The number of teenagers with access to social media is very high. At this age, the curiosity of learning and practicing makes adolescents turn to social media for guidance and knowledge. However, most of the information is misleading, and it leaves the youth mislead. The expectations, especially about relationships, do not happen in real life, and that leaves the teenagers stressed, and it affects their perception about the relationship (Christensen, 2018). A study to determine how social media affects adolescents’ relationships helps to guide the youth on how to treat social media information.
Statement of Problem
Almost all young people have access to social media. It is used as a way of interacting with others, learning, and entertainment. According to Ata, Ludden & Lally (2007), approximately 51% of adolescents within the age of 13 to 18 have at least one active social media platform. Since social media sites connect young adults to the entire world, they can form social relationships (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). Social networking sites can have significant or adverse effects on adolescent relationships, depending on what they are exposed to. Also, the impact of social media on these young people is determined by the number of hours spent online surfing and the characters of online friends. Various cases of suicide and engagement in gangs have been reported among adolescents who use social media intensively. Strained relationships, especially with parents, siblings, and peers, are increasing as many youths withdraw from the physical relationship and concentrate on online friends.
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Purpose of the Study
The study will explore the impact that social media has on adolescents' relationships. The research will focus on analyzing the content the youths are exposed to, such as relationships by famous and popular people, or relationships formed on social media determines how it will impact the adolescents (“The Indian Express," 2018). The adverse effects would be such as being a prey, exposure to cyber-bullying, or stalking by strangers, lowering self-esteem, and disconnecting from society (Bryant, 2018). Positive impact includes gaining information on how to form healthy relationships with the opposite sex without interfering with life and studies. The findings will be analyzed based on the two to determine whether social media creates a healthy or strained relationship. The negative impact of social media will be analyzed to determine how they affect future adolescents’ relationships and personal, like self-image and self-esteem. Across the project, the mental and emotional issues associated with social media and relationships will be analyzed, and recommendations issued to reduce the negative effect.
Significant of the Investigation
The study will provide detailed information on the effect of social media on relationships and the best way to avoid adverse outcomes. The information will be useful to parents and teachers who play a vital role in educating and guiding teenagers on the importance of forming relationships online and offline. The youths will be warned on believing everything they read or see on social media about relationships as some information and images are used for commercial purposes and not reliable information (Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten, 2006). Adolescents will use the information to identify factors leading to negative effects and avoid them before they destroy their current and future relationships.
Literature Review
The young adults use social media as a learning tool. Some of the information is reliable while most of it is not, and it may end up misguiding the unsuspecting teenagers who are curious to learn various tips such as on relationships. Some adolescents rely on social media as a way of making friends throughout the world, not knowing that some predators and stalkers may have other intentions (Anne & Odell, 2014). When a young person is exposed to stalking or becomes prey, which hurts them and can cause trauma. Some teenagers get the perception of perfection in relationships, but in real life, it becomes hard to get it, and it can cause depression. Understanding the influence of social media on the youth is meant to determine ways of avoiding such negative effects (Ahn, 2012).
Hypothesis
Null hypothesis: there is no significant effect of social media on adolescent relationships.
Alternative hypothesis: there is a significant effect of social media on adolescent relationships.
Research Method
I used the internet to conduct the research, and I selected ten qualitative studies. I used a reliable website that had information concerning the use of social media among the youth. I also used Google Scholar, which has reliable sources on the topic.
Conclusion
The research proved an alternative hypothesis with social media having significant effects on the relationships the teenager's form (Mesch & Talmud, 2007). The information, videos, and images the youth view on social media helps to develop a perspective, for instance, expectations on when they have partners. If adolescents do not get what they expect, they may develop anxiety and stress, and that affects their future relationships (Ehmke, 2019). The information from the study can be used to warn the teenagers on believing the information about relationships found on social media.
References
Ahn, J. (2012). Teenagers’ experiences with social network sites: Relationships to bridging and bonding social capital. The Information Society, 28(2), 99-109. Retrieved from http://ahnjune.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/TIS_2012.pdf
Anne, & Odell. (2014, February 26). Teens on social media's impact on relationships: Survey. Retrieved June 3, 2019, from https://www.netfamilynews.org/teens-on-social-medias-impact-on-relationships-survey
Ata, R. N., Ludden, A. B., & Lally, M. M. (2007). The effects of gender and family, friend, and media influences on eating behaviors and body image during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(8), 1024-1037. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-006-9159-x
Bryant, A. (2018). The Effect of Social Media on the Physical, Social Emotional, and Cognitive Development of Adolescents. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=honors_capstones
Christensen, S. P. (2018). Social Media Use and Its Impact on Relationships and Emotions. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7927&context=etd
Ehmke, R. (2019). How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers. Retrieved June 3, 2019, from https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/
Mesch, G. S., & Talmud, I. (2007). Similarity and the quality of online and offline social relationships among adolescents in Israel. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17(2), 455-465. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2007.00529.x
Subrahmanyam, K., & Greenfield, P. (2008). Online communication and adolescent relationships. The future of children, 18(1), 119-146. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ795861.pdf
The Indian Express. (2018, February 22). Social media use may affect teens' real life relationships: Study. Retrieved June 3, 2019, from https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/social/social-media-use-may-affect-teens-real-life-relationships-study-5074335/
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Schouten, A. P. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents' well-being and social self-esteem. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(5), 584-590. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patti_Valkenburg/publication/6761621_Friend_Networking_Sites_and_Their_Relationship_to_Adolescents'_Well-Being_and_Social_Self-Esteem/links/5422d8660cf26120b7a63756/Friend-Networking-Sites-and-Their-Relationship-to-Adolescents-Well-Being-and-Social-Self-Esteem.pdf
