Abstract
There is evidence of increased use of social media across different demographics globally. In the UAE, approximately 98.98% of the population are active in various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and many more. Research findings indicate that social media have a profound influence on the change of behavior among children. Spending most of the time on social media affects social development among teenagers and can also cause a decline in subjective well-being. Carrying out an investigation is necessary to find out the impact of social media on children's behavior. The study adopted the model on social media with behavioral and cognitive risks and quantitative design that involved face-to-face data collection from a sample of 20 social media experts in Emirati. The thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the collected data. The findings indicate that social media has the potentiality of changing the behavior among children. Some of the behaviors associated with social media use include the change in lifestyle and feeding habits. The nature of the content in social media can influence up to 90% of young individuals. Interacting with the content negatively shapes the minds and causes disturbance among the youths. The information provides an understanding of the impacts of social media on the behavior of children. Conducting an investigation in the future on how to mainstream social media content to ensure positive behavior among the users is necessary.
Introduction
Globally, there has been an upsurge in the use of social media across different demographics. The United Arab Emirates is among the regions that have registered a significant increase in social media use across its population. Approximately 98.98% of the UAE people have access to mobile and web services connected to the internet and, therefore, active in social media (Ahmad et al., 2020). On average, Emiratis spend 2.57 hours on social media every day. The use of social media among the Emiratis is confined to adults alone and children who experience increased exposure to various platforms. In the UAE region, people subscribe to different social media platforms that include WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Viber, among many others. The increase in the number of social media users among the Emirati population is due to growing access to the internet and mobile technology. As the number of people who use these platforms increases, social media influencers have a profound positive and negative impact on individuals' behavior, especially teenagers.
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Literature Review
According to previous studies, social media influencers contribute to change in children's behavior in many ways. The increase in the number of children using these social media platforms a predisposing factor that contributes to the change in their behavior. According to Nazzal (2016), at least 70% of children in the United Arab Emirates between the age of 4-14 have access to social media. The study further revealed that out of 3000 surveyed children in UAE, 62% of them were using smartphones while 56% could access tablets. The study findings indicate that degree of access to social media among Emirati children is considerable.
According to Smit et al. (2019), social media platforms that promote food products significantly impact children's consumption habits. The findings indicate that using social media among the youths has a significant contribution to the change in their behavior. Phycologists have also observed the impacts of social media on mental health development among children. Twenge & Campbell (2019) found that children who spend more than three hours daily on social media are twice as likely to suffer mental health complications than those who spend fewer hours. The effects on teenagers are imminent, and spending a single hour on social media can make them miserable. Spending most of the time on social media platforms can result in cyberbullying and a decrease in person-to-person interaction, affecting social development among the youths.
According to Melendres (2019), teenagers develop mental health complications associated with behavior changes due to content they view on social media. Exposure to social media content among teenagers leads to a decline in subjective well-being. The more they engage with social media content, the more they feel dissatisfied with their lives than their friends. The majority of the children develop social media depression after spending most of their time on social media platforms. Some become anxious and moody when they find that their friends or people on social media have better lives than them (Odgers & Jensen, 2020). Teenagers also develop anxiety and depression due to the pressure of reacting to posts and fear of missing out (FOMO) on jokes and other social media activities (O'Connell, 2020). Several study findings reveal that social media influencers contribute significantly to behavioral change among children across the world.
Problem Statement
Few studies have been conducted to investigate the impact of social media exposure on children's behavior. According to Christakis and Zimmerman (2009), the availability of information concerning the implication of social media on behavior among teenagers is limited. Lack of sufficient literature on the impacts of social media on children's behavior affects not only UAE but also the entire globe. Due to social media access and technology, classical family virtues such as communication are suffering (Gjylbegaj & Abdi, 2019). The impact of social media could be threatening the critical components of children, such as behavior and communication, but there are few studies to provide the real impact of these platforms. Therefore, conducting this study is necessary and essential to understand the effects of social media on the behavior among the children in Emirati.
Research Questions
Based on the above problem statement, this study aims to answer the following research questions:
What is the impact of social media use on the behavior of Emirati children?
Are there specific behavioral changes among Emirati children that can be directly tied to the use of social media?
What aspects of social media users are likely to influence the behavioral framework of Emirati children?
Theoretical Framework
Young people who use social media experience mental and behavioral risks due to the nature of the content in those platforms (Koutamanis et al., 2015). Social media has a negative impact on the way families approach communication (Gjylbegaj & Abdi, 2019). Some studies do not provide a relationship between social media use and behavior change among children in UAE. However, there is greater convergence that indicates that social media profoundly influences behavior among children. This research study adopted the model by Koutamanis, Vossenand & Valkenburg, which associates social media with behavioral and cognitive risks among children.
Methodology
The research design adopted in this study is the combination of a qualitative approach and face-to-face interviews that enables the researcher to collect in-depth data on the subject under investigation. The study was conducted on 20 individuals from Emirati who are experts in the field of social media. The participants in this research comprised both male and female experts in social media and its impact on users. The convenience sampling technique was used to select the participants, thus enabling the researcher to arrive at the social media experts who can answer research questions. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were the primary method of collecting data from the participants. The interview questions focused on the impact of social media on the behavior of the Emirati. The other set of questions asked the participants to explain if there are behavioral changes associated with social media use and the aspects that can influence Emirati children's behavior.
Description of Analytical Techniques
For data analysis, this study conducted a thematic analysis approach on the interview responses collected from the social media experts in Emirati. The method enables the researcher to analyze and have systematic records of social media's behavior patterns and impacts among the children.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
The analysis of the data collected from the experts indicates that social media use among children significantly affects their behavior. One of the experts mentions that "children especially those at the teenage level are likely to emulate or imitate what they see or hear from friends." This means that if children see or hear their peers behaving in a particular manner or wearing a type of clothes, they are likely to change their behavior to match their peers' behavior. Depending on the nature of the information that children consume from social media, their behavior will vary accordingly, and it is essential to ensure the content triggers positive change among the social media users.
On the issue of specific behavioral changes associated with social media use among Emirati children, the findings indicate that social media have influenced most teenagers' behavior in the region. One social media expert who participated in the interview stated that the children's lifestyle changes due to social media exposure. The media influences their purchasing behavior and tends to buy most of the things they encounter when using these social media platforms. Another respondent mentioned that her three children aged between 11 and 24 had experienced a change in their eating habits since they became active social media users. It is, therefore, evident that there are specific behavioral changes that can be associated with the use of social media among Emirati children.
Several aspects of social media influence the behavior framework of the children. According to research participants, 90% of social media users, particularly teenagers, can be affected by the content they view on those media platforms. One of the respondents mentioned that "currently, the content that people post in social media is offensive, violent or explicit causing significant impacts on the minds of young children." Exposing children to such content shapes their minds in the wrong manner and causing a mental disturbance that eventually affects their general well-being, including education and personal relationships in society. Another finding indicates that spending most of the time on social media affects the children's mental well-being, resulting in depression, anxiety, and behavior change. The nature of the content and time of exposure to social media are the primary aspects that influence the behavioral framework among the children.
Implications of Findings
The findings from this study play a critical role in providing more information on social media's impacts on children's behavior. The study also yields valuable data that can be used to make policies to help regulate social media platforms and ensure that the content enhances positive behavior among the users. The results educate the parents concerning the impacts of social media among their children, enabling them to develop necessary measures to ensure children are aware and safe from the adverse effects of social media.
Future Research
Future research should determine the best approach to mainstreaming social media to ensure a positive change of behavior among young users worldwide.
The United Arab Emirates just like the rest of the world, have shown upsurge the use of social media for communication and entertainment platform across the population. On average, Emiratis spend 2.57 hours on social media every day. The typical social media platforms in the region include WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Viber, among many others. Social media has a significant impact on the behavior of children; for instance, spending most of the time on these platforms causes developmental issues among young users. Conducting a research study to find out the extent of social media impacts on children is necessary. Collecting information using face-to-face interviews among the social media experts is critical to obtaining relevant information. The findings indicate that social media has significant impacts on behavior among children, and some of the changes can be attributed to the use of these media platforms. The content and time of exposure are social media aspects that influence the behavior framework among teenagers.
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References
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Melendres, M. (2019). YouTubers Influence of Young People. Retrieved 11th March 2021 from https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=engl_176
Nazzal, N. (2016). Study finds children aged 4 to 14 already use social media. Retrieved from https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/study-finds-children-aged-4-to-14-already-use-social-media-1.1685849
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Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2019). Media use is linked to lower psychological well-being: evidence from three datasets. Psychiatric Quarterly, 90(2) , 311-331.
