Pixelated communications in an era of

By Lili Hakimi

Originally introduced in 1975 by Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese, the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) explained a “theoretical perspective for dealing with the initial entry stage of interpersonal interaction.”

According to the URT, people gather information in three ways: passive, active and interactive strategies. An example of a passive strategy could be observing someone from a distance, an example of an active strategy could be googling someone and an interactive strategy could be a faceto-face interaction where basic information is exchanged, thus, reducing uncertainty.

The URT implies that humans are uncomfortable with uncertainty and that we actively try to reduce uncertainty when meeting new people. By attempting to predict the trajectory of an interaction, we begin to warm up to the other person and feel more comfortable around them.

Uncertainty reduction occurs during the initial stages of interaction, but over the past several years, technology has altered how we attempt to reduce skepticism about people we don’t know. Due to social media, the way we form new social relationships and maintain current ones has changed enormously. Social media has forced our brains to engage in an entirely new mode of communication, one that we weren’t designed for.

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram embody the URT by encouraging users to share a lot of personal information.

Social media invites users to interact with people they don’t know. This normally results in people being more direct and disclosing more information about themselves since they have a screen to hide behind.

Dr. Allan Gold, has worked at Del Mar Middle School for 47 years and has a doctoral degree in educational psychology, has observed a change in kids’ interactions, specifically how kids’ relationships have altered as a result of social media.

“[Kids] use social media as a tool for creating relationships, and it is not just an in-person relationship anymore. Kids will have contact with people on the other side of the country or [other] countries. There is a vulnerability there. But you also don’t have to interact with people on a daily basis. Does it mean there is an advantage? Is it necessarily bad to have a friend across the country? Probably not. But it [begs the question]: is it a friendship because you only have one kind of interaction with them?” Gold said. we see the full human being.

“You empathize or sympathize at the very least on a much different level. [Social media] has not caused more conflict, but it has diminished the desire to work towards conflict resolution,” Steinberg said.

According to Steinberg, social media impacts our interactions with ourselves, especially when it comes to the younger generation.

Are they friendships if you only have one kind

Allan Gold, educational psychologist

For Rabbi Paul Steinberg, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a doctoral degree in education, he believes that social media has limited the effort we put into forming relationships.

“[Social media] has short-changed the deep work of real relationship building. In other words, when you have [in-person] conversations, you have to look people in the eye and you don’t have a limited number of words. There is feedback you get from people that is not merely written. Facial expressions, the sound of somebody’s voice, how somebody says something, all of those things are really important forms of human communication,” Steinberg said.

Both Gold and Steinberg have observed social media’s impact on conflict and conflict resolution, primarily due to misinterpretation of content and a lack of impulse control.

“You are communicating without social-emotional feedback when you are just looking at [someone’s] words or pictures. It is easier to objectify [someone], dehumanize [someone], become more volatile, raise the stakes of conflict and be more comfortable settling into conflict,” Steinberg said.

With in-person disputes, Steinberg says

“There is a certain trauma [Generation Z] has experienced because of the heightened issues around conflict, bullying, body shaming, political divisiveness and [fear of missing out due to social media.] …

It’s a question for [Generation Z] as to whether the generation is going to have some of the coping skills, resilience and grit,” Steinberg said. “[When kids go off to college], all of a sudden they are on their own, and for the first time, they get a bad grade or their boyfriend breaks up with them, and they are in the nurse’s office because they physically can’t handle the emotions they’re having. Social media contributed to this because some of the social-emotional development has not been as full-throated.”

When it comes to mitigating the effects of social media, Gold says that schools have a big responsibility.

“It used to be less than 10 years ago that if there was an incident that happened online outside of school we would say ‘Oh well it’s not at school, so we can’t do anything about it.’ That’s changed because [social media] has so much impact on kids’ feelings at school. I feel a responsibility to tackle it,” Gold said.

Steinberg notes the immense impact of social media and technology over such a short amount of time, given that historical trends usually take hundreds of years to establish permanent advancements in society.

“2007 was when the iPhone was created. It’s only been in existence for 16 years and has changed everything,” Steinberg said. “Steve Jobs said it was going to change the world. He was right.” lhakimi@redwoodbark.org