With the explosive growth of social media in recent years, numerous concerns have been cited that online social interactions would undermine real-world interactions. However, that may not hold true, at least as far as the Generation X is concerned. A new study suggests that Xers are able to maintain a healthy balance between their online and offline social interactions.
The study considered responses from some 3,027 Generation Xers, which is a term essentially meant to refer to young adults. According to this study, Xers in their late 30s engage in about 75 real-world interactions and 74 digital interactions on average, in a given month. This shows that they have been able to steer the two side by side without compromising the significance of either.
According to the author of the study, titled ‘The Generation X Report’, “Given the speed of emerging technologies, it is likely that electronic contacts will continue to grow in the years ahead, eventually exceeding face-to-face interactions. But the young adults in Generation X are currently maintaining a healthy balance between personal and electronic social networking.”
The study further divulges that individuals belonging to Generation X are well cognizant of the ‘social capital’, which includes their offline interactions as well. Moreover, such young adults who go on to score a bachelor’s or advanced degrees tend to be more socially active and have larger social networks.
Also, interestingly enough, male respondents made more real-world social interactions (86 per month) compared to the female respondents (65 per month). However, females are more active when it comes to digital interactions.
Jon D. Miller, the author of the research paper, states, “This is the first generation of Americans to reach adulthood at the beginning of the electronic era. So it’s understandable that they should show a substantial mix of traditional and electronic networking as they build and maintain the social capital that will help to carry them through their lives.”
Source: The Generation X Report
Courtesy: Futurity
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