Although social media allows adolescents to stay in constant touch with each other, social interaction behind a screen rather than in real life could be preventing teens from developing the skills they need to manage healthy relationships later in life suggests a new US study.
Carried out by a team of researchers from the University North Carolina at Chapel Hill and NC State University, the study looked at 487 adolescents at two time periods, one year apart, to assess how much time they spent communicating with romantic partners in the more traditional ways of in person or on the phone, or by using the more high-tech ways of text messaging and social media sites.
Adolescence is a key time for developing these complex and important interpersonal skills.
However technological advances means that “With electronic communications, there are fewer interpersonal cues,” explained lead author of the study Jacqueline Nesi, “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.”
The findings were published on in the Journal of Research on Adolescence.
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