Emotional Disconnection by Digital Interaction: Navigating the Social Networks of College Students Through Social Media

Abstract

As technology is now regularly used in classroom environments, identifying its benefits and drawbacks has grown more important. Although research has studied its impact on young adults, it has not yet shown how a college setting can change social media’s influence. This study, based on interviews with twenty current Princeton students, aims to clarify the correlation between social media usage habits and the overall emotional responses that they can evoke. It finds that though students have an overall positive view of social media, which they use for communicating and networking, they cannot avoid its common side effects, such as lower quality relationships and skewed priorities. These factors, among others, are responsible for the presence and severity of their emotional responses.