Social Media Usage, Over-Usage, and Addictive Patterns - Essay Example

? Social Media Usage, Over-Usage, and Addictive Patterns goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] Acknowledgement I would like to acknowledge and extend my sincere gratitude to my teacher and parents whose support has helped me utilize all of my skills to undergo this research. Their practical guidance regarding this study has proved to be very beneficial for me throughout the research. Summary/Abstract The aim of this research was to know the usage patterns of social media among students. The researcher interviewed 50 people from different colleges and universities to know about their use of social networking websites and other social media. The study revealed that majority of the students use social networking websites in colleges and universities. Facebook was found to be the most commonly used social website among students. The study also revealed some main positive and negative aspects of using social media for long hours. In the end of the report, the researcher also gave some recommendations to overcome the negative consequences of using social networking websites. Table of Contents Contents Page No. 1. Introduction 1 2. Literature Review 2 3. Methodology 3 3.1 Research Method 3 3.2 Data Gathering Instruments 4 3.3 Tool for Data Analysis 4 4. Findings and Interpretation 4 5. Conclusion 9 5. Recommendations 9 Social Media Usage, Over-Usage, and Addictive Patterns 1. Introduction Social media has influenced the life of almost every person in today’s world. There are many types of social media which help people communicate with each other and develop personal and business relationships. Some of the main types of those media include emails, Skype chat, and social networking websites, such as, Facebook, Twitter, and Orkut. Among all of these types of media, social networking websites have played the most dynamic and influencing role in the lives of people no matter what field of life they belong to. The impact of using these websites and other forms of social media is both positive and negative on people depending on the usage of these media and the level of addiction. Facebook is none of such social networking platforms, which I being heavily used by the people of all age groups. According to Myers (2010, p. 1), “Facebook is a social networking website intended to connect friends, family, and business associates”. Although this website and other social networking media provide many benefits to people, such as, developing kinship and other relationships, information sharing, entertainment, social interaction with people from different societies, and facility to find old friends, but there are also some harms associated with the heavy use of these media. Some of those harms or negative effects include development of unhealthy relationships, wastage of time, and threat to private security. In this paper, I will discuss the positive and negative effects of making heavy use of social networking media. I will base my judgments on the findings from the sample on which I will conduct the research. I will also give some recommendations to escape from negative consequences of social media. 2. Literature Review Computer mediated communication enhances interpersonal communication (Walther 1996). Social networking media helps people in forming imagined communities and networks, as well as long-lasting relationships. Although all social media play some role in the lives of people, but social networking websites hold the maximum share. Facebook is one of the main examples of such media which has intruded itself in the home and office of almost every person. Alba and Stay (2008, p. 24) state, “Facebook is a networking platform”. It is a fact that Facebook has made people less individualistic (Miller, 2011, p. 190). People can form communities with no boundaries and geographical limitations. Facebook enables interaction between people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries. “The site makes chatter faster and more public -- two aspects that may have an impact on interpersonal relations” (Hines 2008). Some of the main positive aspects of using social networking websites include formation of communities, facility to spend leisure time in a useful way, facility to exchange valuable information, and facility to share experiences and information with others. As Wheeldon (2010) states, “The main use of social networking sites is interaction and communicating with others”. Social networking websites have also changed the traditional mode of communication. According to Nauret (2009, p. 1), “Sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have revolutionized interpersonal relationships for the digital age”. Another positive aspect of social media is that they do not let far-off people feel alone or sad because of being at distance from their loved ones. Using socials networking websites, they can communicate with their relatives and family members whenever they want and can also share pictures and videos. “Experts claim that too much usage of social sites is a result of losing in touch from the real emotions and real world” (Roberts 2012, p. 1).This is the main factor which has made youth addicted to the use of such websites. A negative aspect of social media is that they have reduced interactions between close family members because they do not have much time to talk to each other. They prefer to remain online to chat with others. Some other serious concerns regarding heavy usage of social media include interaction with unknown people, decreased affection for close family members, and decreased interest in studies. Threat to privacy is also one of the major concerns associated with the heavy use of social media. “It is true that social networking provides an opportunity to develop inter-personal relationship, one need to be aware of the possible security threats” (Fernandes 2011, p. 1). Some children disclose very personal information to their unknown internet friends which can produce harmful effects at some stage. Moreover, use of social networking websites can also harm marital relationships. For example, using such websites, men and women can develop illegal sexual relationships with their internet friends which can put their marital relationships at risk. People develop virtual relationships and hide them from their real life partners (Boellstorff, 2008, p. 172). 3. Methodology 3.1 Research Method For this research, I have used a questionnaire to find the statistics from 50 students of different colleges and universities. I went to the colleges with the copies of questionnaires and distributed them to different students who filled them for me. The aim behind the questionnaire was to examine percentage and frequency to gain a better understanding of the research topic. I also wanted to gain an insight into the positive and negative aspects of making heavy use of social networking websites. 3.2 Data Gathering Instruments I made a questionnaire with two parts which include open and close questions. In the questionnaire, I included 7 questions which were easy to answer, as well as took less time of respondents. I stored all responses into my computer system in the form of charts and tables 3.3 Tool for Data Analysis I used frequency count and percentage distribution to interpret and analyze the data. Graphs and tables were used to present the data. 4. Findings and Interpretation Frequency Distribution of Gender The questionnaire was distributed to 30 males and 20 females which included students, as well as some teachers. Frequency Distribution of Age The distribution of the age of respondents was in such a way that the highest frequency was 18 (18-25) and the lowest was 31 and above. Frequency distribution of Status This table shows that from all 50 participants, 10 were teachers, 5 were higher degree students, whereas 35 were postgraduate students. Question 1: Do you Use Internet in College? This table confirms that majority of the students and teachers use computers in colleges and universities. Only 5 people, which included 3 students and 2 teachers, said that they do not use it there. Question 2: Do you use social networking websites in college? This table confirms that majority of the students and teachers use social networking websites in colleges and universities. Only 10 people, which included 8 students and 2 teachers, said that they do not use it there. Question 3: How match time do you spend on social media? This table shows that most of the people use social media for 2 to 4 hours. 18 people use it for 1 hour or less, whereas 10 use it for longer hours. Question 4: Have you ever found social websites harmful? The table shows that majority of the people have not faced any negative consequences of spending time on social websites at college. Some people mentioned some negative consequences, which included ending up relationship with a closest friend because of finding him/her involved in some other person, deceiving through websites, and privacy issues. Question 5: Have you found social websites beneficial useful? The table shows that majority of the people have found social websites useful. Some of the advantages include formation of healthy relationships, meeting old friends, and good source of entertainment. Question 6: Which social networking websites do you use? This chart and table showed that most of the people use Facebook and Twitter as the ways to communicate with others and to share their experiences. Question 7: What grades do you receive in studies? This table shows that the students making less use of social media during studies get higher grades in studies. On the other hand, higher usages result in low grades. 5. Conclusion Summing it up, I would say that social networking websites and other forms of social media have influenced the lives of people heavily. Almost every college and university allows students to use social media in college. Most of the people in colleges use social media to interact with their distant friends and family members. However, some negative consequences are also associated with the increased use of such websites. Some of those consequences include affected marital relationships, less time for family members, and threats to privacy. 6. Recommendations To avoid negative consequences, make legal and careful use of social media To get good grades, make less use of social networking websites in college Colleges should also limit the use of internet for students Bibliography Alba, J & Stay, J 2008, I’m On Facebook, Now What???, Happy About, California. Boellstorff, T 2008, Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human, Princeton University Press, New Jersey. Fernandes, K 2011, Social Networking: Positive and Negative Aspects, viewed 26 December 2012, http://ezinearticles.com/?Social-Networking:-Positive-and-Negative-Aspects&id=5893188 Hines, T 2008, Is Facebook Helping or Hurting Your Love Life?, viewed 03 January 2012, http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/02/facebook-love-life.html Miller, D 2011, Tales from Facebook, Polity Press, Cambridge. Myers, J 2010, What is Facebook?, viewed 30 December 2011, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-facebook.htm Nauert, R 2009, Relationships on Facebook, Social Networks, viewed 03 January 2012, . Roberts, L 2012, The Real Pros and Cons of Social Networking Sites, viewed 26 December 2012, http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Real-Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Networking-Sites&id=7045946 Walther, J 1996, ‘Computer-Mediated Communication’, Communication Research, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 3-43. Wheeldon, E 2010, A Social Society: The Positive Effects of Communicating through Social Networking Sites, viewed 30 December 2011, http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2010/04/a-social-society-the-positive-effects-of-communicating-through-social-networking-sites/ Appendix Read More