Are Relationships Altered Through Social Networks?

When quarantine struck, a wave of young adults took this unrequested leave as a time to reflect. Whether it was learning a new recipe or starting a workout routine, the common goal was to personally improve. For me, I began to notice how frequently I would reach for my phone. Especially because we were now asked to remove face-to-face communication from our daily routine, social media was the only platform I could use to stay in contact with my friends from school. Though there was a worry I would damage the relationships I so gratefully cherished, I knew a break from technology was needed. I decided to look into other people’s experiences and came across an article by Megan Holstein. Titled One Year Ago, I Deleted All My Social Media Accounts, she admits to sharing some common fears I also expressed. Although she did lose touch with some people, she confidently shares that removing social media did nothing but make her close relationships stronger.

Referred to as Media Multiplexity, this objective theory focuses on how our relationships can alter through the continued use of social networks. We are introduced to weak ties, which are emotionally detached relationships and more invested relationships, referred to as strong ties. Though it is easy to assume that strong ties are good and weak ties are stagnant, there are points in time when the role is reversed. Weak ties can become most beneficial when searching for new information or increasing social status. Overall, “weak ties are uncomplicated and don’t need many channels to sustain them. Strong ties require more media to orchestrate their varied and interdependent connection” (161). Haythornthwaite strengthens her theory by stating three claims. Her first claim states that communication content differs from the strength of the tie. The message itself can differ depending on the person and platform being used. Stronger ties tend to have more access to more media accounts while weaker ties are sustained through one or two. However, “when people constrain certain topics to certain channels, that choice produces dissatisfaction, too” (162). Claim 2 mentions the dependency hierarchy of media use has on group norms. Depending on the tie and media being used, “this allocation of different channels for different kinds of ties creates a hierarchy of media use expectations” (162). Lastly, Haythornthwaite claims that adding and subtracting media access influences weak ties. Strong ties are unlikely going to be affected if you decide to delete one platform because they have access to more than one outlet. However, if this is the only account your weak tie has a connection to, most likely there will be a change in the relationship.

 

One of the most common worries that follow the thought of removing themselves from social media is how many connections they will lose. Especially when face-to-face communication is difficult to maintain, most conversations depend on applications like Facebook and Whatsapp. In her post, Holstein admits that although relationships grew stronger, she did lose touch with people she did not have strong connections with, referred to as weak ties by Haythornthwaite. Though the Media Multiplexity theory doesn’t necessarily say if eliminating weak ties is hurtful or beneficial, Holstein has no regrets about the relationships she lost. According to her, most of them were nothing more than acquaintances, connections with little to no substance. As for the relationships that improved, they became stronger through face-to-face interactions. She prioritized her time in a way where she made the effort to make plans rather than sticking to surface-level communication. Even her long-distance relationships gained more meaning, for rather than observing their accomplishments through a detached lens, Holstein was forced to reach out individually to see how they were doing. Though some weak ties were cut, it allowed her to strengthen the relationships that had meaning rather than consuming her time with those she didn’t know.

 

https://medium.com/mind-cafe/one-year-ago-i-deleted-all-my-social-media-accounts-52d1b4d73add

https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/03/27/mark-dredze-social-media-misinformation/