Social Media Addiction and Changing Human Interaction: The Digital Tether

Abstract

The emergence of social media has drastically changed the way humans interact. The purpose of this research is to examine the addiction to social media and the effect it has on interpersonal interactions, quality of relationships, and behavior.A mixed methodology was used in this study. There was a survey conducted of 600 individuals between 16 and 35 years old from 4 colleges and 2 urban settlements. Bergen Social Media Addiction scale was used, as well as the questions regarding the frequency of communication, satisfaction with relationships, and level of social activity offline. In addition, 20 interviews were conducted to examine the behavioral changes.Results demonstrate that 52.3% of respondents have moderate or severe social media addiction and their average daily time spent on using social networks is 6.2 hours. 68% check the notifications within 10 minutes after they wake up. The statistical analysis has shown that there is a negative correlation between the level of addiction and face-to-face interactions (r=-0.67; p<0.01). The qualitative findings were a short attention span, conflicts in relationships, and a desire for virtual validation rather than face-to-face conversations. 41% of participants reported that social media distracts from work, studies, and family life. According to the regression findings, the proportion of addiction to the decreasing quality of social interactions is 34.5%.In conclusion, social media addiction is transforming human interaction through changing physical presence with digital presence. The recommendations of this study include awareness programs, regulation of the design of social media platforms, and encouraging media practices.