Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION 1

Social Media and Its Effects on Communication

Susana Ayon
University of Texas at El Paso







SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION 2
Abstract
Over the years social media has been growing immensely over the years, and has become
extremely popular. People use it for many reasons such as browsing, research and social
networking. This literature review will cover four main questions regarding the topic and also
include positive and negative aspects about each section. Observations and surveys are also
included to help the information and also feedback from people about the topic.












SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION 3


Social Media and Its Effects on Communication: A Review of the Literature
Social media consists of websites and applications which are used by people to
communicate one another electronically in a more efficient way. Social media is made up of
various classifications such as social networks, podcasts, blogs, social blogs and many more
which make up the social media world. These can be used in numerous of ways such as in the
workplace, for entertainment, even for education. The most commonly used would be the social
networks (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) classification because most of the population involved with
social media would be teen agers and they are interested in chatting, posting, sharing and that is
exactly what social networks provide. Over the years social media has made a huge impact on
society, every one worldwide is now using social media in some way. But is social media
helping or affecting communication?
Many people ask if this change in how people communicate through these social media
classifications is a positive and negative thing. Social media affects communication in both
aspects positively and negatively it has brought many good things but people also wonder what
this change might do to our communication in the future. Wed rather e-mail than meet; wed
rather text than talk on the phone. (P. Booth, Social Media and Interpersonal Communication,
May/June 2013) People are starting to feel uncomfortable expressing themselves to other people
face to face, now they rather type their feelings to others through an electronic message or talk
through a device. But others also argue that through these social media sites people are
communicating in a more effective and faster way. These are basic concepts considered in this
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topic, but to fully understand this topic the following are some questions being researched which
will give both positive and negative aspects that will help readers understand the topic
thoroughly:
1. How does social media affect social interaction?
2. How has social media affected our ability to decode language easier?
3. What will be the outcome of social media affecting our communication skills?
4. Should there be any regulations on how we communicate through social media?
The following will allow the reader to thoroughly understand the topic; each question can be
answered in various perspectives to better understand in what way is social media affecting the
population.
How did social media affect social interaction?
It is important to understand how social media is affecting our social interaction to be
able to understand how it is affecting our communication. Less people are having conversations
one another face-to face because of social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As
well as text messaging, phone calls and emails, this is the way people are communicating with
each other. Should people be worried that social interaction might vanish in the future? In a
study conducted in the US, researchers found Social Media to be more addictive than cigarettes
or alcohol and that people found it harder to resist (Digital Fire, 2012). Social media has
changed completely the way people communicate with each other, people are not expressing
themselves any more, they like to hide behind a profile or a text message rather than having a
proper conversation with someone else. By observations done in three different public settings a
mall, a hospital and a restaurant the author was able to observe around 50 people in each setting
SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION 5
and was able to analyze that more than half of the population were on their phone rather than
having quality time with others. Either they were found being talking on the phone texting or
doing something with their mobile device. Social media has decreased human interaction by
distracting people from communicating one another.
But is social media only affecting human interaction? Many people agree that social
media has been the greatest idea and has become very effective when wanting to communicate
with other people. Social networks have made it very effective for families to communicate with
beloved ones which they are in long distances. Social networks have made it possible to keep
that communication between families strong and available for everyone. Also for people in
business social networks have been a great invention, due to business men being able to
communicate easily with other businesses in long distances just through a quick instant message
or Skype which is a network that makes video calls. Social media has made human interaction
physically decrease but it has increased communication through other sources, such as social
networks and electronic devices.
How has social media affected our ability to decode language easier?
LOL, TTYL, OMW, OMG? Some people may conclude that these are just random letter
put together with no significant meaning. But these are actually abbreviations which were
created by social network users. Social media has brought a whole new language to our way of
speaking. The whole purpose of this new language is to make communication more effective,
efficiently and for people to communicate faster. Social media sites like twitter that impose a
character limit force users to condense their thoughts. For many, these results in excessive use of
text speak. This type of shorthand involves a whole new language of abbreviations. (K. Chopra,
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2013) Social network have brought a whole new language into our vocabulary, but is it all that
effective and efficient?
Social media has brought a whole new language into our vocabulary, but it has messed up
the proper language etiquette people have. The language used in social networks is very
informal, even though the sites where this language is being used is not required to be formal, in
the long run it might affect how we write. People should worry about the younger population
who spend large amount of hours on these social networks and use this language constantly, this
language might get attached to them. On some social network sites, to be able to post something
it limits you the amount of characters you can input, with forces the user to abbreviate and
condense words. The following pie chart Figure 1 illustrates a survey done by the author to get a
rough estimate of how many people use any type of different language or abbreviation while
they communicate through social networks. The results indicated that 70% or 17 people said they
did use some type of abbreviation and 30% or 3 people said they did not use any type of
abbreviations: Figure 1. Survey done by author, answering the question: How many people use
some type of abbreviations on social media?

70%
30%
How many people use
some type of abbreviations
on social media?
Yes
No
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Although the survey was only conducted to very few people, the author was able to
analyze a rough estimate of how many people actually do use these different languages to
communicate through social networks.
What will be the outcome of social media affecting our communication skills?
Social media has changed the way people communicate intensely over the years all over
the world. People use social media for almost everything such as browsing and social
networking. Social media is very useful for many things but many worry that it might affect our
communication skills. People are using these social networks incorrectly which is affecting
peoples communication. There are less is less bonding in families because social networks
intervene. Social networks are decreasing the interaction between people. According to Jared
Pizzitola a professional counselor, Very important skills develop from face-to-face
conversations. (Antis, T., May 9) Due to social networks face-to face conversations are rapidly
increasing, what can be the future for younger generations if this continues to decrease? A
survey Figure 2 conducted by the author the following question was asked to a group of 20
people.

65%
35%
Do you think social media is
affecting our
communication?
Yes
No
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Out of the 20 people asked the question above, 13 answered yes, they did believe social media is
affecting our communication and 7 answered no. Although the following survey was only
conducted to a very small group statistics can be somewhat accurate according to the results.
Social media is not only affecting communication in a bad way many people believe that
social media is helping communication be more affective and easier to be able to approach.
Before to be able to get a hold of someone was difficult and now people are just an email or an
instant message away. Younger generations are taking advantage of social networks to make
friends from all over the world so they are using these sites to communicate in a different way.
Although social media might decrease physical interaction between humans, at the same time it
is helping more people communicate in a more effective way.
Should there be any regulations on how we communicate through social media?
In a realistic perspective it would be very hard to give people restrictions on how they
should use and how to communicate through social media. the most effective way would be by
warning people on the outcomes of what could happen if social networks is being used
incorrectly. Many people communicate through social networks or using text messages while
they are driving, they do not realize how dangerous that can be. It distracts people from the roads
and could cause an accident. Younger generations also use social networks during school hours;
students have learned very effective ways of using social networks while at school. Social
networks distract students from their education. Social networks are also interrupting the
bonding between families; almost every member of every family now owns some type of an
electronic device and being used at wrong times. These are few of the reasons people are not
using social media in a correct way. There is no way that a restriction on how people use social
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media because every person uses it differently, but there are ways to warn people of what social
media can cause if it is being used incorrectly.
Conclusion
Social media has been a very big change in society, as well as a new way of
communicating. There has been different opinions on this change in communication, many
people agree that social networks will decrease face-to-face interactions and others think that
social media has created a whole new language which is more effective and faster. The questions
being researched give different points of view about the topic which give a better understanding
of the topic. Social media will definitely continue to grow; only the future will lead us to answers
on the effects on our communication by social media.









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References
Keller, M. (2013). Social Media and Interpersonal Communication. Social Work Today, 13, 10.
Retrieved From:
http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051313p10.shtml
Burchat, K. (2013, March 13). Social media: changing communication forever. The Argus.
Retrieved from
http://www.theargus.ca/articles/opinion/op-ed/2013/03/social-media-changing-
communication-forever
Antis, T. (May 9). Is social media ruining our kids social skills?. PARENT TODAY. Retrieved
from
http://www.parenttoday.org/client/index.cfm/2013/5/9/Is-social-media-ruining-our-kids-
social-skills
Chopra, K. (2013, September 17). The Effects of Social Media on How We Speak and Write.
Social media today. Retrieved from
http://socialmediatoday.com/karenn1617/1745751/effects-social-media-how-we-speak-
and-write
Sherman, A. (2010, April 28). How social media is affecting the way we speak and write.
Gigaom. Retrieved from
http://gigaom.com/2010/04/28/how-social-media-is-affecting-the-way-we-speak-and-
write/
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Digital Fire. (2012, March 22). How social media has affected human interaction. Digital fire.
Retrieved from
http://www.digitalfire.co.za/blog/how-social-media-has-affected-human-interaction/
Surveys:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RPVR7KR
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6GR9GN