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CONFLICT RESOLUTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON FRIENDSHIP IN 2030



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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