Monthly Archives: August 2016

Study: We understand that social media does not equal social interaction | PsyPost

14 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in Psychology

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Source: Study: We understand that social media does not equal social interaction | PsyPost

BY ON AUGUST 11, 2016

If you worry that people today are using social media as a crutch for a real social life, a University of Kansas study will set you at ease.

Jeffrey Hall, associate professor of communication studies, found that people are actually quite adept at discerning the difference between using social media and having an honest-to-goodness social interaction. The results of his studies appear in the journal New Media & Society.

“There is a tendency to equate what we do on social media as if it is social interaction, but that does not reflect people’s actual experience using it,” Hall said. “All of this worry that we’re seeking out more and more social interaction on Facebook is not true. Most interactions are face to face, and most of what we consider social interaction is face to face.”

According to Hall, social media is more like old-fashioned people-watching. “Liking” something is similar to a head nod. It’s not social interaction, but it’s acknowledging you are sharing space with someone else.

“Keeping tabs on other people sharing our social spaces is normal and part of what it means to be human,” Hall said.

Hall is no stranger to research on social media. New Media & Society published an earlier study of his that found people can accurately detect the personality traits of strangers through Facebook activity.

In his current paper in the journal, Hall details three studies. The first demonstrates that when using social media, most of us are engaged in passive behaviors that we don’t consider social interaction, like browsing others’ profiles and reading news articles.

The second diary study demonstrates that most of what we consider social interaction with people in our close circle of friends happens face to face. When interaction with these close others is through social media, it’s not something passive like browsing or “liking” but rather using chat or instant message functions.

Here’s where it gets interesting, Hall said. The first study found that chatting and commenting — things that we would even consider social interaction — are but 3.5 percent of our time on social media.

The third study had participants contacted at random times throughout the day. This study drives home how adept we are at separating social media use with social interaction. People reported 98 percent of their social interactions took some other way than through social media.

“Although people often socially interact and use social media in the same time period, people understand they are different things,” Hall said. “People feel a sense of relatedness when they’re interacting face to face, but using social media does not make them feel connected.”

All three studies, Hall said, circle around the idea that we still value face-to-face time with close others for the purpose of talking.

“If we want to have a conversation, we’re not using social media to do it,” he said.

The findings speak to a broader anxiety that many still have regarding social media.

“There’s a worry that people are seeking out more and more social interactions on Facebook and that social media is taking over our face-to-face time,” Hall said. “I’m saying, ‘Not so fast.’ People use social media to people-watch and still seem to enjoy a good face-to-face conversation.”

 

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What Is a Constant Cycle of Violent News Doing to Us?

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by in Media Effects, Media Literacy, Media Psychology, Psychology

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Nothing good. Experts suggested limiting your exposure to violent imagery and social media.

Source: What Is a Constant Cycle of Violent News Doing to Us?

By KATIE ROGERS        JULY 15, 2016

It has been a rough year.

By now, our violence is down to a pattern, and there is a choreography to our reactions.

A killer seeks out a nightclub, a church, an airport, a courthouse, a protest. Someone is shot on video, sometimes by the police, and marchers fill the streets. An attack is carried out in France, America, Turkey, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Tunisia, Nigeria, and then claimed and celebrated by a radical terror group.

Our phones vibrate with news alerts. The talking heads fill air over cable news captions that shout “breaking news” in red. Rumors and misinformation abound. The comments erupt on Twitter, Facebook and news sites.

Journalists create multimedia stories that focus on videos, photos and graphic accounts from victims and witnesses. The experts give interviews, and the latest tools of immediacy are put to use. After the deadly terror attack in Nice, France, The Times invited grief counselors to be interviewed on Facebook Live. Within days, attention had turned to a shooting in Baton Rouge that left three law enforcement officers dead.

So, what is this doing to us?

It depends on the individual, but living in a digitally linked world where broadcasts of violence are instantaneous and almost commonplace means that many of us are becoming desensitized, Anita Gadhia­ Smith, a psychologist in Washington, said Friday.

“With the frequency of shootings and terror attacks there is a sense of anxiety that’s building in people,” she said, “a sense of vulnerability and powerlessness.”

Dr. Smith added: “There is a heightened alarm, but there can also be some desensitization that’s happening.”

The constant stream of news on social media can also be traumatic. A team of researchers at the University of Bradford in England told a British psychology conference last year that exposure to violent imagery on social media can cause symptoms that are similar to post-­traumatic stress disorder, defined as a persistent emotional reaction to a traumatic event that severely impairs one’s life.

In an analysis conducted by the Bradford researchers, 189 participants were shown images and provided with stories of violent events, including the Sept. 11 attacks, school shootings and suicide bombings.

The researchers’ analysis showed that 22 percent of those who participated were significantly affected by what they saw.

The study also found that people who view violent events more often were more affected than people who saw them less frequently, and that people who described themselves as extroverts with outgoing personalities were at a higher risk to be disturbed by the images.

What can we do about it?

The self­-care advice hasn’t changed. It is natural to want to follow along with incremental updates on social media and in the news. But it’s important to know that this can heighten your anxiety.

Anne Marie Albano, a clinical psychologist and the director of the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, said in an interview after the 2015 Paris attacks that it might be a good idea to limit your exposure to social media.

Designating times to plug into the news — checking Twitter in the morning over coffee, but not listening to the radio while driving your kids to school, for instance — can help you manage anxiety if you are feeling stressed.

“This will help you balance a realistic and credible threat with information that is sensationalized,” Dr. Albano said, “or a rush to report something or talk about something that doesn’t have the impact that you would think it has.”

If you’re feeling anxiety about a possible attack, compare your fear with the facts.

When you fear the worst, it’s hard to remember that, say, a flight or a train ride has extraordinarily high odds of being safe. But you have to try.

Humans are bad at assessing risk, Martin Seif, a psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety disorders and the fear of flying, said in an interview late last year.

“Every single anxiety­ management technique is based on the premise that your reaction is out of proportion” to the likelihood of danger, Dr. Seif said.

Also, remember to take a breath.

A guide to dealing with terrorism released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation encourages closing your eyes and taking deep breaths to feel calmer.

Taking a walk or talking to a close friend can also help.

The guide also recommends avoiding alcohol and drugs, exercising regularly and eating healthy foods — basic self-­care guidelines that help reduce stress.

Make sure you have a plan to contact your family if something happens, especially if cellular networks are overloaded or transportation is disrupted, but remember that you most likely will not need it, experts say.

If you have children, the American Psychological Association recommends asking them how they are feeling about the news. Keep in mind that it is possible for children to be influenced by news reports and the adult conversations around them.

Lastly, keep your daily routine.

Dr. Albano said that a primary worry in the field of psychology is people “going out of their way to be so safe that it shrinks their world.”

“Terrorists thrive on this kind of thing,” she added. “They want to see the population change their practices.”

Going out of your way to avoid interacting with strangers — by refusing to take mass transit, for example — can stoke fear and anxiety in children, she said.

The best way to help children cope with acts of violence is to start by listening to them, Sean Rogers, a psychotherapist who works with children and teenagers, told The Times on his Facebook Live appearance.

”Listening is curative,” he said. “It is the basis of all therapies.”

Madison Mills contributed reporting.

© 2016 The New York Times Company

Additional Reading “It’s a Mean World, Or Is it?“