The idea of friendship transformed into its nature and shape due to technological evolution over the past years. These transformations are ever changing and unavoidable, despite one’s acceptance. The rapid alterations to people’s lives promote acts that involve using social media and engaging in online social interactions; this can be due to peer pressure or an individual’s need to fit in the society. However, these changes are deleterious in terms of their effects on emotional and social health. The aim of this essay is to examine the impact of online friendships on people’s mental health as well as social wellbeing.
People who are more socially active and engage in social interactions with their friends tend to be more understanding, have a better theory of mind and suffering less from depression (Mesch & Talmud, 2007). Friends tend to be more open and approachable than parents over time. One’s healthy relationship with a strong group of friends can affect their mental health. While face-to-face friendships create a strong tie, online friendships have been shown to generate weaker ties. People, who have both online friends and real-life friends, reported that they engage in more activities with their face-to-face friends and they have more matters to discuss than their online friends. A good reason for it can be the time frame of their friendship; with real-life friendships lasting longer while online friendships tend to last for a shorter period of time (Mesch & Talmud, 2007). Therefore, it can be stated that it is the face-to-face friends that are more concrete in nature than the online friendship which is primarily an abstract relationship.
Today there are more opportunities to make connections with people across the globe than ever before. This has been made possible with the online platforms. The online platform is used by numerous people however it is enjoyed only by a set of people or only a specific type of population. It is crucial to know the relationship between different personality types and social media usage. According to Ryan and Xenos (2011) people who have narcissistic personalities tend to use social media, such as Facebook, more often than those who are diffident. They also added the ways Facebook users can promote narcissistic behaviours. Such behaviours are very much concerned with vanity and self-centered characteristics that are noxious acts, in terms of social and emotional health, in long-term. The notion of social connectedness is an important topic for a comparison of online and offline relationships. The belongingness theory describes social well-being in terms of maintaining a social relationship, in a positive manner, in order to exploit feelings of connectedness and intimacy (Grieve, Indian, Witteveen, Tolan & Marrington, 2013). As mentioned above, Mesch and Talmud (2007) reported people having short-term online friendships, while they have stronger offline friendships for a longer period of time. This is an example of the ways online friendships cannot positively contribute to one’s mental health. Social connectedness is an experience of joy for a short period of time (Van Bel, Smolders, Ijsselsteijn & De Kort, 2009). Online friendships can be beneficial for a limited time, however, in the deep-rooted effects, social media can be destructive to one’s social wellbeing. Another study has shown that people, who get tense when put in a social situation, prefer to use social media in order to fulfil their loneliness (Indian & Grieve, 2014). This can be interpreted as a positive and negative impact. It can be seen as a positive influence since it is an effortless alternative of communication for those who are socially troubled. Research suggested the correlation between well-being and online social support for people who have trouble socially interacting with others. On the contrary, the research also concluded social media can be an escape for people to face reality and try to engage in social actions (Indian & Grieve, 2014). It has been shown that Facebook users tend to have a poor family relationship for they invest most of their time online rather than in reality. Typically loneliness is associated with the older generations, however in recent days young people can experience loneliness as well despite having friends in school and neighborhood. People who are lonelier inclined to spend more time on Facebook than those who are more socially active. This can raise a concern for the effects of social media in the remote future.
Although online friendship can be isolating, on the other hand, it can help people with lower self-esteem to connect more comfortable with people. Without the social network, interacting with others would have been challenging for people who are socially anxious (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007). Another aspect that is worthwhile being mentioned is the difference between the parasocial, and reciprocal use of social networks. Parasocial activities refer to the one-way interaction of the media user and another person, who is unaware of the person’s activities; for example, users who follow celebrities. Conversely, reciprocal social media interactions are the ones that both sides are aware and are willingly participating in the friendship. According to Baek, Bae and Jang (2013), parasocial activities online can be harmful and cause feelings such as isolation and depression if it is continuous. On the other hand, reciprocal friendships have been shown to have a positive impact on psychological health. Barth (2015) explained the possible threats of Internet network to health, one of them being the stimulation of a sedentary lifestyle. Barth (2015) blamed the increase of obesity partially on Internet networks. Lack of physical exercise has a direct adverse effect on mental health. While people can go out in the real world interacting with others, they choose to stay at home and have a conversation on Facebook; therefore, they will face problems such as obesity, as a result, many other psychological disorders can occur due to low self-perception.
Another important threat of social media to mental well-being is cyberbullying. Not only that people, in specific adolescents, are more prone to being bullied online, but they are also at the danger of unhealthy behaviours, such as gambling, that can turn into life-long habits. Another concern is with the effect of social media on the self-body image, and the ways it can lead to mental disorders such as anorexia nervosa (Barth, 2015). Other possible threats of social media to mental health are the stimulation of negative feelings such as jealousy and envy. According to Mujcic and Oswald (2018), feelings of envious towards others has been shown to have adverse effects on mental health; there was also no correlation between envious feelings and improvement in job and academic performance, therefore such feelings cause no good but harm to psychological health (Mujcic et al., 2018).
Indeed, the idea of friendship has transformed into its nature and shape due to the growing technology. People prefer to make connections online rather than going out of their house. At the end of the paper, there are several points gathered that could be concluded. The online friendship is only due to the growth in technology and digital media, online friendship is not as helpful as real-life friends, and it has several mental health side effects. However, it has only been beneficial for the introvert people and people with social anxiety. Although it has helped a specific section, it is not the appropriate way that would be beneficial in the long run. People need to be aware of the pros and cons of using online platforms for interaction. Moreover, the handling of the online communication supported by logical reasons can be appropriate.
References
Baek, Y. M., Bae, Y., & Jang, H. (2013). Social and Parasocial Relationships on Social Network Sites and Their Differential Relationships with Users’ Psychological Well-Being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and social networking, 16 (7), 512-517. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0510
Barth, D. F. (2015). Social Media and Adolescent Development: Hazards, Pitfalls and Opportunitites for Growth. Clin Soc Work J, 43, 201-208. doi: 10.1007/s10615-014-0501-6
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, 1143-1168. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x
Grieve, R., Indian, M., Witteveen, K., Tolan, G.A., & Marrington, J. (2013). Face-to-face or Facebook: Can social connectedness be derived online?. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 604-609.
Indian, M., Grieve, R. (2014). When Facebook is easier than face-to-face: Social support derived from Facebook in socially anxious individuals. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 102-106.
Mesch, G., & Talmud, I. (2007). The Quality of Online and Offline Relationships: The Role of Multiplexity and Duration of Social Relationships. The Information Society, 22:3, 137-148. doi: 10.1080/01972240600677805
Mujcic, R., Oswald, A.J. (2018). Is envy harmful to a society’s psychological health and wellbeing? A longitudinal study of 18,000 adults. Social Science & Medicine, 198, 103-111.
Ryan, T., & Xenos, S. (2011). Who uses Facebook? An investigation into the relationship between the Big Five, shyness, narcissism, loneliness, and Facebook usage. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 1658-1664.
Van Bel, D.T., Smolders, K.C.H.J., Ijsselsteinj, W.A., & De Kort, Y.A.W. (2009). Social connectedness: Concept and measurement. ResearchGate. doi: 10.3233/978-1-60750-034-6-67
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