Major
Accounting
Advisor
Donna Gamche-Griffiths
Advisor Department
General Business
Date
5-2019
Keywords
Social Media; Mental Health; Self Image
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Abstract
In the US alone over 244 million people use social media daily. Social media has become a huge part of the world today, helping people stay connected, share, influence, and interact. Though social media has many constructive aspects, it can affect its users in many negative ways. This research looks deeper into the way people use social media, how it’s content can be damaging, and the emphasis people place on their social media image. The study conducted looks further into how social media’s effects vary between age groups and genders. Results show that females between 16-20 are most negatively affected by their social media usage. By having a group of people quit social media, this study also examines how our daily lives are impacted by social media. During this planned hiatus from social media, the consensus was that the group members spent less time on their phones and reported to be “living in the moment”. This study also consults other academic research to demonstrate how the social media age has lead to an increase in mental disorders such as depression and eating disorders, particularly in young women. Lastly, this research looks into various ways social media usage can be altered to reduce its negative effects.