Social Media Surrogacy Are We Growing Up Disconnected

Tatiana Baughman, MFA ’22

thesis abstract

Technology has an impact. It is a huge part of our daily lives. Most ages can use cell phones and even 1-2 year olds have learned to use iPads.

Why is technology so attractive?

Humans have an ancestry of face to face interactions. What happens when the shift of human connection is translated through a virtual environment? My main purpose is to learn how younger generations are developing relationships within a technologically immersed world.

As someone who has grown up alongside the early digital developments, and watched my younger siblings grow up directly within it, I want to know to what extent technology affects the quality of our relationships and connections?

How can we recognize our own desires for connection and how do we use social media to reach those goals?

I hope to shed light into this topic via exploration of psychological theories and frameworks, along with case studies and examinations of my own relationships and experiences.

Download “Social Media Surrogacy Are We Growing Up Disconnected” (PDF, 38 MB).