Social Media Use and Stress - Research Paper Example

Social Media Use and Stress Results Table I. Please think about whether or not you have felt stressed (that life feels unpredictable, uncontrollable,and overloaded) in the past month. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Total 10 16 26 19 71 14.1 22.5 36.6 26.8 100 14.1 22.5 36.6 26.8 100 14.1 36.6 73.2 100.0 The table above shows the highest number of answers are neutral (36.6%) pertaining to how the participants felt anxious during the past month. The neutral answers of the participants could have affected the results of the study because 36.6% of the results of the study could also be ambiguously undetermined. However, there are 26.6%, which is the second highest percentile of participants who agreed that they are stressed. Table II. Which category below includes your age? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-84 Total 41 11 11 8 71 57.7 15.5 15.5 11.3 100.0 57.7 15.5 15.5 11.3 100.0 57.7 73.2 88.7 100.0 Table II shows that the highest number of participants who answered the survey are those whose age ranges from 18-24 (57.7%), to be followed by the participants whose age ranges from 25-34 and 35-49 years old (both age group have 15.5%). This could mean that teens to young adults outnumbered the group of participants for this research survey. Table III. What is your gender? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Female Male Total Missing System Total 47 23 70 1 71 66.2 32.4 98.6 1.4 100.0 67.1 32.9 100.0 67.1 100.0 Table III shows that the highest number of participants based on gender is females (66.2%) compared to males (32.4%) regardless of how one participant had missed to fill-up his sexual identity. Table IV. What is your race/ ethnicity? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 0 Some High School Some College Associate Degree Bachelor’s Degree Graduate/Professional Degree Total Missing System Total 1 52 1 3 5 4 66 5 71 1.4 73.2 1.4 4.2 7.0 5.6 93.0 7.0 100.0 1.5 78.8 1.5 4.5 7.6 6.1 100.0 1.5 80.3 81.8 86.4 93.9 100.0 Table IV shows that the highest percentage of participants based on their degree level are the high school participants that accumulated 73.2% out of 71 respondents. This is followed by the seven percent of participants who had a bachelor’s degree, and 5.6 participants who have a graduate degree. Table V. Correlations of SMU and Stress with Demographic Effects Table V shows that the generalizability of the participants could be stress which means that they be inconsistent and unpredictable which are positively correlated to their anxiety that could be shown up in their physical and emotional conditions. However, being stress and anxious psychologically and physically are negatively correlated to age, gender, and ethnicity or level of degree of the participants. Table VI. The next table will show up how stress and anxiety could be correlated when using social media. Table VI shows that there is a greater positive correlation of anxiety (physiological symptoms) and stress (psychological inconsistencies) after using the social media than before using the social media. Discussion The results showed the significant differences of stress and anxiety to the impact of social media. The results had also found out the low negative correlation of anxiety and stress to the effects of gender (where females outnumbered the males) and age (where teens and young adults outnumbered the middle to late middlehood stage respondents). This could mean that females are more anxious and stress when using social media, especially to those who to teenagers. However, regardless of gender and age, respondents are stress in relation to its moderate and positive correlation after using the social media. The findings of the study imply how it could affect the personal and social life of a person as its health and psychological condition starts to be imbalance (Das & Sahu, 2011). Accordingly, social networking sites are becoming rampantly negative. These realistic conditions that are becoming obvious nowadays have been pervasive. Moreover, the factors that could have affected the stress and anxiety of individuals who are becoming addicts to social networks could be due to environmental, peer influences, and lack of sleep due to over attention to these networks like facebook (Das & Sahu, 2011). Accordingly, this could imply that the individuals especially the young ones like the teens could have already adopted a “facebook addiction disorder.” Zeldman (n.d.) had termed this in a more general way which is known as “Social Media Stress Syndrome.” Such could be diagnosed to people who overused facebook or other networking sites like twitter for more than an hour, and to use more time with these kinds of sites compared to doing a more important task like work or school related assignments or jobs (Das & Sahu, 2011; Hunco, Heigebert, & Loken, 2010). Nevertheless, individual’s relationship to others will also be affected when one tends to overused social networking sites. Regardless of how Twitter and Facebook could be helpful for educational information (Hunco, Heigebert, & Loken, 2010), the means of overusing them and in combination of disrespecting the private information of others and using them with cybercriminal activities could be used as major reasons that could not only affect the health condition of individuals like stress, but could affect one’s whole reputation and personality as well (Das & Hau, 2011). However, Zhang & Chong (2012) had explained that gays or bisexuals are the one who could be victims of cyberbullying in these social networks. Indeed, social networking could not only affect one’s stress to life, but could also affect the reputation and self-esteem of anybody regardless of different sexual orientation that one possesses. The findings of the study with regard to the effects of gender and age are consistent to the study that Malik (2009) has shared. Accordingly, females are found to love updating themselves through facebook everyday which could make them stressed since there were an approximate number of at least 69 percent of females compared to men who are only 39 percent. This would also go along to Chill Pill Survey which found how social media could produce stress (Malik, 2009). Moreover, the survey had also indicated that young age individuals that age from 18 years and above are prone to stress in relation to social media. The implications of this study in association to the findings of the present study indicate that females are more advisable to lessen their involvement in social networking. Shortcomings and Recommendations for Future Studies However, one could somehow interrogate the need for men to also lessen their time when it comes to computer games. Further studies must need to cover not just the social networking side, but also the factor of computer games if it could also affect the level of stress of an individual. The study had also interconnected their results to bisexuals and homosexuals based on the Zhang and Chong’s (2012) study; however, future studies must clarify more the sexual orientations of the respondents to know the factors that could affect the gender differences of females and males relative to stress on social media. Moreover, the present study is limited with proper monitoring to the surveys that the respondents had filled up because there were missing information and numbers that were skipped. Hence, future studies are recommended to give attention to the respondent’s survey forms after answering them. References Das, B., & Sahoo, J. S. (2011). Social networking sites-A critical analysis of its impact on personal and social life. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(14), 222-228. Junco, R., Heigebert, G., & Loken, E. (2010). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 1-14. Malik, S. (2009, November 29). NSW: Social media increasing stress levels. AAP General News Wire. Zeldman, S. (n.d.). Are you suffering from the Social Media Stress Syndrome? Retrieved from http://vaughanchamber.ca/wp-content/uploads/Social-Media-Stress.pdf Zhang, N., & Chong, E. S. K. (2012). Mitigation of minority stress via uses and gratification of social networking sites among Gay/Bisexual Men in Hongkong. Retrieved from http://www4.cuhk.edu.hk/icare/icare_ media/Projects/Research/2011/i.care_research_r14_11.pdf Read More