 How do digital media communications

reshape social interaction?

Digital media is content that has been digitally converted and can be
transmitted across computer networks or the internet. Text, audio, video,
and images can all be a part of this. In other words, news from a newspaper,
magazine, TV network, etc. that is delivered on a website or blog might be
included in this category. Analogue to digital conversion is the foundation of
the majority of digital media. Text was uploaded to the Internet and started
being shared, as opposed to being stored on paper as it had been in the
past. Soon after text was first entered into computers, images, then audio,
and finally video were added to the Internet. In just a few short years, digital
media has advanced significantly to become what we know it to be today,
and it is still expanding. Digital media has had a great impact on social
interaction over the years.  The process of reciprocal influence people
exercise over one another during social encounters is known as social
interaction. It typically refers to in-person interactions where participants
are physically present with one another for a predetermined amount of
time. However, in modern society, we can also consider social interactions
that are mediated by technology, such as texting, skyping, or messaging. 

More and more people are starting to change the method of communication
with their friends, families, or their loved ones. And it is no surprise that the
world is becoming more and more digitalized as there is continuous
development within the tech world. In fact, by 2020, 2.9 billion people were
expected to be on social media. (statista.com)
Communities have always been essential to human interactions, but
because of digital technology, people may now build communities across
vast distances. Like-minded individuals can now connect online through
social media platforms like Twitter, whether they want to discuss a TV show
or discuss political activities or movements. 
It is hard to argue that media communication did not have a good impact on
people all over the world. Here are the best exemples in my opinion.

Firstly, Let’s look at how easy it is now for people to connect to other people
on the other side of the planet with a simple click, and this came in handy
during the pandemic, as the guardian states ‘ app tracking firm Apptopia
said Zoom was downloaded 2.13m times around the world on 23 March, the
day the lockdown was announced in the UK– up from 56,000 a day two
months earlier. (guardian). This has helped humanity as a whole as it kept
the people connected to each other, when the planet was in a period of
crisis, being forced to keep our distance from each other. Therefore proving
that media communication did reshape the social interaction in that time of
our lives, but in this particular case it kept us together, as even though we
were forced to keep our distance we could had still socialize with each other

Secondly, the existence of media communication reshaped social

interactions in the sense that now we are more likely to keep in touch with
people we could not before, for example an old school colleague or distant
relatives that live on the other side of the world. A study shows that ‘today’s
teens, friendships can start digitally: 57% of teens have met a new friend
online. Social media and online gameplay are the most common digital
venues for meeting friends’ (org). As the teenagers were born into the era
of  media communication it is more likely for them to have more online
friends than real life friends, as well as convenient for them to meet such
friends. Analysing this, basing the argument on the younger generations, the
reshaping of the social interactions is quite clear, as due to media
communications people are likely to have more friends therefore socialising
more than in the past, as it is an easier more accessible method of
communication.
Furthermore, as teenagers make more friends online, it is also easier for
adults to find love with the help of media communications, as there are
more available people gathered together on dating apps such as tinder. At
one time, every romantic relationship began with two people meeting in
person at school, or work, or at a party or bar. But the number of
relationships starting through media communication is said to become
almost 50% by the year 2035 (sky news). In the same report 47% of people
have said that it is easier meeting people online, especially for introverted
people. This further demonstrates that media communication has reshaped
social interactions as introverted people now have a platform to use in order
to socialise and to find love or friends. Similar to this, individuals who
previously had no opportunity for social engagement now have the choice
to take part in online groups. In a video game universe, people with
disabilities can forget about their physical limitations, while people who are
socially awkward can develop confidence by practising interaction online
rather than in person. When communicating online, people have more time
to assimilate information and come up with a response. 

Moreover, the existence of social media has also helped the marginalised
social groups as it gave them a safe space to come to as well as emotional
support to overcome their daily problems. LGBTQ people can have a place
where they can go and receive assistance by starting social media groups.
Social media support groups can't take the place of qualified LGBTQ
counselling, but they can contribute a lot to make people feel valued and
accepted. Social media has made it possible for parents, relatives, and
friends to connect with and support the LGBTQ community. For instance,
you can chat about your coming out experience or find a means to meet
other LGBTQ people by visiting social media pages. For the majority of them,
it is crucial since we don't want to go through this alone. This means that
media communication has reshaped the way minor communities in today’s
society are viewed and accepted, as there are numerous online means to
support and empower them. 

There are numerous positive attributes to media communication and its

effect on social interaction, however the existence of it had its negative
effects as well. 
Social media has also altered the way we communicate, most notably by
causing us to lose some of our social skills.  Due to their dependence on
social media, some people are entirely incapable of having a regular
conversation or engaging with others in person.
A meaningful chat with their child or spouse is less common than checking
their smartphones every two minutes. Both social media and technology
have drawbacks. Although it's great to have and can be incredibly helpful, it
can also blind us to and deafen us to everything else that is going on.

The first way that media communication reshaped social interactions is that
more and more people are starting to know less and less words, as well as
using incorrect grammar because, Writing is more summarised when
Twitter's character limit of 140 was first implemented, the majority of us
questioned how we could convey anything significant in just 25 to 30 words. 
We have come to understand that the 140 character constraint on Twitter
and other social media platforms has really pushed us to communicate our
ideas concisely.  However, this has made it possible for sentences to be
shorter or pages to be written without proper grammatical usage. 
Moreover, another way it reshaped social interactions is cyberbullying. 
Bullying was a practice that could only be carried out in person before the
rise of social media. Online bullying is now a reality, whether perpetrated
anonymously or not. Everyone today is aware of what cyberbullying is, and
most of us have witnessed the damage it can cause to a person. Social
media makes it simpler to make friends and meet new people, but it also
gives the nasty a quick and easy way to pick on others. Bullies can earn
people's trust on social networks using their anonymity before terrorising
them in front of their friends. For instance, they can make a false online
persona and appear nice towards a student, only to later betray and
humiliate them. This reshaping social interaction as it made the people
ruder to each other, and diminished the trust we, as a society have in each
other.

Overall, as with everything else, media communications have good and bad
ways on the way it reshaped social interactions. Some may argue that the
bad ones outweigh the good ones. However it is my personal opinion that if
media communications are used accordingly it can connect us closer than
ever as a worldwide society. Therefore reshaping the social interactions for
the better.
Neate, R. (2020) Zoom booms as demand for video-conferencing tech
grows, The Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/31/zoom-booms-
as-demand-for-video-conferencing-tech-grows-in-coronavirus-outbreak
(Accessed: 08 May 2023). 

Sky (2019) Finding love online: More than half of couples set to meet via the
internet, Sky News. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/finding-
love-online-more-than-half-of-couples-set-to-meet-via-the-internet-
11871341 (Accessed: 08 May 2023). 

Dixon, S. (no date) Topic: Social media, Statista. Available at:

https://www.statista.com/topics/1164/social-networks/ (Accessed: 03
May 2023). 

Lenhart, A. (2020) Teens, technology and Friendships, Pew Research Center:

Internet, Science & Tech. Available at:
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/06/teens-technology-
and-friendships/ (Accessed: 03 May 2023).