Study: Millennials find technology dehumanizing
College students are constantly glued to their smartphones: texting, tweeting and updating their statuses on Facebook.
But that doesn't mean it makes them happy.
Intel Labs released a survey of 12,000 adults - 18 and older - which found that 61% of young adults felt that technology was dehumanizing. The research indicated that Millennials are currently the least enthusiastic group about technology.
"At first glance it seems Millennials are rejecting technology, but I suspect the reality is more complicated and interesting," says Dr. Genevieve Bell, director of interaction and experience research at Intel Labs, in an interview for Intel's Newsroom. "A different way to read this might be that Millennials want technology to do more for them, and we have work to do to make it much more personal and less burdensome."
The growing market of social media, smartphone apps and online dating websites have sparked more research into the psychology of technology use. About 500 million people use Facebook daily — but some research links the social media site with increased anxiety and depression.
Ethan Kross, the director of the University of Michigan Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory, tracked the Facebook use of a group of Millennials — mostly college students — over a period of two weeks.
"The more people used Facebook during any one period of time, the more their mood levels dropped," Kross says. "The more people who used Facebook, the more their life satisfaction dropped."
Communicating over Facebook and other forms of technology, adds Kross, is a completely novel form of passive social interaction.
"You're really seeing lots of positive things about everybody in your network that may not reflect reality very well," Kross says. "It may very well instigate a kind of social comparison process."
Kelly Stosch, a senior at the College of William and Mary, has felt the pressures of social media competition before.
"If someone retweets me or favorites the tweets or likes something that I post on Facebook it makes me feel good about myself," Stosch says. "There are aspects of it that boost my self-esteem and other aspects that make me feel sad or bad about myself."
Looking at her "friends'" pictures of their parties, significant others and dinners makes her feel insecure, Stosch says, even though she recognizes that their profiles represent only the positive aspects of their lives.
"I do feel like in general the more I use Facebook, probably the worse I feel."
Logan Taylor, a junior at Raritan Valley Community College, quit Facebook altogether after a difficult break-up. He didn't want to see his ex's social media interactions.
"It weighs on your time," Taylor says. "It takes away from personal communications. I try to keep in touch on the phone if I can. People don't have the courage to say things in person all the time, they say things online and they realize how much easier it is and they'll get carried away."
Dr. Lee Keyes, the executive director of the Counseling Center at the University of Alabama, calls cyberbullying a real problem for his patients.
"[Technology] basically renders the person the other side very flat, like a one or two dimensional character rather than a live three dimensional character," Keyes says. "So you lose out on all the nuances, those kind of get flattened out. It's easy to react to what is an incomplete interpretation of another person. We tend to filter things out a bit when we're dealing with a live human being."
Still, Keyes acknowledges that social technology — like Facebook, Twitter and online dating sites — can be helpful if used "prudently."
"You can't fully develop a relationship electronically, but you can certainly get things started that way. You can use it to maintain communications over time."
But the dangers of online communication and dating apps are real.
"I just saw a study earlier today that said that 54% [of people] had interacted with someone who misrepresented themselves online," says Keyes, referencing a studyreleased Monday by the Pew Research Center. The study also found that 10% of Millennials used online dating platforms or mobile apps.
Stosch finds online dating "weird" but believes that technology has improved her social life in other ways.
"I think that it helps me be more social in general," Stosch says. "I consider myself a shy person and I'm introverted. Being around a lot of people I won't usually say much, but through social media I'll be more expressive. I feel like it's a positive."
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário