Constant Contact and Replaced Relationships

Media and Technology SOCI 1306 Constant Contact and Replaced Relationships How frequently do you check for notifications or new messages on your phone? It might occur more than 100 times a day if you're normal. (It is challenging to state this number with confidence because corporations or organisations issue fresh studies every few months that purport to have updated numbers.) What occurs with your phone while you're asleep? According to a 2012 study, 29% of cell phone owners say their phone is "something they can't imagine living without," and 44% of owners have slept with their phone next to their bed in order to ensure they don't miss any calls, texts, or other updates during the night (Smith 2012). Three years later, 71 percent of people reported sleeping with a phone companion, according to a widely referenced Bank of America survey (Kooser 2015). It was determined to be 66% in a more recent poll with 500 participants, however the survey was limited to adults (Abbott 2020). However, selective remembering may play a role in these surveys and the responses to them: Prior to the emergence of cell phones, many individuals had telephones in their bedroom, frequently within arm's reach of their bed. While many claim that having a mobile phone makes it simpler to plan ahead, stay in touch, and be more productive, there are other effects of continuous gadget use in the US. Additionally, according to Smith (2012), "roughly one in five cell owners say that their phone has made it at least somewhat harder to focus on a single task without being distracted; to give people their undivided attention; or to forget about work at home or on the weekends." As this chapter's introduction noted, even celebrities—who may have benefited most from more communication and social media— report feeling stressed and anxious about their online persona and the consequences that follow. It should come as no surprise that social media is a potent tool for political expression and social change, given how widely used it is both domestically and internationally. For instance, thirteen-year-old McKenna Pope used the Internet to effectively petition Hasbro to combat gender stereotypes by developing a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven rather than limiting its colour palette to the conventional pink (Kumar 2014). Part of the reason why movements like MeToo and Black Lives Matter became so well-known is because of what is often called "hashtag activism." At a significant rally, more recently, TikTok users who were ardently against Donald Trump's reelection registered for almost every seat. The campaign had promised that the arena would be packed, but when they failed to show up, it was almost empty. Subsequently, Trump supporters coordinated and planned their own rallies using the social media platform Parler. Such regular and significant use has inevitable consequences: Older communication techniques are being replaced by newer ones. Some people find using a phone to talk outdated and even invasive; instead, they much prefer texting or non-voice messaging tools. Although friends, relatives, media watchers, and etiquette experts may bemoaning the fact that individuals are starting and terminating relationships by text message, those approaches have been shown to be more comfortable, particularly for younger generations. What consequences result? While not all relationship kinds have been studied, studies on romantic partnerships have produced some intriguing findings. Think about the components of a relationship first. The first is attachment, or the relationship that people have with one another. Empirical studies have demonstrated that consistent message usage considerably elevates the degree of connection. It should go without saying that those that regularly check in on one another, share their locations, and provide encouragement or affirmation will have healthier relationships. However, the same study discovered that when text messaging predominated over voice communication, the respondents judged the relationship's overall quality as weaker or less pleasant (Luo 2014). Reliance or imbalance are additional aspects of relationships that many of us have encountered. According to research, close friends who depend extensively on their phones and the messaging they send each other may experience greater problems with overdependence on one other and with having different expectations for communication. Friendships without a mobile device dependency would see considerably fewer exchanges. In partnerships that were dependent on mobile devices, research revealed aspects of guilt and pressure to react (referred to as entrapment), which resulted in general discontent (Hall 2012).