Are We Becoming More Socially Awkward? An Analysis of the Relationship Between Technological Communication Use and Social Skills in College Students.

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the use of technological communication and social skills in college students. A total of 112 male and female undergraduate students at Connecticut College were surveyed about their social skills, social anxiety, technology use, and technology preference. Sixteen of these participants returned to participate in a conversation taking place in a lab setting that was observed by the researcher, in order to evaluate non-verbal social skills. We predicted that participants who used technological communication more frequently or preferred it to face-to-face communication, would have lower social skills and high social anxiety. In addition, women were expected to use technological communication more than men. A series of analyses provided support for the first hypothesis. Ultimately, communication preference strongly correlated with poor social skills and high social anxiety, while a greater restriction of technology in youth correlated with high social skills in college. Implications for the impact of technological communication on social skills were discussed.