I've always had an idea about how much new technology is affecting the millennial generation's social lives. My parents (who are older than most, with my dad coming up on 70 in a couple years) are usually pretty quick to speak out on how they've observed a massive change in the behavior of teens today that seems to be a result of all the time we've spent submerged in the media. I've always really brushed those statements aside because, you know, our generation is making breakthroughs and we're really very smart and no, I really don't spend that much time on my phone, dad. But honestly, from what I've gathered from the social behavior of teenagers in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and maybe even 90s, our generation does have some major social behavior gaps. We are disconnected (even though we're more "connected" than ever before) and absorbed in this world of doing literally everything on our iPhones. I'm struggling to comprehend what my children are going to do when they're exposed to all of this advanced technology at a very young age. Anyway, there's absolutely no denying that something here is really affecting our social behavior, and my group thinks that it's because we're becoming conditioned to reach out to the media or specific social media networks to fulfill some of our social interaction needs. As I'm sure you can all understand, there's something a little wrong with that. Our group is going to delve into the consequences of human social interaction through media and what effect this is having on civilization as a whole.
This is obviously very important to be discussing, as we're all involved with media (whether we're trying to or not). It's everywhere, and it has a massive impact on our social lives as I'm sure you can all agree. It's really important, I think, to start raising awareness about what this technological submersion is doing to our human connection skills. What's really going wrong with society's communication? It's actually a bit scary to think about if I'm being honest. I often wonder what college students would be like if social media didn't exist. Would guys actually ask girls out on dates instead of asking for their Snapchat or Instagram handle? Or vice versa. It's strange to think about and thoroughly relatable to students, which is why we're so interested in it.
This research is going to be beneficial for all generations, even though the presentation/discussion will only take place in the classroom. While it might focus on the mostly negative consequences of social media (which would probably just fuel my father's hate fire for it), it will also cover the many positive consequences which will help prove how important media and social media are in the modern world.
This research is pretty obviously going to focus on the power that media has over human social interaction, and might even delve a bit into who can obtain power through it, although that's not a for-sure thing.
We all know lots as teens about social media, which will be really helpful in observing behavior through it. However, we have yet to learn about the scientific studies and cognitive responses to this media, which I personally find to be exceptionally intriguing. This is where our research applies to the 'underlying social needs', or, the subconscious things we do through media to get our social fix. That research, combined with our personal and expansive experience, will combine for a really thought-provoking presentation and discussion, and I'm very excited to see what we accomplish with it.
-Emily Christen