The internet has changed the way we do everything, and that extends to how we treat people in real life. When more and more people are choosing to fight behind a screen instead of face to face, how does that affect how we treat each other? 12th grader Nadyah Ahmed noticed this issue playing out in her own life–so she decided to investigate. In this YouTube essay, Nadyah’s best friend Ryann, and psychology researcher Amit Kumar, help Nadyah break down the science of why texting isn’t the best move when it comes to dealing with social conflict.

This video was produced as part of Arlington Independent Media's Youth Journalism Initiative. To learn more about the program, visit: https://arlingtonmedia.org/programs/a...

Citations:
Kumar, Amit, and Nicholas Epley. “It’s surprisingly nice to hear you: Misunderstanding the impact of communication media can lead to suboptimal choices of how to connect with others.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, vol. 150, no. 3, 2021, pp. 595–607, https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000962.

Schroeder, Juliana, et al. “The humanizing voice: Speech reveals, and text conceals, a more thoughtful mind in the midst of disagreement.” Psychological Science, vol. 28, no. 12, 2017, pp. 1745–1762, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617713798.