Teenagers text at the dinner table.

They tweet walking to

class. They check Facebook on dates. Many of them have
become so dependent on technology that they struggle
interacting with people in real life. Their only means of
communication are through texting and emails.  Social skills
are lacking in a majority of high school students and social
media seems to be impacting this.
A study by Stanford University showed that applications like
Facebook, Twiter,  and FaceTime are not a replacement for
real human interaction. 3,461 American girls aged 8 to 12
were surveyed for the study. It was concluded that young girls
who spend an excessive amount of time using these devices
will struggle to develop normal social skills.
Bingham High School psychologist Clinton Thurgood said, “I
do feel that technology is having a great impact on teen’s
social abilities. There is a lot less face to face interaction than
in past generations and teens choose to spend time with
computers and video games instead of out with friends.”
Teens are becoming uncomfortable with in-person
confrontations of any kind, even talking over the phone. It is
less threatening to text someone or send them a Facebook
message. Actually hearing someone’s voice and making eye
contact is starting to become a thing of the past. If someone is
shy or awkward, they will probably have a hard time talking to
someone in person. They can have the same conversation via
text message or email. It is easier for them to maintain a flow
of conversation when they have time to think of a response.
“When texting you can be yourself, but in person, it is easy to
close up and that makes it hard to express what you feel,” said
senior Tiana Warner
Texting also lacks personality and tone. Saying “whatever” in
a text could mean, “anything you want” or “stop talking to
me.”  Today’s teenagers are losing valuable opportunities to
practice in-person interactions that are needed to develop
good social skills. Skills, like being comfortable around new
people or dealing with customers at a job, are needed in
everyday life. Many teens do not understand how to use body
language to portray what they mean. Body language and facial
expressions add an emotional element to conversations that
are missing from social media. Meaningful relationships are
never going to develop over a computer screen.
When talking to someone over the Internet or through a text,
people often get the courage to fire off statements they would
not dare say to someone away from the screen.
Senior T.j. Wenner said, “It’s a lot easier to say something
over the phone than it is to say it face to face.”