MYTH: Social Media Makes People Less Social

Finally, I’m glad that to announce that new research from ExactTarget has burst the bubble of the notion that technology alienates people with their freshly-baked statistics.

It is proven there is a co-relation between increased social media usage and increased offline interaction – as users increase their Facebook and Twitter usage, they also tend to increase their social, in-person interactions.

More People Bringing Their Interaction Offline

• Among U.S. consumers who report using Facebook more often, 27% report that they meet with friends in person more often, as opposed to 13% who report meeting in person less.
• Using Twitter, 46% reported an increase in in-person meetings with friends more often opposed with 7%, and 33% are calling friends on the phone more and 13% less.

The way I see it? I guess now being connected than ever, people are more conscious about losing the human-touch during electronic communication and certain messages may get miscomprehended. Social media is not like instant messaging anyway; and some conversations are still better exchanged offline. What do you think?

Read more from ExactTarget and CoTweet in their seventh report in the “Subscribers, Fans and Followers” research series to find out if a Facebook fan is really worth $136.38, whether use of email is in decline, and whether Twitter’s success is hinged on celebrities.