Liking, Linking, and Tweeting: Mental Health, Mentoring, and Professional Responsibility in the Age of Social Media.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 519 TABLE OF CONTENTS 521 I. INTRODUCTION 522 II. THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER FORMS OF TMC 524 A. The Growing Prevalence of TMC [...]
It should come as no surprise that interaction through social media and other forms of technology mediated communications ("IMC") has grown dramatically over the last two decades. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this turn to technology. Communicating through some form of technology, rather than face-to-face, necessarily changes the methods we use to communicate (a smile emoji in a text replaces a smile you might give in a face-to-face discussion, for example). Studies support, however, that, in addition to changing the means by which we communicate, our increased reliance on TMC may also be changing us. Among other things, some studies show a correlation between increased reliance on TMC and increased rates of mental health challenges, such as loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Given that extensive reliance on TMC may result in negative impacts on the mental health of its users, law schools, individual lawyers, and the broader legal community should take action to monitor for and mitigate these potential harms. The need to address this problem is particularly important in the current climate, as law firms, judges, and other leaders in the profession continue to grapple with determining what work environments and communications will look like going forward in the legal profession now that Covid-19 related restrictions on in-person interactions have been lifted. This Article explores the correlation between our ever-increasing reliance on TMC and increased rates of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. It examines the problem in the context of the legal profession, focusing particularly on the resulting potential impairment of the lawyer's ability to maintain and establish relationships. It reflects on the potential impact of that impairment on a vital component of professional development--mentorship. Then, drawing on lessons learned from Social Presence Theory, the Article offers proposals aimed at mitigating the potential negative effects of extensive reliance on TMC.