Communication Theories in Social and Digital Identity

So much time is dedicated to the digital world, and the problem keeps growing as there is constant advancement within technology. There is clearly an overall issue of people disconnecting from reality and connecting to online platforms. The creation of social media has been scary as it all follows self-regulated usage, but unfortunately there is still a lot to entice people and cause them to become addicted (Nguyen 2021). This addiction can do worse than disconnect us from reality; it can also disconnect us from ourselves. This disconnection from ourselves can ruin relationships too as people will fail to socialize face-to-face and form weak relationships through only online interaction (Taylor & Zhao & Bazarova 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic was definitely a gateway into most people's social media addiction as we were quarantined inside of our own houses. 

During COVID-19, not only was everyone quarantined, but during this time people were seeking media outlets that they personally could trust (Bahfiarti & Arianto 2022). The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. This theory comes into play because people started to rely on mediums they knew they could trust as the mediums justified their personal opinions on COVID-19. For example, people would seek out outlets that would discuss ‘how serious this virus is.’ Everyone had their own personal beliefs and sought out content they knew they could trust because it fell in line with their personal bias (Bahfiarti & Arianto 2022). Having constant access to the internet because of the lock-down mandate allowed a lot of people to find different news outlets they really liked that would discuss the updates on COVID-19 and overall information on the virus. 

As everyone was glued to their phones and other technologies during COVID-19, a lot of people lost their social status and how to even properly communicate socially. COVID-19 caused an unfortunate break into a lot of people's social lives (Nguyen 2021). There was a huge lack of social communication as we were quarantined and this has caused a lot of teenagers to fear social interactions outside of the digital world. Social Presence Theory is the theory that explores how the "sense of being with another '' is influenced by digital interfaces through social media interactions (Nguyen 2021). People have grown accustomed to communicating through a screen even after society has moved on now from the pandemic. There are still thousands of people who avoid social interactions because it is ‘easier through the phone.’ COVID-19 really showed us how the internet can affect people. The study of people first becoming addicted by consuming content only they like, to losing their social skills because of social media technology is scary, and can only get worse.

Whenever it comes to deleting social media apps, people struggle with the decision of deleting them due to a fear of missing out on current trends. Nguyen (2023) states that he has conducted several interviews with people who deleted social media apps. It worked in a cycle as participants of his experiment would delete apps then eventually reinstall them. Nguyen (2023) would continue to say that they would lose interest in whatever app they were on, or they would catch themselves wasting so much time that they would try to stop and slow down their digital consumption. As we have finally settled out of the pandemic, it is clear that the process of quitting the social media addiction for most people will be a process. It will take time, but there is still the issue of an addiction that can lead to a loss of social identity as a whole if people do not slow down their social media usage. 

There is an emotional disconnect social media causes between platonic and romantic relationships. Social media could be a good thing for relationships when it comes to communication (Taylor & Zhao & Bazarova 2021). There is a connection when it comes to proper communication between the relationships through social media technologies. Although, connecting through the screen can also cause a disconnect as in a social setting when you bond with someone you are able to read body language, verbal tone, and actually communicate eye to eye (Taylor & Zhao & Bazarova 2021). Communicating like this in person does not sound like much, but those simple aspects of social communication is what builds an emotional bond between two people, whether romantically or platonic. Social media does have its benefits on relationships though as it provides a way for easy communication between two people at any place and at any time. The normalization of social media technologies has caused relationships to poorly form, but another aspect of relationship building is understanding yourself. If you as your own person are disconnected from reality, you will struggle to build a proper relationship with someone in both a social or digital setting.

Social Identity Theory is the theory that explains how people form different "identities" depending on the social groups, or online groups they are associated with (Elsayed 2021). Adolescents are becoming heavily addicted to social media technologies at such a young age that it is affecting their social identity. Children are forming "lack-luster" identities as they copy and do what influencers and other people do online. We are unfortunately accepting this new normal of children becoming these jumbled up personas all from online content. Not only children, but people who are heavily addicted to online content struggle to find who they are within themselves and have these blank facades they keep online (Elsayed 2021). There is a massive disconnect from a social life that makes people engrossed into their online world.

To free us from this situation, it is time we start to try our best to take a break from social media technologies. As I mentioned earlier, I believe COVID-19 brought in a new generation of social media addicts. I believe these addicts should be confronted by themselves and awaken from the online obsession. Although it can be a struggle, deleting social media apps is a great start. Even doing it in little intervals is a place to start. There needs to be a small separation from the digital world and something that really drives people to want to connect with the social world around them. I believe once people connect with the real social world, they can find themselves. Once someone is truly found, they can become their own person and form real relationships. It does not sound like much, but this is an issue people are struggling with and they do not even realize it.

Sources

Bahfiarti, T., & Arianto, A. (2022). Uses and gratifications approach: influence of COVID-19 media exposure on millennial generation in Makassar city, Indonesia. Heliyon, 8(6), e09704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09704

Elsayed, W. (2021). The negative effects of social media on the social identity of adolescents from the perspective of social work. Heliyon, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06327

Nguyen, M. H., Gruber, J., Marler, W., Hunsaker, A., Fuchs, J., & Hargittai, E. (2021). Staying connected while physically apart: digital communication when face-to-face interactions are limited. New Media & Society, 24(9), 146144482098544. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820985442

Nguyen, M. H. (2023). “Maybe I should get rid of it for a while…”: Examining motivations and challenges for social media disconnection. The Communication Review, 26(2), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2023.2195795

Taylor, S. H., Zhao, P., & Bazarova, N. N. (2021). Social Media and Close Relationships: A Puzzle of Connection and Disconnection. Current Opinion in Psychology, 45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.12.004