Internet Usage and Purposes and Social Skills - Essay Example

Do Internet Usage and Purposes Impair Social Skills Development among the Youth, and are there Gender and Age Differences? February 14, 2014 Unlike previous generations, the youth today are growing in a multimedia-saturated, mobile-technologies-Internet-connected world. Seeing a horde of students glued on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops using the Internet for various academic, entertainment, and social purposes is a common sight in schools, malls, and streets. Because of the pervasiveness of Internet usage, communication scholars, psychologists, parents, and teachers alike are concerned of how Internet usage affects children’s well-being and development. Communication studies have increasingly explored if and how the Internet develops or impairs social skills development (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004) and psychological health (Campbell, Cumming, & Hughes, 2006; Titov et al., 2008). Previous studies showed mixed results on the impact of Internet use on children, adolescents, and young adults. On the one hand, several researchers showed that high Internet usage can lead to Internet addiction, which can consequently contribute to the formation of poor social skills and adjustment (Engelberg & Sjöberg 2004), including bullying behaviors (Schoffstall & Cohen, 2011), depression, and loneliness (Kim, LaRose, & Peng, 2009). On the other hand, other researchers learned from their studies that Internet usage can be constructively used to develop better social skills (Campbell et al., 2006; Titov et al., 2008), while other scholars observed from their study that the purposes of Internet usage can impact social skills development and psychological welfare (Ceyhan, 2011; Kim et al., 2009). However, these researchers have not examined how Internet use can lead to positive or negative effects on social skills. In particular, they have not examined if only certain uses of the Internet and Internet usage duration contribute to poor social skills and psychological health (i.e. using it mainly for entertainment or socializing with strangers), and if gender and age impact these positive/negative outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review the research on the positive and negative effects of high Internet usage/purposes on social skills, and to provide support for the gap in literature that will spur further research. Research Background Do certain purposes of using the Internet and duration of Internet usage positively or negatively affect social skills? The independent variables are Internet usage and purposes of Internet usage, as well as gender and age, while the dependent variables are social skills. For the age levels, grades three to four are considered as young children, grades four to seven are considered as older children, while higher grade levels up to college years are considered as older youths. Internet usage pertains to time spent on using the Internet using various communication tools (Ceyhan, 2011, p.70), where high Internet usage is considered using the Internet for more than nine hours a week (Campbell et al., 2006, p.70). The purposes of using the Internet are generally for communication, socialization with familiar and/or unfamiliar people, entertainment, and information-gathering (Ceyhan, 2011, p.70). Social skills refer to interpersonal skills or the ability to communicate with others as effective speakers and listeners (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004, p.42), while effective communication skills are capabilities on effective listening and responding behaviors that assist the formation and maintenance of social relationships (Ceyhan, 2011, p.71). Social skills are part of psychosocial welfare too, where some of the main social problems related with Internet addiction are loneliness, depression (Kim et al., 2009, p.451), and shyness (Titov et al., 2008). After defining the variables, the next section discusses the studies reviewed for the paper. Several studies showed that high Internet usage, especially Internet addiction, can lead to problems in social skills. Engelberg et al. (2004) examined the degree to which emotional and interpersonal skills are connected to Internet use. They measured related skills through instruments of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and personality variables. They hypothesized that Internet use would be negatively connected to interpersonal skills. They also asserted that regular users, who are almost “Internet addicts,” would state a higher degree of loneliness and lower social adjustment (refers to balance between time spent on work and leisure) (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004, p.42). They also asserted that following a “mainstream value system” is good for social integration, and Internet addicts would deviate in social values (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004, p.42). Finally, they hypothesized that high Internet users would score lower on EI, Extraversion, and Agreeableness (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004, p.42). The research design was an experimental one using battery tests. Their sampling included 41 students with an average age of 21 years old. Their findings showed that high Internet users had higher scores of loneliness, lower EI scores, and practiced deviant social values, though frequent Internet use was not linked to a particular personality dimension (Engelberg & Sjöberg, 2004, p.45). Though the small sampling is a limitation for the study, it suggests further research that studies the connection between Internet addiction and deviant social values. Another study focused on how personality affects Internet use and psychological well-being. Kim et al. (2009) studied three hypotheses on the role of psychological well-being as the cause or the result of compulsive usage, specifically cognitive-behavioral model, social skill account model, and sociocognitive model of unregulated Internet use. Their research design included 635 college students. Their findings showed that, depending on the effects of Internet use on psychological health, “social compensation model indicates that individuals who lack offline social skills benefit from online interaction, while the rich-get-richer model suggests that they might suffer from more negative outcomes” (Kim et al., 2009, p.454). Kim et al. (2009) postulated also that using the Internet for entertainment is worse than using it for social purposes because the former purpose can reinforce social skills deficiency and other social problems (p.455). The study is important because it shows that not only do lonely or depressed people are more attracted to high Internet use, they are most likely to also use it in ways that harm them more, socially and psychologically. One study supported the findings of Kim et al. (2009) partially. Ceyhan (2011) aimed to understand whether Internet use purposes affect students’ “problematic Internet use behavior” and their communication skills (p.71). The sampling included 411 college students. Through his findings, Ceyhan (2011) agreed with Kim et al. (2009) that using the Internet for entertainment can lead to Internet addiction and related negative social and psychological outcomes, although he disagreed with the latter when he learned from that using the Internet to socially interact with strangers also contributed to Internet addiction and poor communication skills. Ceyhan’s study is important in signifying how particular uses of the Internet can lead to problematic offline social behaviors, although other factors may also interplay, such as personality variables, parenting styles, social class, and gender. Schoffstall and Cohen (2011) focused more on kids and how Internet use affects their offline social skills. They used a survey research design that included input from peers and self-evaluation, where sampling was composed of 192 kids from the third to sixth grades. They learned that kids who performed cyber aggression were reported as having social issues “at the individual, interaction, relationship, and group levels of social functioning” and there were no gender and developmental effects on cyberaggression (pp.600-601). This study is important because it provides evidence that children’s social skills become much worse if they use the Internet for online offenses. Though cyberbullying and physical bullying may be different constructs, using the Internet for deviant social behaviors can spillover offline behaviors. Two studies, however, asserted that the Internet can be used to improve the social behaviors of those who have social and psychological problems. Titov et al. (2008) conducted randomized controlled trials to examine if therapist assisted (CaCCBT) or self-guided (CCBT) treatments (all Internet and e-mail based programs) can reduce social phobia. Their sampling included 98 individuals with social phobia who were randomly assigned to CaCCBT group, CCBT group, or to a waitlist control group. Findings showed that around 77% of CaCCBT and 33% of CCBT group participants completed all lessons, and that significant differences were shown after treatment between CaCCBT and control groups, and between the CaCCBT and CCBT groups. Results did not show significant differences after the treatment between the CCBT and control groups, while CCBT participants who finished the six lessons attained good development. This study is important because it shows that CaCCBT and CCBT procedures can work in treating social skills problems. The Internet can boost social behaviors when carefully programmed. Campbell et al. (2006) hypothesized that the Internet may be used as a medium for growing social networks and, accordingly, boosting the probability of forming meaningful relationships, self-confidence, social abilities, and social support. They conducted an online survey involving 188 people. They also performed paper and pencil tests to an offline sample group of 27 undergraduate university students, who were habitual Internet users. Their findings indicated that there was no connection between Internet usage and depression, anxiety, or social fearfulness, and some of those who attested that they chiefly used the Internet for online chat asserted that the Internet is “psychologically beneficial to them” (p.78). Campbell et al. (2006) also learned that this same group of people believed that high Internet users are lonely and the Internet has addictive qualities (p.78). Campbell et al. (2006) maintained that “chat” users who are socially apprehensive may be using the Internet as a “form of low-risk social approach and an opportunity to rehearse social behavior and communication skills, which, may help them improve interaction with offline, face-to-face, social environments” (p.78). Campbell et al. (2006) corroborated Titov et al.’s findings by showing that using the Internet can be therapeutic for those who use it for social skills development. From these studies, it is clear that Internet usage can have various effects on social skills and psychosocial welfare. However, these researchers have not fully studied how specific uses of the internet and Internet usage interplay in shaping positive or negative social skills and psychosocial welfare. Do specific Internet uses and Internet usage interplay work together or independently in impairing or boosting social skills development? These studies, furthermore, have also not always analyzed gender and age differences. Are young children more vulnerable to developing poor social skills if they grow up using the Internet for communication and socialization purposes? Does gender have an impact on how Internet usage shapes social skills and psychosocial welfare? Conclusion Past studies revealed mixed results on the impact of Internet use on the youth, where most of the studies are done on college-age students. On the one hand, several researchers asserted that high Internet usage can lead to Internet addiction, which can consequently impair social skills and adjustment (Engelberg & Sjöberg 2004), and even result to cyberbullying behaviors (Schoffstall & Cohen, 2011), depression, and loneliness (Kim, LaRose, & Peng, 2009). On the other hand, other researchers learned that Internet usage can be programmed to develop better social skills (Campbell et al., 2006; Titov et al., 2008), whereas other scholars observed that the specific purposes of Internet usage can negatively or positively shape social skills development and psychological welfare (Ceyhan, 2011; Kim et al., 2009). The literature does not address how purposes for Internet use and Internet usage can affect social skills and if there are gender and age effects. This topic is worthy of investigation because Internet addiction can lead to harmful social skills and other negative social and health outcomes without proper parental guidance for kids and Internet usage education for adolescents. At-risk groups, including those who already have social or psychological problems may or may not also benefit from Internet use, depending on the “programming” of their Internet usage. Hence, pursuing this gap in literature can enrich knowledge on Internet effects and in stimulating research on providing interventions for problematic Internet use. References Campbell, A.J., Cumming, S.R., & Hughes, I. (2006). Internet use by the socially fearful: Addiction or therapy? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(1), 69-81. Ceyhan, A.A. (2011). University students problematic internet use and communication skills according to the Internet use purposes. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 11(1), 69-77. Engelberg, E., & Sjöberg, L. (2004). Internet use, social skills, and adjustment. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(1), 41-47. Kim, J., LaRose, R., & Peng, W. (2009). Loneliness as the cause and the effect of problematic Internet use: The relationship between Internet use and psychological well-being. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 451-455. Schoffstall, C.L., & Cohen, R. (2011). Cyber aggression: The relation between online offenders and offline social competence. Social Development, 20(3), 587-604. Titov, N., Andrews, G., Choi, I., Schwencke, G., & Mahoney, A. (2008). Shyness 3: Randomized controlled trial of guided versus unguided Internet-based CBT for social phobia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42(12), 1030-1040. Read More