Effect of Gender on Responses to Negative Experience on Facebook - Research Paper Example

EFFECT OF GENDER ON RESPONSES TO NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE ON FACEBOOK Student’s Name Date of Submission INTRODUCTION Modern advancements in technology have resulted in changes in all social dimensions. Traditionally, it was common to see another child grab another’s hair in the playground, or another shoving a smaller boy to the ground (Ann 2016). However, it continues at the dinner table and family picnics. Advancements in technology have enabled bullying to creep into every aspect of social life unlike before. Richard (2012) states that in the past, bullying was easy to control due to limited face to face interactions which has reduced in recent years due to evolving technologies. According to the author, cell phones, social media sites such as Facebook and other forms of technology have made it easy for bullies to expand into cyberspace. According to Karen (2016), social media such as Facebook have resulted in changes to the way people interact with each other. According to the author, there are two sides to the story. On one hand, social media has enhanced and eased communication and sharing of information between people. On the contrary, it has a darker side including the spread of misinformation, exposing children to predators, and cyber bullying. According to Richard (2012), Bullying can be described as the abuse of a victim through physical, verbal and or any means with the intention of being superior or dominant. However, with technology, it has developed into cyber bullying which is only different from traditional bullying in that the offender hides behind a computer, phone or technology, therefore, being more anonymous. As stated by Lakitta (2011, 1), technology has resulted in severe bullying instances often resulting in death and violence. Cyberbullying refers to the use of technology to cause harm to other people by using internet websites, chat rooms, instant messaging applications, text and picture messaging and even blogs. According to Lakitta (2011, 2), consequences of these harmful acts increase daily and are especially dangerous to children some of whom drop out of school, experiences physical and emotional illnesses, suicides and other violent acts. There are many forms of cyberbullying, but the effects are relatively similar. According to the author, they include flaming, cyber harassment, denigration, impersonation, outing and trickery, ostracism and cyber stalking. The author describes flaming as any heated argument or exchange of words between individuals while they are using any communication technology for instance Facebook. Cyber harassment occurs when any offensive message is sent to someone repeatedly through any technological platform. Denigration happens when someone dispenses any information or picture falsely or derogatorily portraying someone else through any technical platform with the aim of hurting his/her reputation. Impersonation occurs when an individual using a computer or any technology poses as the victim and can either hurt the image of the victim or steal information or any valuables from the victim. With the outing, the bully shares someone else’s personal information while ostracism is when a victim gets omitted from any password protected media or deleted from a friend list or friend requests are denied. Cyber stalking occurs when someone uses any electronic communication to stalk the victim. The victims of such acts can either be female or male, and they react and experience these negative experiences differently because of the socially gendered roles attributed to either of the sexes (Susan et al. 2015, 2). According to Susan et al. (2015, 2), Gender refers to socially defined roles and expectations that individuals adopt and present to other people. These characters frequently but not always have a correlation to a given person’s biological sex. According to the Susan (2015), a study done by Kaiser Family Foundation came to the conclusion that 11 to 18 year old spend one and a half hours a day on the computer. Additionally, 27 minutes per day is used to visit social network sites such as Facebook, representing more than one-fourth of their total daily computer use. According to the author, more girls than boys use social media such as Facebook or Twitter. On the other hand, more males use music-sharing sites that include Reddit. According to a survey done by National Crime Prevention Council (2007, 3), incidences of cyber bullying are higher among females than males, especially among 15 years and 16-year-olds. As a response over half (56%) of respondents reported feeling angry, one-third (33%) felt hurt, 32% felt embarrassed, and 13% reported feeling scared. Of the interviewees, females were more likely than males to report all of the above responses particularly those aged between 13 years to 15 years. Susan et al.(2015) attribute this surge to the use of social network sites to the need for connecting and communicating with others and for satisfying curiosity about online friends. The author states that girls use such sites to contact peers and to reinforce preexisting relationships while boys use them more often to meet new people. HYPOTHESIS Male and female responses to negative experiences on Facebook are different. METHOD PROCEDURE This project took the format of a research project to analyze quantitatively if the responses by males on negative experiences on Facebook are different from those of females. A questionnaire was developed and printed into several copies to be distributed to willing participants. The participants got chosen by random sampling within the university. INSTRUMENT The instrument used was a questionnaire. The questionnaire had the following sections that were to be entered by the respondents; a name slot, age, sex and area of residence which made up the biographical section. The other division asked if the subject had experienced any adverse involvement on Facebook, and a slot for describing the experience as much as possible. For multiple engagements, there is the availability of more slots to cover more negative experiences. Afterward, a question if they knew the perpetrators of that negative experience or its cause. Lastly, space that allowed for selection of an appropriate response to each experience noted earlier by the respondent, some respond by being angry, feeling hurt, embarrassed, scared or not bothered. PARTICIPANTS Three points got positioned in every entry into the institution with registration forms for those willing to participate in the study, taking in their names, mobile phone numbers and age. To ensure a complete representation of the facts on the ground, both female and male participants had an equal number of the sample size. From the population of university students, a sample size was chosen based on the formula proposed by Cochran et al. (1983) to obtain the sample size. The population size was 45. At 95% confidence level for a population size below 10,000 we use: n = 384 1+384 N = 384 1+384 45 =40.294 ≈40 individuals It must be noted that after registration, random sampling was used to select equal numbers of females and males who proceeded to fill their questionnaires. ETHICS ANALYSIS This research will not feature plagiarism or fraud. Where personal work of an individual transpires, acknowledgment of their work is shown by citations. The data presented is collected in the field and results in interpretation based on the actual outcomes obtained. The participants are also to be acquired from public places without being coerced. The partakers were openly told about the purpose of the research and solely allowed to participate after they are informed. The study has strived to be ethical in its administration of questionnaires and analysis. The data collected had some sensitive personal information which to ensure anonymity only a data analyzer had access to them. The participants will also have to be at least the minimum legal age, those under 18 years will not participate. RESULTS DISCUSSION From our study, we can see that respondents who were embarrassed by the incidents are similar between males and females at 50% and each. Those who were not bothered at all by the incident was one case which was male. 43% of respondents who were angered were males with a majority being females. A 67% of respondents who were hurt were males. According to the findings, it can be said that responses which seem to be in line with male stereotypes and gender have more responses as compared to the other outcomes. For instance, not being bothered has 100% being males with no female respondent saying they were never bothered. The study did not find a significant difference between the differences in responses between males and females. As collaborated in the study by Richard (2012), he stated that males are more reluctant to admit weaknesses especially if it is from an emotional point of view and in reality males would at least be equal if not higher in emotional responses especially those concerning anger and frustration. This study used a smaller sample size due to time and financial constraints, and it was done in a small geographic area with a small range in age of respondents which is a shortcoming because the facts may be under-represented. The study furthermore came to the decision that there are small differences in responses between males and females; this could have been because the population (university) was highly educated, young and technologically savvy. Such attributes usually do not conform to traditional gendered roles which may have an impact in this study. There is, therefore, the need for research to eliminate the effect of such variables by using a bigger sample size and wider geographical area so as to include as many ages and educational backgrounds as possible. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ann., S. (2016). The Psychological Effect of Bullying on Kids and Teens. Retrieved from http://mastersinpsychologyguide.com/articles/psychological-effects-bullying-kids-teens Richard., D. (2012). Bullying & Cyberbullying: History, Statistics, Law, Prevention, and Analysis. Strategic Communication Econ University. 3(1) Karen., F. (2016). Negative Impacts of Social Networking Sites. Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Negative_Impact_of_Social_Networking_Sites Lakitta., J. (2011). Counselors and cyberbullying: Guidelines for the prevention, intervention, and counseling. Retrieved from http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas11/Article_63.pdf Susan., C, and Sanja., K.. (2015). Teens, Gender, & Self-preservation in Social media. International Encyclopedia of Social & Behavioural Sciences. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Elsevier National Crime Prevention Council. (2007). Teens and Cyberbullying. Harris Interactive Market Research. Cochran., W. Snedecor., G. (1983). Statistical Methods. 8th Edition. Iowa State University Press. Read More

The victims of such acts can either be female or male, and they react and experience these negative experiences differently because of the socially gendered roles attributed to either of the sexes (Susan et al. 2015, 2). According to Susan et al. (2015, 2), Gender refers to socially defined roles and expectations that individuals adopt and present to other people. These characters frequently but not always have a correlation to a given person’s biological sex. According to the Susan (2015), a study done by Kaiser Family Foundation came to the conclusion that 11 to 18 year old spend one and a half hours a day on the computer.

Additionally, 27 minutes per day is used to visit social network sites such as Facebook, representing more than one-fourth of their total daily computer use. According to the author, more girls than boys use social media such as Facebook or Twitter. On the other hand, more males use music-sharing sites that include Reddit. According to a survey done by National Crime Prevention Council (2007, 3), incidences of cyber bullying are higher among females than males, especially among 15 years and 16-year-olds.

As a response over half (56%) of respondents reported feeling angry, one-third (33%) felt hurt, 32% felt embarrassed, and 13% reported feeling scared. Of the interviewees, females were more likely than males to report all of the above responses particularly those aged between 13 years to 15 years. Susan et al.(2015) attribute this surge to the use of social network sites to the need for connecting and communicating with others and for satisfying curiosity about online friends. The author states that girls use such sites to contact peers and to reinforce preexisting relationships while boys use them more often to meet new people.

HYPOTHESIS Male and female responses to negative experiences on Facebook are different. METHOD PROCEDURE This project took the format of a research project to analyze quantitatively if the responses by males on negative experiences on Facebook are different from those of females. A questionnaire was developed and printed into several copies to be distributed to willing participants. The participants got chosen by random sampling within the university. INSTRUMENT The instrument used was a questionnaire.

The questionnaire had the following sections that were to be entered by the respondents; a name slot, age, sex and area of residence which made up the biographical section. The other division asked if the subject had experienced any adverse involvement on Facebook, and a slot for describing the experience as much as possible. For multiple engagements, there is the availability of more slots to cover more negative experiences. Afterward, a question if they knew the perpetrators of that negative experience or its cause.

Lastly, space that allowed for selection of an appropriate response to each experience noted earlier by the respondent, some respond by being angry, feeling hurt, embarrassed, scared or not bothered. PARTICIPANTS Three points got positioned in every entry into the institution with registration forms for those willing to participate in the study, taking in their names, mobile phone numbers and age. To ensure a complete representation of the facts on the ground, both female and male participants had an equal number of the sample size.

From the population of university students, a sample size was chosen based on the formula proposed by Cochran et al. (1983) to obtain the sample size. The population size was 45. At 95% confidence level for a population size below 10,000 we use: n = 384 1+384 N = 384 1+384 45 =40.294 ≈40 individuals It must be noted that after registration, random sampling was used to select equal numbers of females and males who proceeded to fill their questionnaires.

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