CONFLICT
RESOLUTION IN ONLINE CONTEXTS
AND ITS
IMPACT ON FRIENDSHIP IN 2030
Written by: Valéria Santos
Conflict is something
inevitable in friendship. Sooner or later, there will be misunderstandings or
miscommunication, especially because friends usually interact with each other
very often. When we examine conflict resolution happening in social media at
present and making projections about
what conflict resolution is going to be like in ten years from now, we believe that
the challenges we face are going to be similar to what we experience currently.
In online settings, we identify that most conflicts between friends happen
because of lack of cues. Miscommunication is a common trigger
for conflicts and that “misinterpretation
may lead to increased conflict in online friendships” (Amichai-Hamburger, Kingsbury & Schneider, 2013, p.37).
Some discussion around conflict between friends in online settings have pointed
out that the digital environment poses some limitations for conflict resolution
(Khan, 2020, Amichai-Hamburger, Kingsbury
& Schneider, 2013). Khan (2020) highlights that while
solving conflicts online, there is a lack of empathy, we can not fully express
emotions felt right there, we don't see what the person is feeling
exactly, we don't see the physical
presence, and we don't get their tone of voice. Amichai-Hamburger,
Kingsbury & Schneider (2013) suggest that “some features of electronic communication may
contribute to reduced empathy” (p.37). On social media, it is not possible
for people to modulate their behaviour the same way they do in in-person interactions,
changing behaviour “based on the effects they elicit in others” (p.37). For
instance, friends may make jokes and tease peers, but they stop if they notice misinterpretation
or if their friend signals disliking it. Lack of physical cues to express
emotions, may as a result prevent friends from capturing feelings and how the
others receive their message. In this sense, “people may not be able to temper
their behaviour as easily” which might “lead to an increase in
misunderstandings or conflicts online” (p.37).
Examining the current scenario regarding
conflict resolution in social media and predicting what is going to be like in
2030, we believe that most of what happens nowadays will still
be applicable by the end of this decade. In this sense, we can conclude that the lack of
cues on communication in social media leading to more frequent
misunderstandings and the lack of empathy which affects adjusting behaviour will
still impact friendships on social media. Conflicts are harder to be
resolved in this environment than the ones happening face-to-face as some interpersonal
skills which are important for conflict resolution are missing. Therefore, we
believe that conflict resolution will still have its limitations on online
settings, which in turn affect relationship development.
We’d love to hear about what you
think will help users solve conflicts on social media in the future. Share your
ideas with us!
And if you want to learn more,
make sure you read our next blog post.
References:
Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Kingsbury, M., & Schneider, B. H. (2013).
Friendship: An old concept with a new meaning? Computers in Human
Behavior, 29(1), 33-39. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.025
Khan, Y. (Jan,
2020). The
future of friendships and social media. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUnmn_p1o7Q
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