Minutes

Steinsbekk, Silje; Bjørklund, Odo; Valkenburg, Potti; Nesi, Jacqueline; & Wichstrøm, Lars (2024). (2024). The new social landscape: Relationships among social media use, social skills, and offline friendships from age 10–18 years. Computers in Human Behavior, 156, 108235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108235

Does social media weaken social skills or help teenagers build friendships?  

Researchers in Norway studied how social media shapes real-world relationships. They tracked 800 youth, ages 10 to 18, measuring how often participants used social media in activities like posting, liking, and commenting. They assessed social skills, social anxiety, and the amount of time teens spent with friends offline.  

Contrary to parents’ fears, overall results showed that increased social media use predicted more time spent with friends face-to-face. Teens who used social media more frequently tended to spend more days with friends offline. Surprisingly, social media use did not predict better or worse social skills. However, teens with higher social anxiety showed small declines in social skills when their social media use increased.   

Many assume social media replaces real friendships, but this study suggests online interaction may support offline connections for many teens. However, socially anxious adolescents may experience social media differently. They find it difficult to feel comfortable. Perhaps more time in activities with friends would help them gain social skills  

Parents and teens! Set limits on social media. And have frequent in-person interaction in sports, creative activities, and social situations, and communicate in person! 

Written by Dan Peacock B.S.