Maybe It Is the Damn Phones: How Social Media Has Stunted Our Social Skills

A study published by the Journal of Behavioral Studies in 2014 found that college students use their phones for around nine hours a day. That means nearly 40% of a college student’s day is spent on their phone. 

Phones can be considered a buffer between human interaction and can lead to less socialization. The common body language of college students is heads down, AirPods in.

“Pretending to take a call, send a text, or check one’s phone to avoid an awkward social situation, for instance, is a common negative reinforcing behavior practiced by cell phone users,” the study found.

To provide more insight, a 2023 study conducted by Frontiers in Psychology reported that self-esteem notably predicted peer relationships and that social avoidance positively impacts cell phone addictions. Meaning that a person’s self-esteem is tied to peer relationships. Thus, if someone’s self-esteem is low, they are more likely to avoid socializing, which can lead to excessive phone usage. 

The study investigated the influence of self-esteem on phone addictions among college students using a questionnaire. The participants consisted of 694 students from four different universities in China. 

“​​The results of this study demonstrated that social avoidance partially mediates the relationship between self-esteem and mobile phone addiction,” the study reported. “That is, the higher the self-esteem of college students, the lower the level of social avoidance, and thus the lower the level of mobile phone addiction.”

Furthermore, the study discovered that college students with social anxiety tend to rely on online spaces for socialization. This attempt to fill the gap in interpersonal relationships can exacerbate the fear of missing out on digital information. 

“The more individuals are afraid of missing out on information, the higher their level of mobile phone addiction,” the study revealed. “College students with low self-esteem may be more inclined to reduce social anxiety through mobile phone use and therefore more prone to mobile phone addiction.”

This fear of missing out on this constant flow of information could lead to nomophobia. This term, according to Psychology Today, was coined in 2010 as an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone phobia.” 

Psychology Today stated that 66% of US adults suffer from nomophobia, severe anxiety around being without a cell phone.

“They are accustomed to avoid social activities by being addicted to their mobile phones and seek identity and belonging in the online world as a way to reduce pain, anxiety and other negative emotions,” the Frontiers in Psychology study reported. 

The loss of third spaces, physical locations outside of work or home that offer social activity, also contributes to the reliance on phones for social interaction.

Now, phones, and more specifically social media apps, are the new third spaces. Although these online communities can provide a sense of belonging, they do not replace the real thing. 

“Individuals who use smartphones less problematically exhibit greater levels of reflection compared to those who use smartphones more frequently,” A 2023 study found. “Critical thinking about social issues appears to be easier than critical thinking about mathematical problems.”

The real challenge is combating these issues in a world where everything is digital.

Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!  

• college
• lifestyle
• mentalhealth
• phones
• socialmedia
• students