Introduction
In today's society social media plays a very prominent role. Thanks to these new platforms, young men and women are able to exchange feelings, personal information, and ideas faster than ever before. Millions of people across America have created social media accounts. The most popular social media platforms in America are Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. In theory, these platforms are used to keep long distance friends and family updated on an individuals life. With the development of social media comes a growth research on social media. Many feel that social media consumes people's lives and is hurting people's ability to communicate on a personal level. On the other side you have people arguing that social media helps you stay in contact with long distance friends and family members. This raises the question, what exactly are the effects of social media? This is a very broad question that doesn’t doesn’t necessarily have a definitive answer. A more narrow and in depth question to help understand the effects of social media is, does social media negatively affect mental well-being, specifically in college students?
There are several key concepts that are important to understand this subject such as negative affects, mental health, and social media. The first concept, negative effects, include depression and anxiety, negative body image, general addiction, and unrealistic expectations. One last possible negative effect is procrastination. This is a negative effect is usually found in students. All of these are considered negative effects are potentially a product of social media. The next key concept to consider is mental health. Metal health can be anything from anxiety and depression to a sense or purpose and contentment. Metal health and be positive or negative depending on the experiment. The last major concert is social media. Social media includes but is not limited too Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, and Blogs.
Literature Review
One interesting experiment done on social media Wang, Chen and Liang. These three graduate students from Johnson and Wales University drew a random sample of 48 people and administered a questionnaire on the effects of social media in college. The results of the questionnaire showed that 45% of the random sample admitted to spending more than 6-8 hours a day checking different social media platforms. Also according to the study 80% admitted that they post or respond on social media while completing homework. According to Wang, this 80% procrastinate on homework because of social media. This means that the social media negatively affects students because they use it to procrastinate on homework and studying. However, the effects of this study were not all negative. 25% of students agree that social media helps make new friends. 55% of the sampling said they only use social media for fun. The three researchers concluded that college students should find a better balance between social media and their academics.
Maria Kalpidou conducted a similar study on how the use of Facebook can relate to self-esteem and college adjustment. The study reveals that he more time spent on Facebook, the lower the GPA. Kalpidou’s study alsos shows that the number of Facebook friends can hinder academic adjustment and shows that the more time one spends on Facebook the lower the self-esteem. This study is a lot more different than the study conducted at Johnson and Wales. Kalpidou’s study focuses more on mental well-being. It shows that social media, specifically Facebook, and have an effect on ones mental health. Kalpidou also has uses more than just a survey to draw her conclusions. The 70 students in Kalpidou’s study complete the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Student Adaptation to College Scale, along with the a questionnaire on Facebook measurements. Unlike Kalpidou, Wang uses just a simple survey to draw his concussion. Both researchers have similar findings in that social media use, has a negative effect on college students. Wang, Chen, and Liang’s study however, shows a few positive effects of social media, such as making friends easier and getting help on homework assignments. The common theme from Kalpidu’s study is Facebook in moderation, 15-30 minutes a day, is healthy for students and can boost self-esteem. However, the the more students get caught up with other people's lives they begin to question their own worth and hurt their self esteem.
The next popular survey on social media has to deal with substance abuse. “On behalf of CASAColumbia, Knowledge Networks, an international online research organization, conducted a nationally representative Internet-based survey of 1,037 teens, ages 12 to 17, and 528 parents of these teens.” (NATIONAL SURVEY OF AMERICAN) Along with the internet-based survey was a telephone-based survey that included 1,006 teens ages 12 to 17. The phone based survey was conducted by QEV Analytics, a public opinion research firm. The results of the survey showed that 70% of 12 to 17 year olds spend time on social media on a typical day. Compared to teens that spend no time engaging on social media sites in an average day , teens that did were five times more likely to have used tobacco. The survey also shows that they were three times more likely to have used alcohol and twice as likely to have used marijuana. This article does show some cause for concern. Unlike the other two research experiments, this one has an invested interest. This survey was conducted on behalf of CASAColumbia. This means it is possible that the source is unreliable. However, also unlike the other two surveys, this one was conducted on a national scale. It includes teens from all across the United States rather than in one particular campus. This study does not study college students like the other two surveys but rather the youth of America.
The last survey comes from Nicole B. Ellison, Charles Steinfield and Cliff Lampe. These three researchers conducted a survey of 286 students at Michigan State University. These three used a very similar method to Maria Kalpidou. Both groups used the Rosenberg self‐esteem scale to see how social media could possibly affect students. The 286 students at Michigan State were asked if they were Facebook Member and about how much time they spend on on Facebook. Along with the Rosenberg scale students were also asked questions about their satisfaction level with MSU and their surrounds on campus. 94% of the students were Facebook members. Of that 94% the average time spent on Facebook a day was 10-30 minutes. The survey found that the students that were within the 10-30 minute time range had scored an average of 4.3 on the Rosenberg scale while the students over the range had scored a 3.55. This study does have a few caused for concern. Similar to every survey on a college campus, there is always a chance students are lying however, the survey did have a wide range of people from a simple random sample which is the least biased way of survey people.
Conclusion
There are many common them themes between theses studies one of them being the positives of social media. These studies show that social media is a helpful and positive tool when used in moderation. The students who use social media, specifically Facebook, within a 15-30 minute window are more likely to experience positive side effects. However, the use of all social media platforms adds up to over 6 hours a day, GPAs drop and self-esteem lowers.
References
Bollinger , Lee. “National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI:
Teens and Parents.” Center on Addiction, Center of Addiction , 14 Apr. 2017,
www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction-research/reports/national-survey-
american-attitudes-substance-abuse-teens-parents-2011.
Kalpidou, M., Costin, D., & Morris, J. (2011). The Relationship Between Facebook
and the Well-Being of Undergraduate College Students. CyberPsychology,
Behavior & Social Networking, 14(4), 183–189. https://doi-
org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/10.1089/cyber.2010.0061
Wang, Qingya; Chen, Wei; and Liang, Yu, "The Effects of Social Media on College
Students" (2011). MBA Student Scholarship. 5.
https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/mba_student/5