Teens Prefer Online Friends, New Study Reports
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huffingtonpost.com
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The new trend raises a number of questions. How has the
rising prevalence of social media altered the definition of friendship? Now,
being connected to another human being doesn’t require any sort of physicality.
How well can you really get to know someone based purely on digital interactions?
More than half of the 1,060 teens taking part in the study,
published last week, have made at least one friend online. 57% of American teens
ages 13 to 17 said they have made one friend online, with 29% having made more
than 5. Most of these friendships are confined to the digital space – only 20% of
all teens have met an online friend in person, versus 77% who have not.
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Google images
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83% of teens say that sites like Facebook and Instagram help
them to feel more connected with friends’ lives. Just 25% spend time with
friends in person on a daily basis. Texting is the dominant platform teens use
to communicate with friends; 55% text their friends daily. 14% use instant
messaging venues like WhatsApp on a daily basis.
Texting is the most common way teens get in touch with ‘close
friends’. Almost half say that text messaging (including messaging apps) is
their first choice of platform for communicating with their best friend. 20% choose
social media sites; 6% say video games are their first choice.
Girls were found to be more likely to chat online with
friends daily via text messaging, instant messaging and social media. Boys prefer
connecting with friends via video gaming. 84% say that online gaming helps them
to feel more connected to friends when they play together, versus 62% of girls.
34% of boy gamers play with friends online daily, compared with only 16% in
person. David Cole, head of digital media analysts DFC Intelligence, said that
communication in games has grown over the past 10 to 15 years, as quoted by the
New York Times. Online multiplayer
games like Halo and the massively popular World of Warcraft have led this
revolution.
Separate studies have linked social media with depression
and envy. Using Facebook and other social media sites to spy on friends may
have a negative effect on mental health, says a study from the University of
Missouri. When Facebook is used to compare your achievements or levels of
happiness with those of friends, it can cause negative feelings of envy and
depression. ‘Users should be self-aware that positive self-presentation is an
important motivation for using social media, so it is to be expected that many
users would post only positive things about themselves,’ said Dr Edson Tandoc,
who co-authored the 2015 study.
In the past, a lot of attention has been paid to the pathologies
that can arise from teens’ use of digital tools, from fears about online
predators and bullying to the allure and distractions of screen-based life, states
the Pew report. But less attention has been paid to how digital media has been
integrated into the fundamentals of their social and emotional lives,
particularly where the arc of friendships are concerned.
Aaron Waterhouse
Aaron Waterhouse
Aaron is a recent English graduate from Durham University who is now working as a content writer intern. An enthusiastic traveller, he hopes to become a journalist and report from around the world. Follow him @AaronAtSMF.
Teens Prefer Online Friends, New Study Reports
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Friday, August 14, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Friday, August 14, 2015
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