I recently read an article in the Huffington Post with the headline "Cellphone Study Finds Link Between Selfishness and Mobile Phone Use." The article reported the findings of two studies conducted at the University of Maryland. In the study they had college students use Facebook, or a cellphone without Facebook access, for three minutes then asked them how likely they were to volunteer at a charity organization. Phone users were less likely to say they would volunteer than those who went on Facebook.
Before being tested participants said they felt more connected to others when they were using their cellphones than when they were on Facebook. This led researchers to conclude that "the more connected to others people feel, the less likely they are to volunteer." "The cellphone directly evokes feelings of connectivity to others, thereby fulfilling the basic human need to belong," the studies' authors writ in a working paper titled "The Effect of Mobile Phone Use on Prosocial Behavior."
Although the findings are interesting, they will not be published until more research is done. Researchers want to know more about how cell phone use affects people's actions in social situations. Specifically they'd like to see if a socially fulfilling activity would make people even less likely to behave in a prosocial manner.
Read the full article here.
I'm always on my phone checking Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Google+ and my email but I never really thought it was making me selfish. I do feel more "social" while on these social networks but I know social activity in real life is more important than on a network. Though this study definitely needs more research and experimentation, I think it's interesting to what researchers are trying to find out these days, especially with everyone having a smartphone and some sort of social network.
What do you guys think?
I think this research is very interesting. I do believe in the good ole' fashion one-on-one communication. Society has become "Generation C - Connected" in the social networking world. I guess its easier for some people to socialize online rather in person. Everyone's preference is different. However, personal, social contact either in person or on the phone is still one of the best tools in society for building strong business and personal relationships...once that is established, the social networking is a bonus to keep in touch! Thanks, for sharing Lyss!
ReplyDeleteI think that's strange, but I can't imagine someone not wanting to volunteer just because they're on Facebook or other social networking sites. If anything, I would think they'd be more likely to volunteer because of some of the images and viral campaigns that are being passed around.
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree that social networks are taking away the ability of people to communicate and socialize in real life. There's a difference between communicating with people through a computer and a keyboard and between communicating in real life and honestly I think that within 20 or 30 years, people will have lost that ability to genuinely socialize without technology.