KAMPUS ANTARABANGSA LABUAN
SEMESTER 2, 2017/2018
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
RESEARCH METHOD
GT20303
TITLE: THE USAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ADOLESCENT
Lee Wai Sum
BG16110296
Submission date:
23rd March 2018
Prepare for:
Dr. Sharinah Puasa
Background of the Study
This research outlines the usage of social media and the impact of social media on adolescent. For most of the adolescent, social media plays a big role as dominant force in their daily lives. Nowadays, social media had gained astounding worldwide growth and popularity which has attracted attention from variety of researchers globally. Social media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated contentCITATION Kap10 l 2052 (Kaplan, 2010).

Problem Statement
In this digital era, adolescents are immersed in social media. Adolescents today spend more than 11 hours per day on social media. In other words, they spend more time on social media than they do in school CITATION Cou13 l 2052 (Media, 2013). Social media became a leading activity for them other than sleeping. 95% of US adolescents which between the ages of 12 and 17 ‘going’ online and 80% of them are participating in some type of social media website. 24% of adolescents describe themselves as “constantly connected” to the Internet and 50% report feeling “addicted” to their phones CITATION Yol13 l 2052 (Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, 2013). It is common for adolescents today to engage in more than one form of media at the same time, a practice referred to as media multitasking. This multitasking may include watching TV and using a computer or being online and engaging in more than one activity.

Undoubtedly, social media provides convenience for adolescents. Social media may help adolescents for raising their self-esteem and “belongingness” CITATION Pau14 l 2052 (Paul.Best, 2014). It may indirectly affect the feelings of personal well-being. Social support seeking thought social media such as Facebook which helps to decrease adolescents’ mood CITATION Eli15 l 2052 (Eline Frison, 2015).

Yet, it clearly portrays negative effects on adolescents. The more time they spend online, the more likely they are to self-disclose and be solicited for private information by strangers. For example, Facebook is a place where the most adolescents miss-perceive as safe and they even boast about having a large amount of personal information being exhibited for the whole world to see without being cautious on disclosing too much. Moreover, the more time spent on social media may increase the risk of Cyber-bullying. Adolescents today rarely have face-to-face interactions CITATION Lis15 l 2052 (Lisa M. Cookingham MD, 2015). More than 60% of adolescents send or receive text messages after “lights out”, it tends to increase the levels of tiredness.

Significance of the Study
This research highlights the usage of social media and found that adolescents spend too much time on it and it may cause addiction among the adolescents. The research is significant especially for those adolescents and their parents which to help adolescents to understand the impacts of social media and to avoid addiction on social media. In addition, empirical studies that inspect and study the social media effects are few and it has not attracted sufficient attention. Hence, this research conducted to discuss and study the usage and impacts of social media.

Adolescents is a Generation of Digital Natives. They will be controlling and running the world someday. Adolescents act as an important role not only on personal future, but the future of society as a whole. This research is actually incumbent for adolescents to understand, and help others to understand, on how to use social media productively and responsibly.

Research Objectives
This research outlines following research objectives:
To explore the beneficial and harmful impact of social media toward adolescents.

To access the usage of social media and addiction level of adolescents.

Research Question
There are two questions to be addressed in order to achieve the objective of the study:
How much recreational screen time does adolescents consume daily?
What is the impact of social media toward adolescents?
Expected Contribution
This research may help parents and educators have considerable concerns about the effects of social media on their children and students. The concerns considered such as youth privacy, safety, psychological well-being, social development, and academic performance.
Moreover, this research may inspire and awaken the consciousness of the impacts of social media among adolescents to avoid addiction on social media. It is also hoped to attract the most attention from government and receive active support from the government to provide nationwide counseling programs and campaign such as “30 hours without phone” for adolescents.

Conclusion
In conclusion, social media is an intriguing new environment to study because social media is such an integral part of adolescents’ life. One must point is adolescents who in charge future generation spent too much time on social media. In addition, social media clearly portrays both positive and negative effects on the adolescents. Yet, it must be recognized that social media is useful for adolescents if they know how to control the time that they spent on it.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Eline Frison, S. E. (2015). The impact of daily stress on adolescents’ depressed mood: The role of social support seeking through Facebook. Computer in Human Behaviour , 315-325.

Kaplan, A. M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 59-68.

Lisa M. Cookingham MD, G. L. (2015). The impact of social media on the sexual and social wellness of adolescents. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol, 2-5 .

Media, C. o. (2013). Children, Adolescents, and the Media. American Academy of Pediatrics. , 958–961.

Paul.Best, R. M. (2014). Online communication, socialmedia and adolescent wellbeing: A systematic narrative review. Children and Youth ServicesReview , 27–36.

Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, J. R. (2013). Children and Adolescents and Digital Media. American Academy of Pediatrics, 958–961.