How social media Affects Communication Skills

Social media has become an important part of our daily life and there is no doubt about that. Previously, social media was used only to stay in touch with our friends and families with whom face-to-face conversations were not possible. But nowadays, even if people live near us, we choose to contact them over social media and this has affected our communication skills a lot and we are very unaware of that. Think about it, how we used to communicate before and how we communicate now and only then you will be able to see the difference and how it has affected your skills of communication.

Social media has affected our communication skills in both positive and negative ways but here, let’s discuss the negative effects on communication skills.

People avoid talking face-to-face

With the use of social media, people try to talk less while. They avoid talking to their family and friends while staying busy on social media. They usually find online chats and stories more enjoyable than sitting with their families and enjoying quality time. This affects a lot their communication skills as avoiding talks means that you will be speaking less and this will create a communication gap between your family and your friends.

Fewer communication skills to work with

Before, when the only ways of communication were either face-to-face or by letter, things were so much harder yet more effective. People had the confidence and skill to communicate with anyone and this was only possible because of the way of communicating. But nowadays, people who have habituated communicating on social media have less informative abilities.

They do not find time to learn about new communication skills because their constant attention to social media prevents them from exploring and contributing. That is why they fall short in this niche.

Lack of confidence

People who use social media frequently suffer from a lack of confidence while speaking face-to-face compared to those who don’t spend time on social media often. They feel hesitant while communicating and that is why they try to avoid gatherings where they feel like they can be asked different types of questions.

They suffer from a lack of power and can’t even put their opinion when they are forced to sit among people. But people who spend less time on social media have the courage to speak and this boosts their confidence level of speaking face-to-face. This happens because while chatting on social media, they are generally alone and they get used to this habit where no one is watching them while they communicate and going face-to-face makes them feel nervous and they start to lose confidence.

This is very dangerous for personal as well as work-life where people have to speak to get a possible outcome.

Lack of emotion while communicating

The use of social media as a communicating platform doesn’t let you show emotion and that is why conversations don’t happen like the way it feels when someone is communicating face-to-face. Adding emotion to any conversation brings out the most of any conversation. It helps us to understand better what the opposite person is trying to speak. But with text messages, we are not able to understand what the opposite person is feeling and this makes the conversation very unfulfilling.

This also affects our communication skills as learning what the other person is feeling. It brings a different style of conversation style. That is why nowadays most people find themselves alone even when they are accompanied by groups.

That is why social media communication is very necessary to keep the work going but you must also try for the traditional method of communication as this will help you to boost the communication skills that you might need later to grow in your life.