Online communication can help adolescents and young adults recover from the emotional effects of social exclusion, according to a study published in Development Psychology in 2009.
The study, which was conducted by Elisheva Gross from the University of California, examined the effects of instant messaging on those that had recently been excluded from a computerized ball-throwing task.
The study used two different samples of participants: one sample was composed of 50 adolescents aged 11 to 15 years, the other was composed of 60 college students aged 18 t0 23 years.
The participants of the study were randomly assigned to one of two types of ball-tossing tasks. In one of these tasks, the participant was actively included in the task, while in the other the participant was explicitly excluded.
After completing the ball-throwing task, the participants were administered a survey designed to assess their emotional response to the task. Both age groups reported distress at being excluded from the task.
They then for twelve minutes either played the computer game Tetris or instant messaged an unknown peer.
“As compared with pleasant but solitary game play, instant messaging with an unfamiliar peer facilitated greater replenishment of self-esteem and perceived relational value among previously excluded adolescents and young adults,” as Gross explains.
However, although there was an improvement in self-esteem and relational value found in young adults who had instant messaged a peer, there was no improvement found in shame or anger. Adolescents, on the other hand, did report reductions in shame and anger after instant messaging.
Because of her findings, Gross suggests that, “caution should be exercised in restricting adolescents’ access to unfamilar others, given that it may, under some circumstances, serve a positive function.”
Reference:
Gross, E.F (2009) Logging on, bouncing back: An experimental investigation of online communication following social exclusion. Developmental Psychology, Vol 45, No 6: 1787-1793.
