Those who find it difficult to relate to others in face-to-face situations due to social anxiety may find the internet an easier place to relate to others. Recent findings have discovered that collective self-esteem and group identification positively correlated with peer group communication via SNS, leading to group sharing of the same ideation, endorsement of group norms, and maintaining interpersonal interconnectivity and social enhancement.
On the other hand, people’s various insecurities and anxieties about intimacies can be observed on SNS. Technology can immediately take away some of this discomfort because one can communicate through an object instead of directly with another person. But what are the long-term costs? People look to technology to protect themselves from more intense interactions, and as a more tolerable way to feel connected at the same time. Are people now starting to expect more from technology and less from each other and themselves?