a variety of ways, providing never ending information, an easy mean of communication, and an ability to have the world closer than ever before. Internet use as social communication has become widely used, and is especially popular among teenagers and young adults. The use of instant messaging and social networking sites, have become not only popular, but almost a necessity among young people. People are now able to express themselves differently than compared to face to face communication, and are using the internet to provide another public sphere (Boyd, 2007) of communication. Although many studies and media reports assume internet use among young people to be negative and dangerous, this essay explores the benefits of using the internet as a proper means of social communication, with special attention to the use of instant messaging and social networking sites, such as Facebook, as a positive outlet of social communication, promoting social capital as well as contributing to one’s overall well-being.

Instant messaging was one of the first ways of socially communicating via the internet. It can be defined as “synchronous communication” (Bryant, 2006, p. 3) with one or many at once. The use of instant messaging has become extremely well-liked due to its inexpensive and relatively easy use, making communication to more than one person accessible and uncomplicated. Although widely used and accepted by many in the younger generations, others have seen instant messaging to be harmful and detrimental to one’s well-being. Instant messaging has been considered to foster anti-social behavior (Turrow 1999; Bryant, 2006), assuming that if one spends hours on the internet alone; they are practicing harmful behavior compared to the social norms of society. The use of instant messaging has also been said to hinder offline ties (Zhao, 2006), decreasing face to face interaction, which in effect, can cause a lower social capital (Ellison, 2007). Other conclusions have been made that more time spent online means less time one spends with loved ones or close friends (Zhao, 2006), therefore hindering important relationships.

Although this important information should be considered when studying patterns of online behavior, especially in young people, it’s important to note that many of these studies have an underlying assumption that those spending time socially communicating on instant messaging programs are talking to strangers. In a recent study, researchers concluded that youth who use instant messenger regularly are actually maintaining their offline relationships, especially with those who do not live nearby (Bryant, 2006). Youth are using instant messenger similar to the telephone, by communicating with friends that are out of geographic reach. Instant messenger also promotes having healthy relationships with others, by giving young people an inexpensive outlet to communicate. In fact, those who use chat programs had more social ties than non social users of the internet (Zhao, 2006), therefore, giving users of instant messaging an outlet for successful relationships, and possibly more social ties than those who do not use the internet socially.

Social networking sites have similar qualities to instant messaging, making them popular as well. Sites such Facebook have only increased in popularity, and continue to grow daily. Researchers, along with the media, have paid special attention to these sites- mostly in a negative manner. Again, like instant messaging, most research has been conducted under the assumption that those who use social networking sites are engaging in relationships with strangers. It has been argued that users of social networking sites are putting themselves in harm both online and offline (Ellison, 2007). Those who participate in these sites have an unknown audience, participate in immense self disclosure, and give personal details about themselves, therefore giving the audience a very personal inlet to their life.

Users of social networking sites closely resemble those who use instant messaging. In paying particular attention to Facebook, young people seem to be using these sites to bridge relationships, and keep in touch with old and new friends. Users of Facebook are actually using the site to establish a connection “involving people with whom they share an offline connection—either an existing friend, a classmate, someone living near them, or someone they met socially”(Ellison, 2007, p.12). Many users of Facebook have come to college without having close relationships; therefore the use of Facebook is helping their connection with offline relationships, bridging the gap between offline and online connection, forming a common bond. Most of the new connections that were being made on Facebook were geographically bound (Ellison, 2007), giving the user a more comfortable environment, and an insight on where they live. Facebook is mainly being used to keep old ties, while also bridging and making new connections that have been started offline, making it beneficial to one’s social network.

Social users of the internet are talking to and maintaining existing and offline connections, ultimately positively adding to their well-being. Social use of the internet is positively related to interpersonal activity (Zhao, 2006) and positive time spent on the internet adds to one’s overall well-being (Valkenburg, 2007). Online communication encourages intimate self disclosure and may be responsible for a potential increase in the quality of adolescents’ friendships (Valkenburg, 2007), giving users a different way to express themselves. Social use of the internet also helps overcome barriers faced by students who have low satisfaction and low self esteem (Ellison, 2007), adding to their overall well-being, and contributing to higher self worth.

Studies show that young people are using the internet to socialize closely to the way they would use it normally in offline publics. The internet seems to be a whole new social realm for youth (Boyd, 2007), giving them many of the same experiences that they would have offline. It is important to remember that the act of growing up for young people can be a trial in itself. The ups and downs, successes and failures, and changes in a young person’s life are inevitable. The common misconception that social use of the internet is damaging to young people may be totally incorret. Social use of the internet should be promoted, not frowned upon, youth are doing exactly what they have been doing for ages-just somewhere else.

Boyd, D. (2007). Why youth (heart) social network sites: the role of networked publics in teenage social life. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning –Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham).

Bryant, J. A., Sanders-Jackson, A., & Smallwood, A. M. K. (2006). IMing, text messaging, and adolescent social networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(2), article 10.

Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), article 1.

Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2007). Online communication and adolescent well-being: Testing the stimulation versus the displacement hypothesis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), article 2.

Zhao, S. (2006). Do Internet users have more social ties? A call for differentiated analyses of Internet use. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(3), article 8.