Do social media destroy human relationships? No. Human relationships are destroyed by the vices: lying, deception, pride, and jealousy (and the list goes on). Social media is a venue where vices and virtues are given free rein to express themselves in a public space. If you’re a narcissist, you’ll tweet your every move (including using the restroom) in an effort to stare at yourself. If you’re charitable, you’ll use it as a tool to give to others, whether that means raising money for an organization or celebrating a friend’s birthday. And since human beings are a strange combination of virtue and vice, our use of social media will vary accordingly.
But will you have more relationships, good or bad, if you use social media? I’m ambivalent. A new study published in the Netherlands examined 117 people aged 18 to 63 for the effects of social media on their “real” offline life. The results were mixed, as they found no direct connection between time spent online and the respondent’s number of offline friends. There is a possibility that social media affects teenagers more than adults, as shy teenagers showed a higher number of friends the longer they spent online. For adults, the pattern fades. My summation: the jury’s still out, and a coffee date might be a better use of time (and much less strenuous on your eyes).
Ashley May is a development associate at AEI. This post is part of a series tied to today’s AEI debate between Tyler Cowen and Roger Scruton on whether social media destroys human relationships.