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Essay on Effects Of Social Media On Family Relationships
Students are often asked to write an essay on Effects Of Social Media On Family Relationships in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.
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100 Words Essay on Effects Of Social Media On Family Relationships
The rise of social media.
Social media is a popular tool used by many people today. It helps us connect with friends, share photos, and get news updates. Yet, it can also affect our family relationships. Let’s look at some ways it does this.
Less Face-to-Face Interaction
Increased conflict.
Another impact is that social media can cause conflict. For example, parents might argue with their kids about how much time they spend online. Or, siblings might fight over who gets to use the computer. This can create tension within the family.
Improved Communication
On the positive side, social media can also improve communication. Families can use it to stay in touch when they’re not together. For instance, parents can check on their kids by sending a quick message. This can help families feel more connected.
250 Words Essay on Effects Of Social Media On Family Relationships
Introduction.
Social media is a big part of our lives today. It helps us connect with people around the world. But, it can also affect our relationships with our family.
Time Spent on Social Media
One big issue is the time we spend on social media. Many people spend hours every day on sites like Facebook or Instagram. This can take away from time spent with family. Instead of talking or playing with our siblings, we might be scrolling through our phones. This can make our family relationships weaker.
Communication Changes
Social media also changes how we talk to each other. Instead of face-to-face chats, we often send messages or posts. This can make our conversations less personal. It’s harder to understand how someone feels when we can’t see their face or hear their voice. This can lead to misunderstandings and fights within the family.
Privacy Concerns
Another problem is privacy. Sometimes, people share too much information on social media. This can include private family matters. It can make family members feel uncomfortable or upset. It can also lead to trust issues within the family.
In conclusion, social media has both good and bad effects on our family relationships. It’s important to use it wisely. We should balance our time spent online and offline. We should also respect each other’s privacy. This way, we can enjoy the benefits of social media without hurting our family relationships.
500 Words Essay on Effects Of Social Media On Family Relationships
Time spent online.
One of the main ways social media affects families is by taking up a lot of time. Many people spend hours on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This time is often taken away from family activities. For example, instead of playing a game or having a meal together, family members might be busy on their phones or computers. This can lead to less quality time spent together as a family.
Social media also changes the way we talk to each other. Instead of having face-to-face talks, many people now use messages or posts. This can make communication less personal. For example, a family member might send a text message instead of saying something in person. This can lead to misunderstandings and arguments.
Privacy Issues
Influence and peer pressure.
In conclusion, social media can have a big impact on family relationships. It can take away from family time, change how we communicate, cause privacy issues, and create feelings of jealousy. It’s important for families to talk about these issues. They should set rules for social media use and make sure to spend quality time together offline. This can help to lessen the negative effects of social media on family relationships.
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The Dangers of Social Media on Marriage and Family
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If you’ve ever been out on a romantic dinner date with your partner only to discover they seem distracted by the latest intriguing Facebook update, you’re not alone. Sixty-six percent of adults in married or committed relationships report that smartphones and social media sites like Facebook play an integral role in their lives. In fact, research shows the average user scrolls through social media sites for two and a half hours per day.
It may be time to consider the pros and cons of using these sites and establish a few ground rules to avoid any potential dangers of social media on your marriage and family.
The Pros of Social Media and Relationships
First, it’s important to consider the ways social media can enhance the lives of you and your family members. Social media can be a real plus for couples who spend a lot of time apart because it offers a way for them to connect, says Alexandra Samuel, PhD , a speaker, author, and regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The Harvard Business Review who helps people and organizations excel at working and living together online.
According to an article written by Gwendolyn Seidman, PhD, in Psychology Today, social media can aid relationships by making it easier for partners to integrate their once-disconnected social networks. One woman Seidman interviewed says her Facebook feed makes her husband’s co-workers feel as if they know her, and has served as an icebreaker when meeting those people in real-world social settings.
Likewise, young people form and maintain friendships online. By connecting with extended family and friends or taking part in local and global online groups, children can gain a sense of belonging. Social media can provide an avenue for them to follow their interests and learn new ones. It also offers them an opportunity to explore their creativity with profile pages, images, videos, and game modifications.
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The Dangers of Social Media on Relationships
Now that you know social media’s benefits, understanding its pitfalls can help you be aware of its potential dangers on relationships:
Social media serves as a distraction from focusing on the interactions that nurture relationships. “Social media use can become compulsive,” says Darren Adamson, PhD, LMFT , chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Sciences at National University.
According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of partnered adults say they are bothered by the amount of time their partner spends on their smartphone. As social media sites update, they become more interactive and more “addicting,” making it difficult to manage the time spent on it. In fact, according to a study cited by PsychCentral, American college students describe abstaining from social media the same way they describe drug and alcohol withdrawal — cravings, anxiety, and feeling jittery.
People share their best lives on social media, so couples sometimes compare their mundane lives with other’s exciting lives, which can create destructive comparisons. A negative social comparison or the fear of missing out (FOMO) is the idea that someone else is having a better time or is more successful than you (from what you can see of their online lives). This notion can impact our mental health in a number of ways. Feeling envy and down on ourselves because of what others post on social media is associated with worsening depression and decreased overall well-being.
A study published in Computers in Human Behavior found a link between social media use and decreased marriage quality in every model analyzed. The study results predict that people who do not use social media are 11 percent happier in their marriages than people that regularly use social media. For children, it’s important to consider what they’re not doing when they’re spending so much time on social media. According to the National Institutes of Health , the overuse of digital media can put your children at risk for:
- Depression and anxiety . Research shows the more time adolescents spend on their smartphone, the higher levels of depression and anxiety are found one year later.
- Not enough sleep . Children and teens who have too much media exposure or who have a TV, computer, or mobile device in their bedroom fall asleep later at night and sleep less.
- Obesity . Excessive screen use and having a TV in the bedroom can increase the risk of obesity. Watching TV for more than 1.5 hours daily is a risk factor for obesity for children ages 4 through 9. Teens who watch more than five hours of TV per day are five times more likely to be overweight than teens who watch two hours or less per day.
- Cyberbullying . Children and teens online can become victims of cyberbullying, which can lead to negative social, academic, and health issues for both the bully and target.
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Guidelines for Maintaining a Healthy Balance Between Social Media and Relationships
Is it possible to maintain healthy relationships and be actively involved in social media? The answer is yes. A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 55% of Gen Z feel supported through social media. Still, setting a few ground rules can mean the difference between a healthy use of social media in a relationship, and taking it into the danger zone.
Don’t use social media as a negative point of comparison for your relationship. “If you feel compelled to make comparisons involving your relationship,” says Adamson, “compare where your relationship is today with what it was like a year ago — or five or ten years ago for those in a long-term relationship. Let the results of the comparison prompt changes in behavior that can build your relationship.”
Spend time nurturing your relationship. “Do things that create closeness in your relationship,” encourages Adamson, “and do them regularly without distraction.” If possible, tuck the smartphone away — out of sight and out of mind. The distraction factor is one of the biggest challenges with social media. According to a study by Scientific American , the presence of a smartphone can be detrimental to interpersonal relationships.
Do not maintain a separate social media life. “Share your social media world with your partner,” Adamson says. The same is true for your child. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests co-viewing social media with your child, so they can use it to learn, be creative, and share these their experiences with family.
In healthychildren.org , the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends setting social media ground rules for your children. To strike a healthy balance in your family, remember that all children and teens need adequate sleep (8-12 hours, depending on age), physical activity (1 hour), and time away from media. By creating a family media plan , you and your children can set media priorities that matter most to your family.
Plan media-free times together, such as family dinners, and engage in family activities that promote well-being, such as sports, reading, and talking with each other. As a parent, set a good example by turning off the TV and putting your smartphone on “do not disturb” during media-free times with your family. Another important media-free time is when your child does homework.
Keep in mind that social media is exactly what the name implies — media. “It is not a separate and distinct world,” Adamson says. “It does not sustain relationships, because it is based on virtual reality that, by its nature, is not able to support the activities required to make a relationship work.”
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Pursuing a career in marriage and family therapy
From social media and pressures at work to a stack of bills still unpaid, modern-day life can strain marriages and families. If you’re a compassionate individual who cares about helping people and would like to help them build stronger relationships and navigate life’s difficulties, becoming a marriage and family therapist can be a satisfying career choice. National University’s Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology is designed to prepare you to work with couples, children, and other family members to help them manage various emotional situations or psychological issues.
Students in this online MFT program choose between two specialization options based on their career goals: the standard Marriage and Family Therapist Option and the Combined MFT/LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor) option. Throughout the program, you’ll work closely with faculty members who are also practicing professionals in their field, so you’ll gain real-world insights into how licensed therapists can make a positive difference in the lives of their clients.
NU’s online MFT program is designed for California only. The program can be completed in 20 months, at which time you’ll be prepared to sit for the Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) License mandated by the Board of Behavioral Sciences in the state of California. By adding three more courses in three months, you can also be eligible to sit for a license in Professional Clinical Counseling.
Ready to take the first step in your education journey? Contact NU for more information.
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Families and Social Media Use: The Role of Parents’ Perceptions about Social Media Impact on Family Systems in the Relationship between Family Collective Efficacy and Open Communication
Communication through social media characterizes modern lifestyles and relationships, including family interactions. The present study aims at deepening the role that parents’ perceptions about social media effects on family systems can exert within their family functioning, specifically referring to the relationship between collective family efficacy and open communications within family systems with adolescents. A questionnaire to detect the openness of family communications, the collective family efficacy and the perceptions about the impacts of social media on family systems was administered to 227 Italian parents who had one or more teenage children, and who use Facebook and WhatsApp to communicate with them. From the results, these perceptions emerge as a mediator in the relationship between the collective family efficacy and the openness of communications, suggesting that it is not only the actual impact of social media on family systems that matters but also parents’ perceptions about it and how much they feel able to manage their and their children’s social media use without damaging their family relationships. Thus, the need to foster parents’ positive perceptions about social media’s potential impact on their family relationships emerges. A strategy could be the promotion of knowledge on how to functionally use social media.
1. Introduction
Families represent not only environments wherein their members live but also whole complex social systems [ 1 , 2 ]. Thus, according to the family systems theory perspective, family functioning refers to processes and interactions in which the members of the system are involved to meet their needs, make decisions, define goals, and establish rules for themselves and for the system as a whole. Levels of openness of communications and healthiness of interactions represent characterizing elements of family’s ability to function adequately, associated with positive outcomes at both individual and family levels [ 3 ]. With specific reference to systems including adolescents, mutual acceptance and open communications among family members can help them in managing stressors and negotiating adolescents’ individuation [ 4 ], as they allow children to talk with their parents about daily concerns, activities, issues, and in turn, parents being adequately supportive of them [ 5 , 6 ].
Moreover, social cognitive theory assigns a central role to perceived efficacy in managing different aspects of daily relationships, interactions, and tasks within the system [ 7 , 8 ]. Specifically, family collective efficacy is “members’ beliefs in the capabilities of their family to work together to promote each other’s development and well-being, maintain beneficial ties to extrafamilial systems, and to exhibit resilience to adversity” ([ 5 ], p. 424). Studies [ 5 , 9 ] showed that higher collective family efficacy associates with higher family satisfaction, open communication, effective parental monitoring, and lower aggressive management of conflicts and communication problems. Such an efficacy plays a key role in managing demands and issues related to parenthood [ 7 ], representing a protective factor helping parents to get positive outcomes for their family system as a whole.
With reference to family relationships, the most recent literature has deepened the understanding of the impact that social media can have on them with specific attention to particular family tasks, challenges and phases of family life. Social media use can specifically be a central issue for families facing adolescence evolutionary tasks [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], which also refer to adolescents’ negotiation of autonomy and independence within the family system and to the significance of peer relationships [ 13 ]. Indeed, given that nowadays, adolescents spend significant amounts of time using social media with a variety of goals, scholars often talk about Generation M[edia] when referring to modern adolescents [ 14 , 15 ]. This seems to be an increasing trend according to the latest data from the We Are Social report [ 16 ], which states that in Italy there are 43.31 million Internet users (10% more than in 2017); 34 million (57%) are active social media users (10% more than in 2017), 30 million (51%) do this through their mobile devices (7% more than in 2017); moreover, 53% of Italian new technology users believe that they offer more risks than opportunities, while 54% state they prefer to use them if it is possible [ 16 ].
Thus, it is evident that the information and communication technologies (ICTs) are profoundly changing the ways in which people behave and relate to each other [ 17 , 18 ] and creating conflicting perceptions about their impact. As they have become cultural practices embedded in everyday life relationships [ 3 , 10 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], their contribution to creating richer and more complex patterns of interactions [ 28 ], including to family life, cannot be ignored [ 29 ]; however, whether the effects of these new forms of interactions on the functioning of family systems are positive or negative is still unclear, even more when considering families with adolescents [ 30 ]. Thus, with Facebook and WhatsApp being the most used social media in Italy [ 16 ], also among relatives, the present study aims at deepening the role that parents’ perceptions about the effects of social media on their family system can exert within the functionality of their family, specifically referring to the relationship between collective family efficacy and open communications within family systems with adolescents.
2. Perceptions about Social Media Use within Families with Adolescents
According to Hertlein’s multitheoretical model [ 31 ], the ecological influences related to social media features (e.g., accessibility, acceptability, accommodation), the changes social media use brings with reference to family structure (e.g., redefinition of rules, roles, and boundaries), and the ones related to family processes (e.g., redefinition of intimacy, new ways of communicating, new rituals) are interconnected and interdependent. Thus, due to the spread of new ways of communicating and to the consequences they can bring with reference to the functionality and habits of the family (e.g., redefinition of roles and boundaries, new kinds of intimacy, communications, rituals, [ 29 , 31 ]), parents can have ambivalent perceptions about their impact on relationships and communications with their adolescent children. Consistently, studies about families, which include adolescents, brought ambivalent results too, ranging from higher social support [ 30 ] to lower family cohesion [ 31 ] and progressive isolation of family members within the same house [ 32 , 33 ].
Indeed, on the one hand, ICTs use can provide positive results in terms of family cohesion, adaptability, and open communications [ 3 ] and can have a positive impact on family relationships too [ 34 ], by allowing family members to keep in touch, make plans in real-time, ensure children’s safety as they allow communications in emergency situations [ 35 ], strengthen family ties, encourage parent–child interactions, and promote and facilitate discussions [ 36 ]. Moreover, ICTs and social media use could increasingly ensure what Castells [ 37 ] defined as autonomy in security conditions, as they help parents in communicating with their children at any time, checking their movements in physical and online spaces [ 35 , 38 , 39 , 40 ].
On the other hand, the connectedness allowed by mobile devices and social media needs to be negotiated in times, spaces, and occasions where it is allowed, and the chances to perpetually communicate need to be modulated [ 41 ]. A risk arising from the lack of modulation and negotiation about social media and mobile devices use, which could impact family relationships and dynamics, seems related to the phubbing phenomenon, i.e., ignoring someone in a social environment by paying attention to mobile devices instead (e.g., interrupting a meal while eating together to check the phone for messages or missed calls) [ 42 , 43 ]. Altogether, the arrangements needed to avoid these kinds of risks and modulating mobile devices use in times, spaces, and occasions could cause conflicts within families [ 35 , 39 , 41 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], as parents who are more worried about social media impacts can exert a greater control over their children’s use [ 47 , 48 , 49 ], making adolescents get the perception of being hyper-controlled by their parents, that in turn can increase the level of conflict and aggressive communications. Moreover, as social media represents environments wherein different social norms and rules can be established and followed by adolescents out of their parents’ control, this can make further risks arise if their use and its consequences is not adequately discussed among family members, as, therefore, adolescents’ decision-making processes can be affected by those norms (e.g., [ 50 ]).
3. Aim of the Study
It has been acknowledged that the perceived collective family efficacy refers to the perception about family members being able to handle daily social interactions, challenges, and communications within the system and helps in achieving positive family outcomes such as open communications [ 5 ]. Thus, as the widespread ITCs use within families represents a new challenge to be managed by parents through an active adaptation, which can bring changes in family communications [ 30 , 31 ] and habits, beliefs and norms [ 29 ], the following hypothesis is suggested:
H: Parents’ perception of the impact of social media use on their family system mediates the relationship between their perceived collective family efficacy and the perceived openness of communications within the family system.
Open communication has been chosen as a key outcome because it can be a particularly relevant issue in family systems which include adolescents [ 51 , 52 ].
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. participants and procedures.
Snowball sampling was used to recruit 227 Italian parents with one or more teenage child (aged between 13 and 19), who use Facebook and WhatsApp to communicate with them; having at least one teenage child and communicating with s/he through smartphones and ICT was the criterion to be a participant in the study. The researchers paid attention to privacy and ethics, and introduced the questionnaire with an explanation about confidentiality and anonymity issues, conforming with the International applicable law (EU Reg. 2016/679). At the end of this explanation, every participant had to express his/her informed consent; in case of a negative answer, they could not take part in the study. They received no compensation for participating in the study.
Seventy percent were female, 30% male; 25.1% were born between 1943 and 1960 (the so-called “Baby Boomers”, [ 53 ]), 68.3% between 1961 and 1981 (the so-called “Gen Xers”, [ 53 ]), 6.6% between 1982 and 1997 (the so-called “Millennials”, [ 53 ]); 11.5% were from Northern Italy, 8.4% from Central Italy and 77.5% from Southern Italy; only 2.6% were from Italian islands. Most of the participants (72.2%) were married or cohabiting, while 15.9% were separated or divorced, 8.8% unmarried, and 3.1% widower. About half the participants (48.9%) had a high school diploma, while 26% a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree and 7.9% a higher degree; 14.1% had a secondary school diploma.
4.2. Measures
The questionnaire included a section about socio-demographic data and the following measures.
4.2.1. Collective Family Efficacy
The collective family efficacy scale (α = 0.96, [ 8 ]) was used. It is compounded by 20 items on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Not well at all; 7 = Very well), aimed at measuring the perceived operative capabilities of the family as a whole system, such as managing daily routines, achieving consensus in decision making and planning, coping together with adversities, promoting reciprocal commitment, providing emotional support when needed, enjoying the time together. Being interested in the holistic efficacy appraisal [ 54 , 55 ], the total score was used.
4.2.2. Family Open Communication
A pool of 8 items (α = 0.90, see Table 1 for the items) was used to detect participants’ perceptions about the openness of their family communications. Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with each item on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree).
Factor loadings for exploratory factor analyses (EFA) with principal axis factoring for the family open communication scale.
Item | Factor Loading |
---|---|
Every member of my family is satisfied about how we communicate. | 0.696 |
Each one among us listens to the other members of the family. | 0.813 |
Each one among us knows how to express love to the other members of the family. | 0.767 |
Each one among us can ask whatever s/he wants to the other members of the family. | 0.698 |
Each one among us can talk about his/her problems with the other members of the family. | 0.722 |
Each one among us can talk about his/her ideas and beliefs with the other members of the family. | 0.796 |
Each one among us tries to understand other members’ feelings. | 0.722 |
Each one among us expresses whatever s/he feels to the other members of the family. | 0.640 |
Explained variance (%) | 53.846 |
Cronbach’s α | 0.90 |
Note. n = 227.
4.2.3. Social Media Impact on Family Systems.
A pool of 9 items (α = 0.73, see Table 2 for the items), referring to both positive and negative impacts of social media on family systems, was used to assess participants’ perceptions about it. Respondents were asked to rate their agreement with each item on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree). As positive and negative impacts of social media use on family systems can be meant as two sides of the same coin, the total score was used.
Factor loadings for EFA with principal axis factoring and promax rotation for the social media impact on the family system scale.
Item | Positive Impact | Negative Impact |
---|---|---|
They improve a healthy communication. | 0.715 | |
They interfere with family rules. * | 0.554 | |
They improve family cohesion. | 0.789 | |
They expose family privacy to risks. * | 0.712 | |
They help in bounding generations. | 0.723 | |
They expose family intimacy to risks. * | 0.785 | |
They help in facing up to life cycle transitions. | 0.678 | |
They make the relationships among family members more vulnerable. * | 0.699 | |
They strengthen family resilience (that is the ability to face up positively to traumatic events, to reorganize functionally after some difficulties). | 0.715 | |
Explained variance (%) | 29.306 | 21.527 |
Cronbach’s α | 0.73 |
Note. n = 227 * item score is reversed. Only factor loading > 0.30 are shown.
4.3. Data Analysis
4.3.1. preliminary analyses.
As they had not been validated yet, exploratory factor analyses (EFA) with principal axis factoring and promax rotation were led to extract the factors of the family open communication and of the social media impact on family system scales. For both scales, sphericity was checked using Bartlett’s test and adequacy of sampling using the Keiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) measure. The emerged factor structures were further tested through confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) run with structural equation modeling (SEM). Specifically, for the social media impact on family system scale a two-factor structure, as suggested by the EFA, and a hierarchical structure with the two factors loading on a higher-order latent dimension were tested to determine which one better fitted the data, consistently with the theoretical model about positive and negative impacts of social media use on family system as two sides of the same coin.
For the family collective efficacy, the factor structure that emerged from a previous study [ 8 ] was tested through CFA run with SEM.
To evaluate the model fit for all the CFA, different indices were observed [ 56 ]: The Chi-square test of model fit, the comparative fit index (CFI), the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). For the CFI, values equal to or greater than 0.90 e 0.95 reflect good or excellent fit indices, respectively; for the SRMR, values equal to or smaller than 0.06 e 0.08 reflect good or reasonable fit indices, respectively [ 57 ]. Moreover, when it came to testing which model better fitted the data for the social media impact on the family system scale, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) were also used; for both indices, the lower the value, the better the fit.
4.3.2. Hypothesis Testing
The mediation hypothesis was tested through SEM. Collective family efficacy was the independent variable, openness of family communications was the dependent one; the perception about social media impact on family systems was the mediator; participants’ age and sex were modeled as covariates on all the variables in the model. A dummy variable was created for participants’ sex before entering it in the model (0 = male / 1 = female).
Before testing the hypothesis, the presence of outliers and/or influential cases was checked using the leverage value and Cook’s D to test the absence of significant values in the data affecting the analyses [ 58 ]. Multicollinearity was tested through condition and tolerance indexes [ 59 ]. Common variance was controlled through Harman’s single-factor test [ 60 ].
Given the interest in higher-order constructs, a heterogeneous parceling was adopted [ 61 ], as it reproduces smaller but more reliable coefficients than the homogeneous one [ 62 ] and allows for creating parcels without generating a flawed measurement model because theoretically meaningful categories were included in the SEM.
To evaluate the model fit, the following indices of fit were observed [ 56 ]: The Chi-square test of model fit, the CFI, the SRMR.
Bootstrap estimation was used to test the significance of the results [ 63 , 64 ] with 10,000 samples, and the bias-corrected 95% CI was computed by determining the effects at the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles; the indirect effects are significant when there is no 0 in the CI.
For the family open communication scale and for the social media impact on family system scale, sphericity (family open communication scale: Chi-square (28) = 974.765, p < 0.001; social media impact on family system scale: Chi-square (36) = 756.527, p < 0.001) and adequacy of sampling (0.893 for the family open communication scale, 0.747 for the perceptions about social media impact on family system scale) reported good values. No item was deleted from the original pools due to too low loadings nor too high loadings on more than one factor; all the items in the final versions of the scales had loadings above 0.3 in only one factor (see Table 1 and Table 2 ).
The CFA confirmed an adequate model fit for the family open communication scale, Chi-square (19) = 105.100, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.91, SRMR = 0.05, and for the family collective efficacy scale, Chi-square (169) = 789.980, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.94, SRMR = 0.02. For the social media impact on family system scale, the hierarchical model, Chi-square (22) = 98.878, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.90, SRMR = 0.06, AIC = 5714.096, BIC = 5816.844, better fitted the data than the two-factor model, Chi-square (24) = 98.878, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.89, SRMR = 0.07, AIC = 5718.096, BIC = 5827.694, confirming positive and negative impacts of social media use as two sides of the same coin.
The descriptive statistics and the correlations for all the measures are in Table 3 .
Descriptive statistics and correlations.
Variables | Range | 1 | 2 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Collective family efficacy | 1–7 | 4.98 | 1.04 | - | |
2. Family open communication | 1–5 | 3.72 | 0.79 | 0.509 *** | - |
3. Social media impact on family system | 1–5 | 2.87 | 0.64 | 0.140 * | 0.122 |
Note. n = 227. *** p < 0.001 (2-tailed); * p < 0.05 (2-tailed).
Hypotheses Testing
Since the leverage value was always lower than 0.09 and Cook’s D lowest and highest values were 0 and 0.36, there were no significant values in the data affecting the analyses; as the variables in the model had Tolerance indexes between 0.88 and 0.98, multicollinearity among them was not a problem [ 59 ].
The hypothesized mediation model (see Figure 1 ) showed good fit indices, Chi-square (33) = 50.280, p < 0.027, CFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.02.
![Click on image to zoom An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is ijerph-16-05006-g001.jpg](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950110/bin/ijerph-16-05006-g001.jpg)
Mediation model. Note. n = 227. *** p < 0.001. Unstandardized coefficients ( B ) are shown.
Collective family efficacy emerged as a significant predictor of the openness of family communications, B = 0.585, S.E. = 0.07, p < 0.001, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.410, 0.709], and of the perceptions about social media impact on family systems, B = 0.204, S.E. = 0.064, p = 0.001, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.067, 0.321]; the latter was a significant predictor of the openness of family communications too, B = 0.242, S.E. = 0.056, p < 0.001, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.126, 0.342]. The indirect effect of collective family efficacy on openness of family communications via the perceptions about social media impact on family systems was small yet significant, B = 0.049, S.E. = 0.019, p = 0.01, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.02, 0.098], supporting the hypothesis of partial mediation. The unstandardized total effect was 0.634, S.E. = 0.066, p < 0.001, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.459, 0.747].
Participants’ sex emerged as a significant predictor only for the perceptions about social media impact on family systems, B = -0.132, S.E. = 0.105, p = 0.008, bias-corrected 95% CI [−0.433, −0.022]; participants’ age was significant only for the collective family efficacy, B = 0.081, S.E. = 0.072, p = 0.05, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.004, 0.279].
6. Discussion
The present study deepens the understanding of how social media can produce changes within family systems, taking into consideration the role that parents’ perceptions about the impact of social media on family systems, whether positive or negative, can exert in the relationship between their perceived collective family efficacy and an open communication among family members; specifically, the leading hypothesis referred to the mediator role of these perceptions, whether positive or negative, in the above-mentioned relationship. The results confirm the hypothesis, showing that parents’ perceptions represent a partial mediator of the relationship between their perceptions about collective family efficacy and openness of communications; nevertheless, the indirect effect of collective family efficacy on openness of family communications via parents’ perceptions about the impact of social media on family systems was small, showing that all the direct effects in the model were still bigger.
It has already been widely acknowledged that social media and ICTs make human social interactions and relationships more complex; however, scientific results still showed conflicting results about whether such complexity can have a positive, enriching, role or rather than a negative, detrimental, one with reference to family interactions, even more when the family system includes adolescent children [ 36 ]—due to the evolutionary tasks they have to face up to, which can impact on family relationships and interactions temporarily or permanently [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These results provide further hints about social media role within family relationships and functioning.
Indeed, while it is well established that family collective efficacy can have a boosting role with reference to healthy interactions and open communications within the family system [ 5 , 10 ], what emerged here suggests that it is not only the real impact of social media on family systems [ 36 ] that matters but also how family members perceive it and how much they feel confident about their family managing daily challenges to achieve positive relationships, healthy interactions, and open communications. Indeed, the results show that that being confident in one’s family capabilities to handle daily tasks, stress, and challenges associates with a more positive perception about the impact social media can have on family system and the relationships within it, as feeling able to manage family daily tasks and challenges could foster the feeling about being able to manage the adaptation to the increasing social media use among family members too. This could make family members perceive, at last, these new technologies as opportunities for increased family cohesion, adaptability, interactions, planning, and open communications [ 3 , 34 , 36 ], rather than as threats to positive family functioning and relationships. In addition to family collective efficacy, also such positive perception can further promote open communications among family members, maybe because if social media are perceived as opportunities and useful tools they can offer further ways to maintain and improve relationships among family members (e.g., to keep in touch, make plans in real-time, promote and facilitate discussions, and encourage parent–child interactions, [ 35 , 36 ]). When parents are aware of their family’s ability to manage social media-related changes in family functioning and habits (e.g., redefinition of roles and boundaries, new kinds of intimacy, communications, rituals, [ 29 , 31 ]), this can foster their perception about potentialities and new opportunities coming from social media use to keep in touch with their children, most of all when they are adolescents and are facing up their individualization process: if parents are able not to make their children feel they are invading their privacy or being oppressive and hyper-controlling, and to discuss with them how social media should be used to reduce the risks, social media can at last strengthen family ties, promote and facilitate discussions, and foster more secure conditions for adolescents to obtain greater autonomy from their parents and for parents to let them face up to these situations [ 35 , 36 , 38 , 39 ]. Indeed, when used in a responsible and aware way, social media can represent a resource and an educational added value within family relationships, helping parents to exploit a new educational and participative space that could strengthen the relationships with their children. This seems also consistent with previous results about how social media use can enhance the opportunities for a more open dialogue between parents and children, allowing the latter to get closer to the language and lifestyles of the first ones and to share with them important, sensitive and/or educational discussion topics functional to their growth [ 36 ]. Thus, social media may foster open communications among family members and a supportive family environment wherein adolescents can grow up and face up to their evolutionary tasks and subsequent stressful events, getting positive outcomes [ 36 ].
7. Conclusions
The study shows the relevance that parents’ positive perceptions about the impact of social media on social interactions and relationships within their family system can have in fostering a good family functioning and open communications among family members. Moreover, with reference to the role that collective family efficacy exerts, it also suggests that relying on family abilities to manage daily life tasks and face daily challenges could represent a strategy to promote the acknowledgment that challenges related to social media uses, their consequences, and the potential subsequent risks could be managed with adequate information and negotiation of the changes they bring in terms of family communications, habits, interactions, and rituals among parents. Taking into consideration the results from this study, an emergent issue seems related to the need to promote a wider acknowledgment that social media can be positively and functionally used among modern parents [ 36 ], showing them different ways in which social media can represent educational and participative spaces aimed at promoting a wider and more open communication between them and their children and a critical and responsible awareness for their children at the same time, fostering, at last, their positive perceptions about social media impact on family systems. Indeed, social media accessibility, acceptability, and accommodation require the redefinition of rules and roles, producing new processes and dynamics within family systems [ 31 ] parents have to deal with if they want to get a positive perception about their use: if adequately managed, these processes can allow the creation of further spaces wherein the relational dynamics between parents and adolescent children can happen and be successfully managed. Consistently, the aspects that emerged from this study invite to set up further studies aimed at deepening the meaning that social media tools can assume in the construction of transition spaces, allowing the expression and mediation of the divergences and conflicts that can show up in families with adolescent children.
It is important to also acknowledge some limitations of this study.
First, it takes into consideration only the parents’ perspective, but a major comprehension of family relationships should take into consideration the children’s perspective also, or even a dyadic one. Moreover, the findings are based on self-reported data, which can become distorted due to problems related to memory bias and response fatigue.
Lastly, another issue refers to the cross-sectional design of the study; thus, the relationships described should be considered carefully, and no causal inference is possible.
It would also be useful to extend the analyses to samples from other countries, to verify whether and how the cultural and community [ 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ] dimensions modify the perceptions about social media impact within family systems and their effect on family communications.
Author Contributions
F.P. conceptualization, methodology, writing, review and editing; F.G. methodology and writing, I.D.N. writing and review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
This research received no external funding.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- DOI: 10.52589/bjmcmr-nygwllj9
- Corpus ID: 269339648
The Impact of Social Media on Family Relationships (A Study of Jahi, Abuja)
- Kabiru J. , Alabi A.
- Published in British Journal of Mass… 23 April 2024
- British Journal of Mass Communication and Media Research
36 References
Effects of usage of social media on family relationships among youth a case study of district swabi, problematic social media use in adolescents and young adults: systematic review and meta-analysis, the impact of social media on relationship building among undergraduates students in nigeria, the role of social media in shaping public opinion and its influence on economic decisions, social support and family functioning during adolescence: a two-wave cross-lagged study, trust in social media: enhancing social relationships, aging and family relationships among aymara, mapuche and non-indigenous people: exploring how social support, family functioning, and self-perceived health are related to quality of life, family and relationship benefits of travel experiences, positive and negative impact of social media on youths in thiruvananthapuram district, social connection when physically isolated: family experiences in using video calls, related papers.
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Social Networking
How your social media habits are damaging your relationships, are your social media activities causing real-life problems.
Posted August 9, 2023 | Reviewed by Davia Sills
- Individuals are spending more time than ever on screens and electronic devices.
- How people engage in social media can negatively impact real-life relationships with themselves and others.
- It's important to take steps to manage one's social media engagement and care for important relationships.
We’ve all participated in or witnessed social disconnection in action… people gathered together, with gazes fixed on screens rather than interacting with one another. Screens and social media have become a part of everyday life. Social media , at its best, has provided us with many ways to connect, interact and expand our social networks exponentially. In 2022, on average, people spent 152 minutes a day on social networking … slightly higher than the previous year’s 147-minute average.
Clearly, social media is on the rise. Not just how much, but where, when, and how we engage in social media could be negatively impacting our real-life relationships. Our relationships matter. Our deep connections and close social and romantic relationships with others are key to our happiness and longevity.
What’s the problem?
Though social media has become a part of our regular lives, in terms of our awareness of and our ability to manage the impacts of social media on our relationships—our relationships with the people in our lives and with ourselves—we have some catching up to do.
“Social Media Use and Its Impact on Relationships and Emotions” (Christensen, Spencer Palmer), a 2018 Brigham Young University study , found that: “the more time an individual spent on social media, the more likely they were to experience a negative impact on their overall emotional well-being and a decreased quality in their relationships.” The study also found that social media use negatively impacted interpersonal relationships due to: “distraction, irritation, and decreased quality time with their significant other in offline settings” and that participants reported increased “frustration, depression , and social comparison” related to their engagement in social media.
Driving intimate partner disconnection
According to a 2019 Pew Research Center study , 51 percent of people in a committed relationship reported that their partner is: “often or sometimes distracted by their cellphone while they are trying to have a conversation with them, and 4 in 10 say they are at least sometimes bothered by the amount of time their partner spends on their mobile device.”
Besides the disconnection resulting from screen distractions, partners can often feel threatened by real or imagined online third parties, including rekindled connections to former partners, habitual engagement with social media influencers, and habitual use of online pornography . These forms of engagement can lead to insecurities, an erosion of trust, and relationship breakdowns.
Feelings of low self-worth
Although it is not unheard of for people to share their struggles and hard times on their social media platforms, most people present an upbeat, curated—and sometimes highly filtered and photoshopped—that is to say, unrealistic—version of their lives to their online followers. “The Effects of Active Social Media Engagement with Peers on Body Image in Young Women” by Jacqueline Hogue and Jennifer S Mills, a 2019 York University body image study , concluded that comparisons “may lead to increased body concerns in young women.” When we compare ourselves to people with out-of-reach lifestyles, career success, beauty, or wealth, these comparisons can lead to feelings of low self-esteem and hopelessness.
It is important that we build awareness of how our social media habits impact our relationships—with ourselves and the people we care about—and that we take steps to manage and take care of our time, our energy, and our real-life relationships.
7 steps to creating healthier social media habits
If your online life is negatively impacting your relationships…
Listen to what the people in your life are saying to you about your social media habits. Observe their reactions to your decreased interactions.
Build awareness about your social media habits and engagement. Make an effort to track the amount of time you spend online for a week.
Create healthy boundaries around your online activities if you find you are spending too much time on social media. Scheduling brief times throughout the day to engage in social media and silencing notifications from social media apps could be a healthy first step in curbing over-engagement.
Put some distance between you and your devices daily. Go out for dinner, watch a movie, take a walk, or meet up with friends and leave your devices behind.
Prioritize your real-life relationships. Make an effort to stay mindful of how your actions and presence impact other people, and be engaged in person with friends, colleagues, and family members.
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Unfollow unhealthy, unrealistic, attention -seeking social media influencers. Social media “models” and lifestyle influencers often present a false sense of who they are and set unrealistic goals and aspirations that can negatively impact your sense of self-worth or the self-worth of your partner.
Seek the help of a mental health professional if your social media engagement has led to feelings of low self-worth or depression or if your social media usage has become unmanageable.
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From monthly family updates to mommy blogs, social media has created a unique family niche on the internet. Growing numbers of families are creating a network to share their families’ experiences, such as moving to a new home or raising children. Some will create posts on the “how-tos” of parenting or discuss the controversies of home life like vaccines or child discipline.
Families publishing their lives on social media has become a growing trend in recent years, but what are the consequences on the family away from the screen? How are family dynamics affected by social media?
Kelsey Ellis, a new mom and BYU alumna now living in Columbus, Ohio, said she likes to post about her family and everyday events because it provides her a support group of people in her exact situation.
Ellis said there are two reasons why she posts on Facebook: to show everyone, especially her mom, how much her daughter has grown, and to document her recovery after childbirth.
“Social media gave me a voice in a time when I was trying to grasp on to my dignity,” Ellis said.
Ellis also said social media has given her and her family the ability to start meaningful conversations about childbirth and mothering.
“When you have a baby, everything is about that baby,” Ellis said. “There isn’t a whole lot of focus on the mom. If you do have any focus on the mom, it’s comments that are well intended but seem fake. I’ve heard people say, ‘Wow, it doesn’t look like you pushed out a baby!’ But what if I did look like I just pushed out a baby? Why is that negative?”
Ellis said the purpose of her chronicling her family experiences is to document the deeper emotions that go into being a mom.
While Ellis uses social media to start meaningful conversations, Saratoga Springs resident and former BYU student Kate Neish uses it to share stories and images of her son, Teddy.
“As far as social media and parenting goes, I really like social media,” Neish said. “I feel like a lot of the work that parents do with their children is silent and goes unnoticed.”
Neish said social media allows her to share the intensive work inherent in being a mom. While she acknowledged that parenting isn’t the most exciting work, she appreciates the community social media creates for parents to offer support for each other.
“I appreciate getting comments that say, ‘Hey, I know what you’re going through and that’s great, hang in there, being a parent is hard, you got this.'” Neish said.
While Neish and Ellis focus their posts on triumphs and travails of motherhood, other families set their focus on a more general audience. Bailee Morris, a former BYU student and Vineyard, Utah, resident, uses Facebook and Instagram to spread messages of family topics most people would shy away from.
“I feel really strongly about putting content to the world that most people don’t talk about,” Morris said. “For example, the other day I posted on how I genuinely like working. I think that’s one of those topics that can be stigmatized in LDS culture.”
In addition to posting less-than-common conversation starters, Morris strives to post content on the internet that she feels will help their children’s self-esteem.
“I am teaching myself to say kind things to myself and hopefully showing my daughters and other people the importance of self-esteem,” Morris said.
The Morris family’s rules on social media are simple: “As long as it’s going to something that is uplifting or helpful, even if it’s an unpopular opinion, then it’s worth posting,” Morris said.
Families like Coreena White’s use social media to simply connect with their family members, near or far. White, the resolutions manager at the Harold B. Lee Library, is an avid user of social media and uses it to stay connected to her five children, three of whom live outside of Utah.
“I use social media to create something of an online scrapbook to preserve memories I make with my family,” White said.
While each of these families tries to pursue an uplifting attitude when posting on social media, it’s not without challenges. The Ellis, Neish, White and Morris families have all faced familial backlash from their posts.
“Sometimes my teenager will tell me I have posted an unflattering picture of her,” White said. “Other times there are Facebook arguments from relatives from posts I’ve made that weren’t intended to do so.”
In each case, the mother of each family has been the frontrunner of the family’s social media presence.
BYU family life professor Sarah Coyne said that women tend to be more relationship-focused, hence their general desire to want to keep existing or create new relationships online.
“Mothers are considered to be the keepers of the family in terms of keeping a place where families can get together and create memories,” Coyne said. “You can see how social media would fit into that desire.”
Another reason Coyne said that mothers are more inclined to post their family’s lives on social media is that mothers, especially stay-at-home mothers, tend to feel more isolated, so social media allows them to have some sort of connection with other people.
Coyne cautioned families to think critically about social media, which she says allows families to only portray the best and clean-cut moments of family life.
“The problem is if moms are reaching out to others and begin to think that parenting is easy and doubt their abilities to raise a family,” Coyne said.
Coyne’s numerous studies have shown that families that engage with each on social media tend to result in good outcomes in family engagement, but that social media can have negative effects when people begin to engage in social comparisons.
Whether families are affected for good or bad, social media appears to continue to be an active catalyst in families’ dynamics which will be determined on how they choose to interact with social media.
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But can looking at these seemingly perfect couples online interfere with our own romantic relationships? Here, how social media can affect your relationships and more.
How social media can affect relationships
Social media, if used sparingly, is not necessarily bad for relationships.
Research has shown social media use can both positively and negatively affect relationships , depending on how it's used.
For example, social media can contribute to unhealthy comparison and unrealistic expectations for what relationships are supposed to be like, and couples may spend more time curating an "image" of who they are rather than focusing on the relationship itself.
Social media use has also been linked to poor body image and depression, which can negatively affect relationships.
Negative effects on relationships
Social media can create unrealistic expectations.
Although there are some useful resources shared via social media, "what you will mostly see are curated and filtered posts that only highlight unrealistic images of what a relationship is," says sex and behavioral therapist Chamin Ajjan, M.S., LCSW, A-CBT .
Attempting to measure up can distract you and your partner from the relationship.
Inevitably, real life won't look like the endless highlight reels we see on social media, which can lead to disappointment in either yourself, your partner, or both.
"You may begin to feel jealous of how much someone posts about their partner and feel resentment toward your partner for not doing the same," Ajjan says. "The lifestyles you are scrolling through may change how satisfied you are in your relationship because they seem to be better than what you have."
It can lead to jealousy
Some research has linked social media use with increased jealousy 1 and relationship dissatisfaction in college students.
If you are prone to jealousy because of an insecure attachment style , research says you may be more likely to get stuck in a cycle of endless scrolling to keep an eye on your partner's activities .
People may get upset seeing their partner liking or commenting on other people's posts, stoking concerns that their partner is interested in other people (or worse, is already cheating).
The use of Facebook, in particular, has been shown to increase feelings of suspicion and jealousy in romantic relationships among college students.
"This effect may be the result of a feedback loop, whereby using Facebook exposes people to often ambiguous information about their partner that they may not otherwise have access to," one study writes.
For example, cookies and Facebook algorithms can cause a partner's "hidden" interests to pop up on their feed.
The desire to find more information about them can perpetuate further social media use and feelings of mistrust.
(Notably, many of these studies have been conducted on college students, so it’s possible that there would be differences among older couples.)
Excessive social media use is linked to couples fighting more
A 2013 study found that, among couples who had been together for less than three years, spending more time on Facebook was linked with more "Facebook-related conflict" 2 and more negative relationship outcomes.
One study found that those who are dating people who overshare on social media 3 tend to have lower relationship satisfaction (though positive posts about the relationship itself every now and then seemed to mediate that effect).
Social media might make daily life seem less interesting
The drool-worthy image of a couple on vacation can trigger feelings of envy, which can keep you from appreciating where you are in the present moment.
"Social media tends to ignore the gritty and mundane parts of a couple's lives," says Ken Page, LCSW , psychotherapist and host of The Deeper Dating Podcast .
Struggles, chores, compromise, and intimacy in the midst of challenges—these small mini triumphs are valuable, he says.
Just remember: A vacation can make you feel happy, but it's the everyday moments that lead to ultimate satisfaction .
When relationships end, it is so often those tiny, mundane moments that evoke the deepest nostalgia, Page adds.
It can distract you from spending quality time with your partner
Though internet addiction 4 and Facebook addiction 5 are not considered mental health disorders by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), researchers recognize both as dependence issues, which can interfere with quality of life.
The more we become hooked on the dopamine rush of social media, Page says, the less engaged or excited we will feel for the quieter, simpler moments of life.
"But those are often the moments when our loved one reveals something personal and intimate," he explains.
Next time you and your partner are together and both focused on your phones, bring awareness to that.
"Practice valuing real-time connection over internet connection," he says. This can help increase emotional intimacy.
It can affect our mental health
Even though social media is meant to promote connection, multiple studies have linked social media use with loneliness 6 , mood disorders, and poor self-esteem 7 .
People with preexisting mental health issues may also be more susceptible to social comparisons, due to a negative cognitive bias 8 , one study found.
On the flip side, lowering social media use has been shown to reduce loneliness and depression symptoms .
Though these issues are more individualistic than relational, they can bleed into romantic relationships.
When a partner is suffering from mental health issues , they may be closed off to intimacy or become codependent .
It can lead to body image issues
The filtered and edited images you see all over social media can cause insecurities about your own body to surface, Ajjan says.
Several studies have linked social media use and body image issues 9 .
A person's body image issues can significantly affect their relationships.
One Journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine study shows that heterosexual women with body image issues 10 have a harder time becoming sexually aroused.
Another study found the way wives perceive their own sexual attractiveness 11 , based on negative body image, directly affects the marital quality of both the wife and the husband.
In other words, these insecurities triggered by social media can interfere with emotional and physical intimacy and the overall quality of a relationship.
It can make us more narcissistic
Excessive social media use is linked to narcissistic traits 12 in some cases.
Research confirms that addictive social media use reflects a need to feed the ego and an attempt to improve self-esteem, both of which are narcissistic traits.
And different types of social media play into different aspects of narcissism.
For example, people who frequently tweet or post selfies may be displaying grandiosity, one of the common traits of narcissism .
Since you can be narcissistic without having a personality disorder , it's possible to develop these traits over time—and at least one small study has found excess social media use may be a trigger .
And of course, being in a relationship with a narcissist is not healthy and can lead to trauma later on.
Positive effects on relationships
Social media helps single people meet each other.
In the digital age we live in, it's not uncommon for people to meet online or through dating apps—in fact, it may be more common.
A 2017 survey found 39% of heterosexual couples reported meeting their partner online, compared to just 22% in 2009.
A later study analyzing the results found that " Internet meeting is displacing the roles that family and friends once played in bringing couples together."
According to one survey , online dating can be especially helpful for the LGBTQ+ community .
Of the adults who took the survey, 28% say they met their current partner online, compared with 11% of partnered straight adults.
It can keep you connected to your partner
Whether it's sending a funny meme over Instagram or taking a quick Snapchat, social media is an easy way for couples to interact throughout the day in a fun, low-pressure manner.
This is particularly helpful for couples who don't live together and people in long-distance relationships . According to a survey published in the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking journal, young adults in long-distance romantic relationships 13 are better able to maintain them if they're using social networking sites.
People who have their partner in their profile photo or have their relationship status public on Facebook also tend to be happier with their relationship 14 , for what that's worth.
You can learn about relationships from experts
"There are plenty of accounts that offer up good information to help develop and maintain a healthy connection," Ajjan says. "There is a lot of good information on social media from relationship bloggers, psychotherapists, and many others that highlight how to improve your relationship."
As long as it's coming from a place of growth and not comparison, this type of social media can motivate you to work on parts of the relationship that have been neglected, she explains.
It's like a time capsule of memories
Social media platforms have practically replaced printed photograph albums as a place to store and share our memories.
In this sense, Page says social media can be used to honor the activities you do and the things you create together.
Unlike a physical photo album, social media has the added component of followers.
"In this way, social media can be an institutionalized way to express love publicly and invite community support," he says, "both of which enhance a couple's ability to flourish."
Tips to manage social media use
- Turn off your notifications. One study 15 found that smartphone notifications can cause a decline in task performance and negatively influence cognitive function and concentration. Turn off your notifications to avoid any distractions and focus more on the present.
- Set aside a time to scroll. Whether that be every hour or every few hours, designate 15-20 minutes to getting on social media, answering texts, or taking calls to avoid the constant urge to get on your phone and scroll and focus on quality time with your partner.
- Try a social media detox. Research shows that intentionally refraining from getting on social media can prevent harmful effects and reduce the risk of compulsive social media behavior in individuals. Designate a period of days, weeks, or even months to avoid any social media use.
- Be transparent and communicate. If you are struggling with your body-image or find yourself feeling jealous or insecure, talk with your partner and explain how you are feeling. It may be time to avoid getting on social media altogether and focus on quality time with your significant other.
The takeaway
Scrolling through social media all day is, unfortunately, not a hard habit to pick up.
While these platforms can offer helpful resources, they can also lead to jealousy, mental health issues, and unrealistic expectations in relationships.
On top of that, the act of being on your phone constantly can distract from intimacy with a partner.
"Social media is not all bad," Ajjan says, "but if you find yourself comparing your relationship to what you are seeing online, it may be helpful to unfollow accounts that make you feel bad and focus more on accounts that make you feel empowered in your relationship."
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The Effect of Social Media on Family Relationships
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Background: Today's family members have unprecedented use of social media to keep them updated and informed about what is happening around them and world. They spend many hours a day using social media this reflected on family relationships.Materials and Methods: Descriptive research designwas used, Purposive sample was used in this study to choose 170 family members in two social clubs called Badr social club and social housing club. Resultsthe study results revealed that 41.2% of family members know social media as negative effect, as double edge effect. The effect of social media on parent-child relationships was 53.5% sometimes have effect on parent-child relationships, effect of SM on married couple's relationships was 63% of them often have effect and the effect of social media on family relationships was 59.1% of them often have effect on there. There was positive relation between social media use by hours and married couple relationships, parent-child relationships and family relationships with statically significant relation. Conclusion: It was concluded that the family members use social media for long hours daily were often had effect on family relationships.
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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Social Media — Negative Effects Of Social Media: Relationships And Communication
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Negative Effects of Social Media: Relationships and Communication
- Categories: Effects of Social Media Negative Impact of Technology Social Media
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Words: 904 |
Published: Mar 14, 2019
Words: 904 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read
A Good Hook Examples for “Why Social Media is Bad” Essay
- A Modern Dilemma: In an era dominated by likes, shares, and filters, have you ever paused to consider the darker side of social media? Join me as we unveil the reasons why this digital phenomenon may be more harmful than we realize.
- An Eye-Opening Statistic: Did you know that the average person spends nearly two and a half hours on social media every day? Let’s dive into the implications of this staggering statistic and why it’s cause for concern.
- A Thought-Provoking Quote: Plato once warned, “At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” But in the age of social media, is the touch of love being replaced by the click of a button? Explore with me how these platforms can dilute genuine human connections.
- A Personal Awakening: As someone who has experienced the negative effects of social media firsthand, I invite you to join me in reflecting on the ways in which these platforms may be undermining our mental health, relationships, and overall well-being.
- A Societal Wake-Up Call: Social media is no longer just a personal choice; it’s a societal force. Discover how it has reshaped our culture, influenced our behaviors, and potentially posed a threat to the fabric of our society.
Works Cited
- Buunk, B. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2017). Gender differences in jealousy: Men are more jealous about physical infidelity than emotional infidelity. Evolutionary Psychology, 15(1), 1474704916680157.
- Eslit, N. (2017, May 5). Effects of social media on communication skills. TechJury. https://techjury.net/blog/effects-of-social-media-on-communication-skills/
- Phoon, A. (2017, March 8). Social media is bad for communication skills and replaces need for human interaction. Medium. https://medium.com/@alphoenix/social-media-is-bad-for-communication-skills-and-replaces-need-for-human-interaction-d78b1c2d1e1b
- Wikerson, M. (2017). The impact of social media on relationships. Marshall Digital Scholar, 1. https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=student_scholarship
- Wu, A. M. S., Cheung, V. I., & Ku, L. (2013). Continual and problematic internet use as predictors of low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(2), S122-S127.
- Wu, Y. Q., Li, J., & Li, X. (2020). Cyberbullying victimization and depressive symptoms: The mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of social support in Chinese adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2071.
- Zhang, S., Li, X., Chen, H., & Liu, Y. (2017). A longitudinal study of the relationship between problematic internet use and subjective well-being among college students. Social Indicators Research, 133(1), 345-355.
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In conclusion, social media can have a big impact on family relationships. It can take away from family time, change how we communicate, cause privacy issues, and create feelings of jealousy. It's important for families to talk about these issues. They should set rules for social media use and make sure to spend quality time together offline.
Social media serves as a distraction from focusing on the interactions that nurture relationships. "Social media use can become compulsive," says Darren Adamson, PhD, LMFT, chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Sciences at National University. According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of partnered adults say they are bothered by ...
negative emotions seem to indicate that addictive behaviors are on the rise and are closely related. to overuse of social media. On the other side of the coin, social media use also produces positive effects on. emotional well-being such as happiness, Mudita, humor, support, validation, and a more frequent.
Nine of the 14 included studies examined the effect of social media on parent-child communication, while the rest explored the effect on broader family relationships. Overall evidence is mixed, highlighting some aspects of social media use that may strengthen family connectedness, while others that may negatively impact meaningful interactions ...
4.2.3. Social Media Impact on Family Systems. A pool of 9 items (α = 0.73, see Table 2 for the items), referring to both positive and negative impacts of social media on family systems, was used to assess participants' perceptions about it. Respondents were asked to rate their agreement with each item on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly ...
The Impact of Social Media on Family Relationships (A Study of Jahi, Abuja) In light of the current surge in heightened social media use and its impact on familial dynamics, it is plausible to posit that social media platforms enhance the experiences of individuals and the family unit. However, submitting this assumption to thorough scrutiny ...
In 2022, on average, people spent 152 minutes a day on social networking … slightly higher than the previous year's 147-minute average. Clearly, social media is on the rise. Not just how much ...
This research paper delves into the detrimental impact of social. media addiction on family relationships. W ith the increasing prev alence. of social media in society, conc erns have arisen about ...
The study suggests that social media use can lead to both positive and negative effects on family relationships. Discover the world's research 25+ million members
effect. The effect of social media on parent-child relationships was 53.5% sometimes have effect on parent - child relationships, effect of SM on married couple's relationships was 63% of them often have effect and the effect of social media on family relationships was 59.1% of them often have effect on there.
Social media can take up a lot of your time, attention, and energy. This can be dangerous not only for your relationships but for your own mental health. Try to avoid excessive social media use ...
Thus, when family members interact only through the social media, the relationships become less stable, and the intimacy and strong association aspects disappear causing individuals to forget the real essence of family ties. Communication is paramount to the existence of any relationship, without it being effective, relationships perish.
Social media has a big impact on family relationships. It is a media that allows the individuals to exchange information. Social media is breaking up families relationships and it is a huge problem in demand of communicating. The media had made lots of bad influence on families, especially the addiction of how it has been used by humans.
814 Words4 Pages. The Impact of Social Media on the Family Relationships A family relationships can be easily affected by the others when they intrude. In the past, family was a private zone unlike today. Family is where people can share their ideas, difficulties, look for solutions together, enjoy understanding and privacy.
Results: age was significantly related to perceptions of social media on family communication In a Pearson's correlation, age was negatively correlated with the statement "overall, I feel that social media/networking has negative effect on relationships with members of your household" (N = 158, r = -.227, p = .004); age was negatively ...
Social media has a big impact on family relationships. It is a media that allows the individuals to exchange information. Social media is breaking up families relationships and it is a huge problem in demand of communicating. The media had made lots of bad influence on families, especially the addiction of how it has been used by humans.
25164. According to a study on social media and families, 74% of internet-using parents use Facebook, 25% use Instagram and 23% use Twitter. (Sydnee Gonzalez) From monthly family updates to mommy ...
Social media use has been linked to loneliness, mood disorders, and poor self-esteem, all of which can negatively affect your romantic relationship. 7. It can lead to body image issues. The filtered and edited images you see all over social media can cause insecurities about your own body to surface, Ajjan says.
Resultsthe study results revealed that 41.2% of family members know social media as negative effect, as double edge effect. The effect of social media on parent-child relationships was 53.5% sometimes have effect on parent - child relationships, effect of SM on married couple's relationships was 63% of them often have effect and the effect of ...
Negative Effects Of Social Media On Family. 1179 Words5 Pages. Many people living in this day and age use technology for everything. By all means, social media is everything from work to personal. Social media are generally define as online communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and thoughts to develop social ...
Social media has a big impact on family relationships. It is a media that allows the individuals to exchange information. Social media is breaking up families relationships and it is a huge problem in demand of communicating. The media had made lots of bad influence on families, especially the addiction of how it has been used by humans.
In conclusion, to understand the negative effects of social media on relationships this essay analyzes negative impacts of social media on social interaction and communication among people. In relation to social media, negative effects include false sense of connectivity, less real-life conversations and face-to-face interaction among humans ...