College Students Experience Decline in Social Skills Due to SNS Overuse

Emotional Level 11%, Self-Control Level 13% ↓... Unable to Resist Impulses and Launches Online Attacks When Opinions Differ

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[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] A study has found that college students' empathy and understanding of others' perspectives have declined due to the overuse of social media.

According to the December 2021 issue of the personality psychology journal Journal of Personality, a survey of 17,000 college students from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada revealed that their interpersonal skills have sharply declined over the past 15 years.

This survey result has drawn attention amid growing concerns that young people may not be tolerant of others' viewpoints.

Nowadays, college students tend to attack those who represent public opinion on campus online, simply because their views differ.

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The joint research team from the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney, which conducted this study, suggested that the decline in college students' emotional intelligence is due to their social interactions often taking place online.

Young people today build friendships through text on social media. As a result, they often miss so-called "social cues" such as body language or tone of voice.

The researchers reported that the emotional intelligence level of today's youth has dropped by 11%, attributing this to the widespread use of digital communication tools like social media.

Mahreen Khan, a researcher at the University of New South Wales Business School who led the study, pointed out, "Due to social media, young people today neither properly understand their own emotions nor those of others, fail to effectively convey their emotions, have diminished ability to fulfill interpersonal relationships, and do not accurately grasp others' perspectives."

The level of self-control in young people, which regulates their emotions and impulses, was found to have decreased by 13%. Regarding this, Khan advised, "Whenever possible, engage in face-to-face interactions" and recommended "reducing the use of digital communication tools such as social media."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.