Chapter 1

Background of the Study

Introduction

Technology is constantly evolving and changing how we do things.

There have recently become many more means of communication, and

many more adolescents have access to them (Ceulemans, P., 2012).

Modern technology is simply an advancement of old technology. The

impact of technology in modern life is immeasurable. We use technology in

different ways and sometimes, the way we implement various technologies

ends up harming our lives or the society we live in.

Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with

each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body

language, and our personal appearance.

Human beings are sociable creatures and we have developed many

ways to communicate our messages, thoughts, and feelings with others.

The use of social networking sites has both positive and negative

consequences. It is amazing how someone can find a long-lost friend

through a social networking site, enabling them to reconnect. In a society

where people have become quite mobile and family and friends are often
geographically separated. It is convenient to keep in touch through

technology.

As days go by, the numbers of the netizens are quite increasing. Also,

these netizens are fonder of using technology than be with a group. It may

be hard to accept, but its reality. People get more comfortable to socialize

and interact to people on-screen than spending their time with peers. They

get more sociable with technology than without it.

Technology may have had an effect on social behavior due to the

online environment, and it might be unrelated to the lack of face-to-face

communication (Diamanduros, Downs & Jenkins, 2008). People seem to be

less politically correct when they are online and are not dealing directly with

people (Diamanduros et al., 2008; Draa & Sydney, 2009; Sabella, 2007).

This is likely due to the anonymity fostered by the Internet (Draa & Sydney,

2009).

This study is conducted because the researcher wants to know about

what are the effects of the modern technology to the netizens and how do

they affect the social skill of an individual.

 Theoretical Framework

According to Knapp and Hall, when we engage in face-to-face

communication, social information is conveyed by vocal and visual cues in

the context of the situation. Non-verbal communication is an important part

of communicating and it includes facial expressions, eye contact, tone of

voice as well as posture, space between individuals, etc.

According to Vygotsky’s theory, social interaction plays a

fundamental role in the process of cognitive and social development. He

claimed that every function in the child’s social development appears twice:

first on the social level, and later on the individual level; first between

people (interpersonal) and then inside the child (intrapersonal) (Vygotsky).

Children need to interact with people as part of their learning process.

Claywell’s theory, the social network theory is the study of how

people, organizations or groups interact with others inside their network.

Understanding the theory is easier when you examine the individual pieces

starting with the largest element, which is networks, and working down to

the smallest element, which is the actors.

Because of the evolution of technology and its impact on society, it is

important to have a knowledge base of theories and practice models of the

impact of ICT on interpersonal relations.

 Because technology is still evolving, its impact on teen socialization

remains uncertain. Some experts say that teens can lose important social

skills, while others say that social media offers opportunities for a new

connectedness. (Feliciano, Z., 2015)

Conceptual Framework

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

 Dating Apps  Relationships

 Social  Friendship Bonds

networking  Romantic

Sites Relationships

 Computer Addiction  Family time

 Social interaction
MODERATING
 Academic Performance
VARIABLE

 Age

 Gender

 Financial

capacity

 Civil status

 Educational

attainment
 Shown in the figure 1 located above, under the independent variable, I

have the dating apps which includes the use of social networking sites. I also

have the computer addiction.

On the other hand, under the dependent variable are the relationships,

family time, social interaction, and the academic performances. These are

the factors that are possibly be affected by the technology. Relationships are

categorized by two, the friendship-relationship and the romantic

relationship.

The moderating variable holds the age, gender, financial capacity, civil

status, and also the educational attainment. These may mean so little, but it

contributes much to this research.

 Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the

technologies. Specifically, it attempts to answer the following questions:

1. What are the effects of the technologies in terms of;

a.) Academic performances; and

b.) Social skills?

2. How does it help us in terms of;

a.) Leisure; and

b.) School works?

3. How important technology is in terms of;

a.) Communication; and

b.) Daily living?

 Significance of the Study

This paper might somehow be beneficial to the following persons mentioned

below:

To The Researcher. To gain more knowledge about the topic mentioned

before-hand.

To the Future Researchers. They could use this as a reference if their topic is

somehow related to this one.

To the Students. To know their limitations regarding technologies.

 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study is limited only to the students, attending a secondary

education, school year 2017-2018 who are engaged of using

technologies. Their ages ranges from 15-20.

The study will also examine the technology’s effects to the students

who use social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, and other dating

apps.

Furthermore, this study would tell how do technologies affect the daily

living of an individual and how does it affects their social skills.

Hypotheses

There is a significant relationship between the technologies to social skills of

an individual.

There is a significant relationship between the technologies to social skills of

an individual.
DEFINITION OF TERMS

Anonymity. The state of being anonymous.

Communication. It means of connection between people or places, in

particular.

Computer addiction. It can be described as the excessive or compulsive

use of the computer.

Devices. It is a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, especially a

piece of mechanical or electronic equipment.

Emotion. A natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's

circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

Evolution. A process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or

worse to a higher, more complex, or better state

Facebook. It is an American for-profit corporation and an online social

media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, California.

Facial expressions. These are forms of nonverbal communication. They are

a primary means of conveying social information between humans, but they

also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species.
Friendship. It is a relationship of mutual affection between

people. Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an

association.

Hyper personal. It is a model of interpersonal communication that

suggests computer-mediated communication (CMC) can become hyper

personal because it "exceeds [face-to-face] interaction", thus affording

message senders a host of communicative advantages over traditional face-

to-face (FtF) interaction.

ICT. It  is an umbrella term used to encompass all rapidly emerging,

evolving and converging computer, software, networking,

telecommunications, Internet, programming and information systems

technologies.

Integration. The act or process or an instance of integrating

Interact. Act in such a way as to have an effect on another

Internet. A global computer network providing a variety of information and

communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using

standardized communication protocols.

Intimate. Involving very close connection.

Millennials. A person reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century

Netizens. A user of the Internet, especially a habitual or avid one.

Pervasive.  Spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people.

Psychologist. An expert or specialist in psychology.

Relationships The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people

are connected, or the state of being connected.

Social behavior. It is the behavior among two or more organisms, typically

from the same species.

Social media. Are interactive Web 2.0 Internet-based applications. User-

generated content, such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos,

and data generated through all online interactions, are the lifeblood of social

media.

Social skills.  It is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with

others

Socialization. It is the process of learning to behave in a way that is

acceptable to society.

Socialize. Mix socially with others.

Society. The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered

community
Technology. It is the collection of technique skills, methods, and processes

use in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of

objectives, such as scientific investigation. 

Virtual. Not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to

do so.

Youths. Young people considered as a group.

 Chapter II: Review of Related Literature

Technology, the definition itself derives from the Greek word, techne: art,

skill, cunning of hand and represents the collection of tools, including

machinery, variations, alterations, arrangements, and procedures utilized by

humans.

Technology is a means for change in the business environment in order to

make it well-suited with necessary and inevitable business (human) needs;

and the corporate culture is also the business entity’s and its employees’

compatibility with the milieu around it and the relation  they establish with it

(Szell, 2015).

According to Plowman and Stephen, new technologies can provide many

different opportunities for social engagement and interaction. For instance,

they can serve as a catalyst for social interaction, such as when pre-school

children need assistance with operating the computer and whenever they

experience problems. In addition, according to Johnson, new technologies

may also provide opportunities for young users to co-operate, negotiate and

collaborate, especially in informal settings where device availability may be

limited.

New media technologies are having a major impact on society as a whole.

The integration of such technologies into social settings within society, such

as the household, is having a major influence on social interaction between

individuals. It is evident from existing literature that new media technologies

impact on the social interaction within households in many different ways.

New media technologies can assist in increasing interaction amongst families

by bringing generations and family members together. As a result, it can

help bridge generational and digital divides. On the other hand however,

new media technologies within a household can lead to a growing

privatization within family life, with individuals increasingly using technology

independently rather than collectively.

Before the Internet and the use of texting on cellular phones, people

communicated primarily face-to-face. Letters were mailed and friends were

called through landlines, but one of the main means to communicate was by

meeting in person at a physical location. Now, people can be in almost

constant contact with each other through the Internet, cell phones, and

other technological devices. However, this contact does not have the same

physical element that face-to-face communication has (Ceulemans, P.,

2012).

The utilization of technology to create and maintain relationships among

people has become commonplace. According to the Pew Research Center,

the percentage of American adults who own a tablet computer increased

from 3 percent in 2010 to 45 percent in 2015, and the percentage of

American adults who own a cell phone increased from 53 percent in 2000 to

92 percent in 2015.

Almost all teenagers in America today have used social media. Nine out of

10 (90%) 13- to 17-year-olds have used some form of social media. Three

out of four (75%) teenagers currently have a profile on a social networking

site, and one in five (22%) has a current Twitter account (27% have ever

used Twitter). Facebook utterly dominates social networking use among

teens: 68% of all teens say Facebook is their main social networking site,

compared to 6% for Twitter, 1% for GooglePlus, and 1% for MySpace (25%

don’t have a social networking site).

For the vast majority of teens, social and other digital communications

media are a daily part of life. Two-thirds (68%) of teens text every day, half

(51%) visit social networking sites daily, and 11% send or receive tweets at

least once every day. In fact, more than a third (34%) of teens visit their

main social networking site several times a day. One in four (23%) teens is

a “heavy” social media user, meaning they use at least two different types of

social media each and every day.

Furthermore, in 2015, 76 percent of online adults used some type of

social networking site, compared to 8 percent in 2005. Technology is often

introduced into a social system with the stated intention of making life easier

for people. As technology becomes more pervasive in everyday life, the

assessment of technology’s presence in relationships and its impact on how

humans interact with one another is an emerging area of study.

There are many perspectives on the relationship between technology and

human interactions and relationships. It is purported that the integration of

technologies in everyday life can have profound effects on human

relationships, in both positive and negative ways. More notably, technologies

impact on or interfere with how individuals engage in interpersonal

relationships, behave within relationships, and project feelings and meanings

including displays of emotions and love.

Essentially, the new technological landscape now connects to what it

means to be human (Bullock & Colvin, 2017).

According to Lanigan, Bold, and Chenoweth, to understand the relation

between children's technology use and their social skill development, the

first factor considers the impact on both the individual child as well as the

family system. The computer both supported and impaired family

connections.

Although time on the computer displaces social activities, it generally

seems to displace other solitary or minimally interactive activities such as

listening to music, reading and family communication. Similarly, the effect of

technology time use on children's family relationships might also be

moderated by the kind of family activities that may be displaced, content of

activities on the technologies, family dynamics and individual characteristics

(e.g. extroverted or introverted personality).

Before analyzing the effect of technology on face-to-face

communication, it is important to understand the rapid growth of various

technologies and their current usage throughout the United States. Over the

past few decades, technology usage has grown significantly. Per the U.S.

Census, 76% of households reported having a computer in 2011, compared

with only 8% in 1984 (File, 2012). Of that number, 72% of households

reported accessing the Internet, up from just 18% in 1998, the first year the

Census asked about Internet use (File, 2012). As of 2013, 90% of American

adults had a cell phone of some kind, and for people under the age of 44,

the number was closer to 97% (Madrigal, 2013).

Many studies have been conducted regarding technology’s effect on

social interaction and face-to-face communication since the rise of cellphone

and social media usage in the late 2000s. As Przybylski and Weinstein of the

University of Essex wrote in 2013, “Recent advancements in communication

technology have enabled billions of people to connect more easily with

people great distances away, yet little has been known about how the

frequent presence of these devices in social settings influences face-to-face

interactions” (Przybylski & Weinstein, 2012, p. 1).

 One study examined the relationship between the presence of mobile

devices and the quality of real life, in-person social interactions. In a

naturalistic field experiment, researchers found that conversations in the

absence of mobile communication technologies were rated as significantly

superior compared with those in the presence of a mobile device (Misra,

Cheng, Genevie, & Yuan, 2014). People who had conversations in the

absence of mobile devices reported higher levels of empathetic concern,

while those conversing in the presence of a mobile device reported lower

levels of empathy (Misra et al., 2014).

In another study, Przybylski and Weinstein (2012) showed similar

results that proved the presence of mobile communication devices in social

settings interferes with human relationships. In two separate experiments,

the authors found evidence that these devices have negative effects on

closeness, connection, and conversation quality, especially notable when

individuals are engaging in personally meaningful topics.

Brignall and van Valey analyzed the effects of technology among

“current cyber-youth” – those who have grown up with the Internet as an

important part of their everyday life and interaction rituals. The two authors

discovered that due to the pervasive use of the Internet in education,

communication and entertainment, there has been a significant decrease in

face-to-face interaction among youth. They suggest that the decrease in the
amount of time youth spend interacting face-to-face may eventually have

“significant consequences for their development of social skills and their

presentation of self” (p. 337).

Many other authors have focused specifically on technology’s effect on

personal relationships. In

Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each

Other, Turkle (2012) examined the effects of technology on familial

relationships. After interviewing more than 300 young people and 150

adults, Turkle found that children were often times the ones complaining

about their parents’ obsession with technology. Turkle discovered that many

children believed their parents paid less attention to them than to their

smartphones, often times neglecting to interact with them face to face until

they had finished responding to emails.

Contrary to many researchers’ beliefs that technology impacts face-to-face

communication negatively,

Baym, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, does not share these

concerns. Rather, Baym believes that research suggests digital

communications enhance relationships and that “the evidence consistently

shows that the more you communicate with people using devices, the more

likely you are to communicate with those people face to face” (Adler, 2013).
 The literature review above dominantly shows that the use of mobile

technologies for recreational purposes typically affects face-to-face

interactions with strangers, acquaintances, and families alike in a negative

manner.

"Constantly communicating and always on; that's the way behavioral

experts describe all of us these days," says Troy Walters, a senior at

Hempfield High School. Kids today are growing up in a far different world

than they were just ten years ago. These are the digital days, where you'd

be hard pressed to go anywhere without seeing devices being used by the

majority.

“As children and parents are attaching more and more to technology,

they’re detaching from each other, and we know as a species we need to

connect,” Rowan said. “We’re really pack animals. We need to be connected

to other human beings. That’s just a fact for any living organism; it doesn’t

do well when it’s on its own.”

Children’s access to electronic devices has grown fivefold in two years

(Common Sense Media, 2013) and they engage with screens almost all day

long and in many different settings such as cars, restaurants, vacations, and

even in the bedroom.

 According to Bindley, technology is certainly not all bad. Its positive

effects on youth are well-documented, from the benefits of laptops in

schools, to the ways in which iPads are helping children with autism become

more social. Social networking, too, has a real upside, from raising self-

esteem to encouraging expression of “virtual empathy.”

It’s great that we have the technology to connect with people across the

globe instantly, but there’s also a sense of disconnection. If there’s an

internet-capable device with a screen anywhere nearby, the immediate

world doesn’t get our full attention. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve

wondered what someone meant by their words – whether on social media, in

a text or via email. Unless you see the person’s face, hear their voice and

understand the environment, you have no idea of the context surrounding

the written words. Misunderstandings, miscommunications and assumptions

result, which have an impact on how we view others.

As a corollary to the context issue, there’s an utter lack of empathy when

using technology to interact with others. “I’m so sorry your ___ died” or “I

heard you lost your job; I feel for you.” Where is the compassion and

solidarity with loss? It certainly does exist within the soul of the person who

texted, posted or emailed this – but words alone don’t necessarily convey

that emotion.
 Technology also fails to deliver essential personal touch. Sometimes you

just need a hug, a handshake or a pat on the back. Once in a while, I get

“stickers” and “emoji’s” on social media. The thumbs up symbol or smiley

face is cute, but it doesn’t make me feel a personal connection with the

poster. Do you use technology to pet your dog or cat? Not likely, because

they couldn’t care less. Sometimes we fail to realize that, as humans, we’re

also animals that need personal touch. (2015 Bryan Kramer)

Little by little, Internet and mobile technology seems to be subtly

destroying the meaningfulness of interactions we have with others,

disconnecting us from the world around us, and leading to an imminent

sense of isolation in today’s society. Instead of spending time in person with

friends, we just call, text or instant message them. It may seem simpler, but

we ultimately end up seeing our friends face to face a lot less. Ten texts

can’t even begin to equal an hour spent chatting with a friend over lunch.

And a smiley-face emoticon is cute, but it could never replace the ear-

splitting grin and smiling eyes of one of your best friends. Face time is

important, people. We need to see each other (Nilles, M. The Bottom Line,

2012).

This doesn’t just apply to our friends; it applies to the world around us. It

should come as no surprise that face-to-face interaction is proven by studies

to comfort us and provide us with some important sense of well-being,

whether it’s with friends or friendly cashiers in the checkout line of

Albertson’s. That’s actually the motivation behind Albertson’s decision last

year to take all of the self-checkout lanes out of its stores: an eerie lack of

human contact.

All in all, the impact of technology on human interaction paints a pretty

gloomy picture. But it’s a valuable discussion to have, as it teaches us the

value of balancing our offline and online communications with others –

personally and professionally.

In 2012, in fact, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found

that the brain chemicals of people who habitually used the Internet (and

were perhaps addicted to it) had abnormal connections between the nerve

fibers in their brain. These changes are similar to other sorts of addicts,

including alcoholics.

That can impact communications, relationships and our day-to-day

interactions with others. But while some of these behavioral changes are

being touted as new, they're really just updated versions of old conduct,

claim experts. "People change very slowly; tech changes very quickly," said

Jeremy P Birnholtz, associate professor in the communication studies

department at Northwestern University. "Everything we see online has

usually happened somewhere else."

 Technology also affects intimate relationships. People have been

avoiding (and hiding from) exes and have lacked the courage to end

relationships the traditional way for ages. But in the digital world it can seem

more abrupt as the constant communication and feed of information about

their life—via Facebook, Twitter, texts and other methods—dries up

immediately and without warning.

Some wonder, though, if the technological way of meeting people

today—through apps and sites like Tinder, Plenty of Fish, Match and OK

Cupid—removes part of the human connection. Rather than working up the

courage to ask someone out, you pick them from a catalog, and if it doesn't

work out, there's a near endless stream of other potential mates to choose

from just one swipe away.

In a recent study, a group of children spent 5 days in a camp without

access to any screen-based or electronic communication and being limited to

only in-person interaction (a control group stayed at home with access to all

electronic devices). It seemed that the time participants spent engaging with

other children and adults face-to-face made an important difference. The

children’s in-person interaction improved significantly in terms of reading

facial emotions, while the control group’s skills remained the same. The

results suggest that digital screen time, even when used for social
interaction, can reduce the time spent developing skills to read non-verbal

cues of human emotion (Uhls et al., 2014).

A 2014 study—"The iPhone Effect: The Quality of In-Person Social

Interactions in the Presence of Mobile Devices"—looked at the effects that

phones have when people talk face-to-face. Observing 100 friendly couples

having a 10-minute conversation while their phone was present, researchers

noticed that the individuals still continued to fiddle with their phones. When

those same couples conversed without a phone present, their conversations

resulted in greater empathy.

Another study, published in The International Journal of

Neuropsychotherapy in November 2014, notes that if one person in a

relationship uses technology more than the other that can result in feelings

of insecurity.

"If one partner in a relationship disengages from a face-to-face

interaction while engaging in technology ... the other partner may

experience a sense of threat to their need to feel attached and in control in

that relationship," it read.

Another study noted that adolescents might not have been as

influenced by technology because they are still spending a significant

amount of time communicating in person (Lenhart, 2012). One study found

that 93% of teenagers participated in person engaging in social activities

outside of school at least once a week (Lenhart, 2012). Over a third reported

participating in person daily (Lenhart, 2012). However, 4% of teenagers who

responded reported never/not being able to participate in after school

activities (Lenhart, 2012). This could be because of transportation issues.

Whether or not the isolation is by choice, it does mean that some

adolescents are getting few opportunities to gain interpersonal skills.

It is not clear if adolescents are generally more socially unaware than

a generation ago, but we know from the previously described survey that

some teenagers have no opportunities to gain experience communicating

face-to-face (Lenhart, 2012). What this means for school counselors is that

it could be helpful to work on social awareness - specifically on helping

students to recognize social cues that are only used during face-to-face

communication. Research indicates that not only is social skill instruction

effective, but it also improves student academic achievement (Jennings &

DiPrete, 2012). Even if it is possible that teaching social skills is not any

more necessary than it was before, social skills have always been important.

Consider the following two situations. In the first scenario, a man and

a woman sit across from each other at a romantically lit table in a fancy

restaurant texting – looking down and talking to others, maybe each other –

but rarely glancing up except to place drink and food orders.

 In the second, a mother walks into a diner joining friends for lunch,

carrying her 2-year-old. She sets him down at the table, hands him a tablet

device, takes out her smartphone, searches messages, and half listens for

only occasional moments of adult conversation squeezed in between

swooshes across their collective screens.

What ties them together? The distance between them. Both scenarios

reflect a new phenomenon of the digital age growing ever more rapidly. It's

called "virtual distance." Virtual distance is a psychological and emotional

sense of detachment that accumulates little by little, at the sub-conscious or

unconscious level, as people trade-off time interacting with each other for

time spent "screen skating".

It is also a measurable phenomenon and can cause some surprising

effects. For example, when virtual distance is relatively high, people become

distrustful of one another. One result: they keep their ideas to themselves

instead of sharing them with others in the workplace – a critical exchange

that's necessary for taking risks needed for innovation, collaboration and

learning.

Another unintended consequence: people disengage from helping

behaviors – leaving others to fend for themselves causing them to feel

isolated, often leading to low job satisfaction and organizational

commitment.
 Virtual distance research underscores that the rules of interaction have

changed. It changes the way people feel – about each other, about

themselves, and about how they fit into the world around them.

Virtual distance is a game-changer when it comes to human relations.

When technology is used as an agent for relationships, in some cases it can

be beneficial. However when technology is used purposelessly as a default it

doesn't just squeeze out sophisticated interpersonal interactions, it changes

the nature of what's left.

Are social networks helpful or harmful in long-distance romantic

relationships? Social network sites such as Facebook play an important role

in maintaining relationships, including romantic relationships, whether

individuals are involved in a geographically close or long-distance romantic

relationship. ... (2015)

Past evolutionary psychology research by British anthropologist and

psychologist Robin Dunbar has revealed that people are actually limited to a

certain number of stable, supportive connections with others in their social

network: roughly 150.

Furthermore, recent follow-up research by Cornell University’s Bruno

Goncalves used Twitter data to show that despite the current ability to

connect with vast amounts of people via the Internet, a person can still only
truly maintain a friendship with a maximum of 100 to 200 real friends in

their social network.

While technology has allowed us some means of social connection that

would have never been possible before, and has allowed us to maintain

long-distance friendships that would have otherwise probably fallen by the

wayside, the fact remains that it is causing ourselves to spread ourselves too

thin, as well as slowly ruining the quality of social interaction that we all

need as human beings. (Nilles, M. The Bottom Line, 2012)

The social media format provides a link between the anonymity of the

internet and the real life relationships people have. This link between the

two has very unclear boundaries, and adolescents sometimes make poor

choices with their online statements that can get them into trouble in real

life. Comments made online have caught the attention of school districts and

local police departments have gotten involved (Kimberly, 2012). Older teens

were more likely to have a cell phone than younger teens (May, 2011); 87%

Had a cell phone in 2011 (Lenhart, 2012). In total, 77% of teens aged 12 to

17 owned a cellphone in 2011, up from 75% in 2009, and 45% in 2004

(Lenhart, 2012). Although there does seem to be a significant amount of

concern over the issue, there does not seem to be a lot of tangible support

for any harm being done.

 Research shows that the use of technology has increased (Lenhart,

2012), but evidence that the increased use of technology to communicate

has caused face-to-face communication to suffer is not readily available.

Some researchers conclude that it must be negative (May, 2012), but the

data gained from the research neither supports nor refutes the theory. As

communication technologies continue to expand, more evidence that

adolescents are negatively impacted may surface.

For that reason, I set out to investigate the research question; ‘How

are new media technologies impacting on social interaction within

households?’ I want to explore if new media technologies do in fact bring

family members together and increase social interaction amongst one

another, or if it leads to a family divide instead (Dr. Corcoran, 2012).

A large part of this generation’s social and emotional development is

occurring while on the Internet and cell phones. All the time that children

and teenagers spend on the web and more specifically social media sites,

takes time away from face-to-face communication and in-person activities

(Giedd, 2012).

Is this fervent use of phones and social media causing a loss of social

skills? Kristin Carothers, a clinical psychologist with the Child Mind Institute

in New York City, believes so.

 Carothers said that frequent virtual interactions through social media

lack emotion, and when coming face-to-face with a person, frequent users of

social media may “miss some social cues.”

Carothers also said that the “quality of [the] relationships may not be

as great” as those that are based in face-to-face socializing. A problem that

arises from this is that youths may become “confused (about) what an

actual friendship is,” Carothers said.

However, she does commend social media in how it “breaks down

cultural barriers,” as youths all over the world who have similar interests can

connect through various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and

Snapchat.

Celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard star in a recent

Samsung Galaxy Tab S ad that follows them on a day in their lives

repeatedly distracted by technology. The couple decides to ditch their plans

to go hiking and, instead, spend the day completely attached to their

tablets. The commercial highlights the couple playing games on their

separate devices at dinner, video chatting each other from different rooms in

their house, and missing a black-tie event to watch a movie on their tablet

instead. While it seems as though this should be a PSA promoting face-to-

face interaction rather than screen-to-screen, it is just another ploy to sell

more technology. This ad, along with many others, has emphasized the fact

that as the use of devices and technology that allow people to communicate

digitally increase, face-to-face interaction decreases.

Little by little, technology has become an integral part of the way that

people communicate with one another and has increasingly taken the place

of face-to-face communication. Due to the rapid expansion of technology,

many individuals fear that people may be too immersed in this digital world

and not present enough in the real world. In reaction to the overwhelming

replacement of face time with screen time, a Massachusetts family decided

to implement an Internet Sabbath each weekend in which no video games,

computer or smartphones can be used. The father, William Powers,

expressed the difficulty of the weekly deto stating, “It almost had an

existential feeling of, ‘I don’t know who I am with the Internet gone.’ But

after a few months it hardened into a habit and we all began to realize we

were gaining a lot from it” (Adler, 2013). Many others have expressed

shared concerns regarding the overuse of technology and its impact on face-

to-face communication, so much so that some Los Angeles restaurants have

banned the use of mobile devices to ensure customers enjoy both their meal

and their company (Forbes, 2013).

According to Bandura, social skills are learned from the environment

through the process of observational learning. Children are surrounded by

many influential models, such as parents, characters on children’s TV and

games, friends within their peer group and teachers at school. These models

provide examples of behavior to observe and imitate, e.g. pro- and anti-

social behavior. The famous Bobo Doll experiment conducted by Bandura

has important implications for the effects of media violence on children. In

this study, in which 72 children participated, those who observed the

aggressive game made far more imitative aggressive responses than those

who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the

age of two not be introduced to television and other entertainment media

because their rapid brain development requires human interaction (Nadirah,

2015). Nadirah also reported that some Asian regions have set up rules to

regulate and limit children’s technology use. Taiwan, for example, recently

passed a new law banning children under the age of two from using

electronic devices. Under this law, parents can be fined for allowing their

young children to play with electronic devices. South Korea has also

instituted a similar policy as part of the Protection of Children and Youth

Welfare and Rights Act. In Malaysia, pediatrician Dr. Amar-Singh,

President of the National Early Childhood Intervention Council, concerned

that long-term exposure to electronic devices would affect children’s social

and linguistic development and cause physical problems like obesity,

suggested that parents spend quantity time with their children, instead of

using smartphones and other electronic devices as babysitters.

 In this new age of smartphones, millennials and even older individuals

are finding themselves enveloped in the world of technology and social

media. In a large survey conducted by [Link], 90 percent

of teens surveyed, ages 13 to 17, reported to have used some form of social

media in their lives. Seventy-five percent of teens currently have a social

networking profile, and 51 percent visit that social networking site daily.

According to [Link], some teens think there is a

trade-o ff between social media use and face-to-face communication. A third

of teens (34 percent) agree either strongly or somewhat that using social

media takes away from time they could be spending with people face-to-

face, and 44 percent agree at least “somewhat” that using social media often

distracts them from the people they’re with when they get together in

person.

Some teens get frustrated by how attached their friends and parents

are to their own devices, the [Link] survey shows. For

example, 28 percent of those whose parents have a mobile device say they

consider their parents “addicted” to their gadgets, and 21 percent of all

teens say they wish their parents spent less time with their cell phones and

other devices. Nearly half (45 percent) of teens say they sometimes get
frustrated with their friends for texting, surfing the Internet or checking their

social networking sites while they’re hanging out together.

One 13-year-old boy from the survey said, “It’s boring to talk to

someone that has to check Facebook every 5 minutes.”

Although many teens reported that social media distracts them from

talking to their friends, they also believe that social media actually improves

their relationships with friends because it allows them to be constantly

connected. A friend is available at the tap of a screen, and teens can connect

with members of their extended family whom they do not regularly see.

About 54 percent of teens say that social media has helped improve

their relationships while only 2 percent say social media is hurting their

relationships. Despite this, teens still report that face-to-face communication

is the most preferable. About half of teens prefer face-to-face

communication because it is the most intimate.

Despite the hours they spend on their devices, most teens insist that

social networking has no effect on their emotional health and that they are

satisfied with their lives. For example, 80 percent say using their social

networking site does not make much difference to whether or not they feel

depressed. Eighty-three percent say that social media does not make them
feel better or worse about themselves. And 74 percent do not believe that it

hinders their relationships with others.

The essential message from the book Raising Generation Tech is that

excessive or unguided exposure to new technology is not good for children.

Children should be raised by parents, not by technology. Taylor (2012)

pointed out that technology on its own is neither good nor bad. A television,

computer or phone is value-neutral. It's how we choose to engage with it

that has consequences.

Social media is a part of society’s everyday life. It includes applications

such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where people can communicate,

share photos, and notoriously “like” people’s posts or pictures. These

applications can be accessed through most electronic devices and many

adolescents have access right from their own bedrooms! Table one shows

the demographics for media availability in adolescent’s bedrooms. Social

media has become such a big part of our way of life that a study was

conducted that concluded, “American youth devote more time to media than

to any other waking activity, as much as one-third of each day” (Roberts).

Social media and online communication is believed to be having adverse

effects on social skills and communication among adolescents. Not too long

ago social media did not exist and social communication and interactions

were the only way of communicating. Social media also creates an image for
people based off their profiles, posts and pictures. However, today people

have the ability to communicate and converse through social media from

anywhere in the world. This is believed to be hindering society’s social skills

and communication, and even cause mental health disorders.

One of the most observable effects of social media on society is social

communication. Social skills and interaction are attributes people need to

succeed in life. It may be hard to see, but children build these skills as they

grow up interacting with other children in face to face scenarios. This is

enforced by the following quote: “It may have looked like a lot of aimless

hanging around, but what they were doing was experimenting, trying out

skills, succeeding and failing in zillions of tiny interactions that kids today are

missing out on” (Ehmke). 

Social media is severely limiting interactions between children, and

most importantly, during a crucial time in their lives. When children and

adolescents are young is the time when social skills are being built. “As a

species we are very highly attuned to reading social cues,” (Ehmke)

communicating behind computer and cell phone screens diminishes social

cues and body language. Being able to read social cues and body language is

a major component in social communication. It is feared that if adolescents

and teens do not limit their use of social media, the future generations will

have very poor social and communication skills.

 Although social media can negatively impact adolescent’s social skills,

it may actually be positively impacting relationships among peers. Teenage

years are often tough for many. It is a time of stress, learning, and

confusion. Strong relationships among friends are how most adolescents

cope with stress. The use of social media and having the ability to remain

connected with friends may positively impact relationships among peers.

This idea is reinforced by the following quote: “High-quality friendships can

form a powerful buffer against stressors in adolescence, and adolescents

with high-quality friendships are often happier than adolescents without such

friendships” (Valkenburg). Through the use and connectedness of social

media, adolescents are able to secure strong relationships with peers helping

them cope with stress. Although there have been findings that social media

use can be used to maintain relationships among peers, using social media

to meet new people does not hold up, “When they use it primarily to form

new contacts and talk with strangers, the positive effects do not hold”

(Valkenburg). This study shows that attempting to use social skills over

social media to meet new people isn’t effective. The two year study was

conducted to show a time line of negative to positive internet effects. If

social media is used correctly as in this case of preserving relationships,

adolescents social skills should not diminish as much. Having strong

relationships with friends may just adjust problems with social skills among

adolescents.
 A negative component that comes with social media is cyber bullying,

and it can be a major cause of the decrease in social skills among

adolescents. Social media allows for adolescents to contact one another at

any moment of the day. It gives kids the chance to start problems when

they are not together “Of course the other big danger that comes from kids

communicating more indirectly is that it has gotten easier to be cruel”

(Ehmke), social media is making bullying much more common and easier.

When a student who is bullied all day at school, they are relieved to return

home to escape the negativity and cruelness.

However, social media has made it nearly impossible to escape the

harsh words and mean comments of others. Constantly being bullied is going

to have negative effects on an adolescent’s self-esteem and confidence. It

will make teens nervous to interact in school, get involved in sports, and

overall decrease their social involvement. This is compared to the imposter

syndrome which Rachel Ehmke explains and compares with the psychology

of adolescents and people in their early twenties. Apart from cyber bullying,

there is another aspect of social media that is an indirect way of diminishing

adolescent’s self-esteem and that is the “like” feature. “Kids today are

getting actual polling data on how much people like them or their

appearance via things like Facebook “likes”” (Ehmke), adolescents takes

these numbers into deep consideration and some even becoming obsessive

over their number of likes. For example, a girl getting more likes on a
“selfie” than another girl is going to make the girl with less likes self-

conscious about herself. There are various components of social media that

have the ability to hinder socials skills, and although often overlooked, cyber

bullying and the like feature are some of them.

Social and communication skills among adolescents are crucial skills

that are experiencing both negative and positive effects from social media.

There are blatant aspects of social media that are harming social skills such

as spending numerous hours on Instagram, and then there are subtle

aspects such as the like feature. There is no surprise that social media is

here to stay with its availability and usefulness in society today. It is obvious

that social media is a major component of advertisement for businesses and

communication for people around the world, and this is completely

acceptable. However, the line must be drawn when social media is seen

crippling adolescent’s social skills, communication, and causing anti-social

behavior. If social media is used correctly such as maintaining relationships

among peers, social skills and communication for adolescents should remain

intact (Dantuono, 2015).

Some of the most prominent technological innovations are smart

phones, laptops and using the internet. They have greatly affected many

aspects of our lives. Today the Internet continues to grow day by day at an

incredible speed. About 32.7% of the world’s population has access to the

internet (Howe, W., 2012). The internet has become ubiquitous, faster, and
increasingly accessible to non-technical communities, social networking and

collaborative services, enabling people to communicate and share interests

in many more ways. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube, Flickr,

Second Life, Delicious, blogs, wikis, and many more let people of all ages

rapidly share their interests of the moment with others everywhere. Smart

phones, high-end mobile phones built on a mobile computing platform, with

more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary

feature phone, are now replacing Personal Computers (PCs). They have now

taken the world by storm, and a lot of people could not imagine what life

would now be like if they did not have the internet, email, and chat features

on their phones at their disposal. By the last three months of 2010, 94

million PCs and 100 million smart phones were sold. Analysts believe that

this trend will never reverse as it continued in the first quarter of 2011

where 82 million PCs and 100 million smart phones were sold (according to

the latest surveys).

Many more teens report a positive impact of social media use on their

emotional well-being than a negative one. Most teens don’t think their use of

social media affects their social and emotional well-being one way or the

other. But there are some teens who think that using social media does

affect how they feel about themselves and their social situation.
 More than one in four teens say that using their social networking site

makes them feel less shy (29%) and more outgoing (28%); one in five says

it makes them feel more confident (20%), more popular (19%), and more

sympathetic to others (19%); and 15% say it makes them feel better about

themselves. By comparison, only 5% say social networking makes them feel

less outgoing; 4% feel worse about themselves, less confident, and less

popular after using their social networking site; and 3% feel shyer.

Very few teens think that using their social network site makes them

more depressed. Among all teen social network users, only 5% say using

their social networking site makes them feel more depressed, compared to

10% who say it makes them feel less depressed. Even among the least

happy teens in this study (the 10% of all teens who say they are often sad

or depressed and aren’t very happy with their lives), 18% say using their

social networking site makes them feel more depressed, while 13% say it

lessens their depression.

In particular, teens think that using social media has helped their

relationships. Half (52%) of all teen social media users say using such media

has mainly helped their relationships with friends, compared to just 4% who

say social media use has mainly hurt their relationships. Similarly, more

than a third (37%) say social media use has mainly helped their

relationships with family members, compared to 2% who say it has mainly

hurt them. In addition, a majority of teens say social media help them keep

in touch with friends they can’t see regularly (88%), get to know other

students at their school better (69%), and connect with new people who

share a common interest (57%).

Despite being avid social media users, talking to each other in person

is still teens’ favorite way to communicate. About half (49%) of all teens say

their favorite way to communicate with their friends is in person. Texting is

the next favorite (33%), with social networking (7%), talking on the phone

(4%), and Twitter (1%) far behind.

The main reasons kids prefer face-to-face conversations are that

they’re more fun (38%) and that they can understand what people really

mean better in person (29%). The main reasons some kids prefer texting is

that it’s quick (30%) and easy (23%); others say it gives them more time to

think about how to respond (16%) or is more private (11%).

Some teens think there is a trade-off between social media use and

face-to-face communication. A third of teens (34%) agree either strongly or

somewhat that using social media takes away from time they could be

spending with people face-to-face, and 44% agree at least “somewhat” that

using social media often distracts them from the people they’re with when

they do get together in person.

 Social media use does affect how some teens interact with one

another. Nearly a third (31%) of social media users say they’ve flirted with

someone online that they wouldn’t have flirted with in person, and 25% say

they’ve said something bad about someone online that they wouldn’t have

said in person.

Because of the evolution of technology and its impact on society, it is

important to have a knowledge base of theories and practice models of the

impact of ICT on interpersonal relations.

Because technology is still evolving, its impact on teen socialization

remains uncertain. Some experts say that teens can lose important social

skills, while others say that social media offers opportunities for a new

connectedness. (Feliciano, Z., 2015)

Chapter III: Research Methodology

This chapter consists of the research methodology, respondents of the

study, sampling technique used, and research instruments. Furthermore, the

researcher includes the process of data gathering and the last one, the

researcher has stated about its statistical treatment that will be used for

accurate data analysis and interpretation.

Methods of Research Used

This output is a descriptive research. Descriptive because its main

concern is to get and analyze the effects of the technologies to the social

skills of a student.

Subjects of the Study

The subjects of the study are high school students with no specific

grade level as long as they fi and are capable of answering the questionnaire

that will be handed to them.

The respondents of this study will depend upon those who are engaged

to the technologies and to those are extrovert enough. The researcher is

hoping for a 50 respondents, at least, with no exact school where they came

from as long as they are qualified being the intended respondents of the

study. The respondents also, are students from the secondary education,

ages ranging from 15-20 years old and will not go beyond the limit age.
Sampling Technique

The researcher will be using random sampling for this study during the

selection of the respondents since mostly of the high school students, which

are my possible respondents, are engaged to the technologies nowadays.

Research Instrument

In order to complete the study, the researcher must gather data to

analyze and interpret. She will also give questionnaires with open-ended

questions to the respondents regarding the study.

The questionnaire will be divided into two parts. The first one will be

the respondents' respective profile which will include their name and age.

The second one will be the questions that are surely to be asked regarding

this study. All in all, the only instrument that will be used for the study is the

questionnaire.

Statistical Treatment of Data

Interpreting the data, the researcher must use some statistical tool

that would the researcher do the math easily. In this study, the researcher

has been advised to use the following:

1. Percentage distribution to know how many percent of the

respondents agree that there is a big effect of technologies to the social

skills of a student or even effects to social relationships or no effect at all.

 2. The t-test will be used to determine if there is a significant effect

between the technologies and the social skills of the students.