An Empirical Study on the Influence of Social Media on the Interpersonal Relationship of Middle School Students

Abstract

With the development of society, social media plays an increasingly important role in people's life as it creates a new social environment, which has subsequently and greatly changed the mode of communication in younger students. The new social norm will inevitably influence their interpersonal relationships and skills. The present study aims to find out the influence of social media on the interpersonal relationship of middle school students (including junior middle schools and senior middle schools). To this effect, 210 middle school students and 3 teachers from two middle schools in Guangzhou city of China took part in the research. Three aspects are considered in this study: interpersonal interaction (including interactions with peers, teachers, and strangers), interpersonal cognition (including an individual's evaluation of others, self-awareness, and self-presentation) and social participation.