Heaven or Hell: The Perspicacity on Social Media among Adolescent Users

An Undergraduate Research Paper

Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Arts and Sciences

UM Digos College Digos City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Pscyhology

By :

Morales, Glorylene V.

Fajardo, Gritcsen Rose L.

JANUARY 2023
 Introduction

The emergence in social media use has raised concerns about the effects it
may have on users' psychological well-being. Social media have become an integral
part of daily life and are employed in a variety of contexts. Consequently, it is
essential to comprehend how and why users utilize and interact with social media.
Personality traits are thought, feeling, and behavior patterns that may influence an
individual's use of social media. The purpose of this paper is to increase
comprehension of the role personality traits play in the psychological dynamics
underlying social media use and engagement. This paper conducts a comprehensive
literature review on personality, trait theory, and personality traits taxonomies, with a
focus on the Big Five Personality Traits – Five Factor Model (FFM). The main goal of
this paper is to shed light on the impact of social media use on psychological well-
being.

In recent years, social media usage has grown substantially (Leong et al.,
2019; Kemp, 2020). Social media refers to "the websites and online tools that
facilitate user interactions by providing opportunities to share information, opinions,
and interests" (Swar and Hameed, 2017, p. 141). People use social media for a
variety of purposes, including entertainment, communication, and information
gathering. Notably, adolescents and young adults spend more time on social
networking sites, e-games, texting, and other forms of social media (Twenge and
Campbell, 2019). Some authors (e.g., Dhir et al., 2018; Tateno et al., 2019) have
argued that social media has altered the forms of group interaction and the individual
and collective behavior of its users across the globe.

The use of social media platforms and the internet has become increasingly
widespread in many different regions of the world. Based on the statistical report that
was compiled by We Are Social (2018), the Philippines has the highest rate of social
media usage in the world. This is because the number of Internet users in the
Philippines has reached 67 million on a national scale, and the average daily time
spent using social media on any device is nine hours and twenty-nine minutes. The
findings of this research indicate a 12% annual growth in the number of Internet
users and social media users in the Philippines compared to the previous year.
Facebook is the social media application with the highest number of users (67
million), followed by Youtube in terms of user volume (We Are Social, 2018).The
Internet has become a very reinforcing stimulus, which may encourage Filipinos to
use it more frequently. The Internet gives users an immediate and easy access to
attain satisfaction and empowerment to manage the way they present themselves,
regardless of their true identity or physical characteristics. This may motivate
Filipinos to use the Internet more frequently (Wong, Yuen, & Li, 2015). Individuals
have been using social media as part of their daily routine, in school, at work or
everywhere they go. Social media has become a very essential part of one’s life
many factor have been affected by the use of social media and one of them is the
behavioral impact of such. Locally, there are many social media users we encounter
in our environment.

This research was conducted with the purpose of gaining a better

understanding of social media and the varied behaviors exhibited by users of various
social media platforms. The purpose of the study was to shed light on the use of
social media as a tool for expressing one's thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

The literature talks about the existing definitions vary in complexity, with some
focusing on the nature of message construction in social media while others are
more straightforward. For instance, Russo, Watkins, Kelly, and Chan (2008) defined
social media as "those that facilitate online communication, networking, and/or
collaboration." Other researchers have come up with similar definitions, a similarly
brief definition of social media was provided by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), who
described it as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological
and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange
of User Generated Content". Even more, Lewis (2010) pointed out that the term
"social media" is nothing more than a "label for digital technologies that allow people
to connect, interact, produce, and share content". Within the field of public relations,
Kent (2010) provided a comprehensive definition of social media as "any interactive
communication channel that allows for two-way interaction and feedback." He went
on to specify that modern social media are distinguished by their "potential for real-
time interaction, reduced anonymity, a sense of propinquity, short response times,
and the ability to 'time shift,' or engage the social network whenever it suits each
particular member". The behavioral factor of using social media was supported by
the literature that implies researchers from a number of different institutions have
conducted extensive searches for potential factors that may predispose an individual
to use social media and/or the internet. Przybylski, Murayama, DeHaan, and
Gladwell (2013) conducted a study in which they recognized the mediating role of a
phenomenon known as Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) in people's use of social media
and the Internet. This study is one example that stands out in particular. They
conceptualized it as a "persistent apprehension that others might be having
rewarding experiences from which one is absent," which is an interesting way to put
it (Przybylski et al., 2013). It is distinguished by the requirement to maintain a
continuous connection with the activities of other people. Some people consider it to
be a form of social anxiety, which can be described as an obsessive fear that a
person will fail to take advantage of a chance for social interactions, enjoyable
activities, or valuable experiences (Vaidya, Jaiganesh, & Krishnan, 2015). In the
study conducted by Herman (n.d.), there are two factors that contribute to the
phenomenon of fear of missing out (FoMO). These factors are the rise of mobile
technology and the expansion of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. These provide individuals with access to a diverse range of opportunities,
which gives one the impression that every act is important and that no opportunity
should be passed up at any time (Hernan, n.d.). (Browne, Aruguete, McCutcheon, &
Medina, 2018; Burke, Marlow, & Lento, 2010; Wortham, 2011) Research has shown
that fear of missing out (FoMO) is associated with negative emotional states such as
feelings of loneliness, boredom, and negative mood or depressed feelings.

Theoretical Lens

Based on the "Presentation of Self Theory" developed by Goffman, people

utilize social media to make a more favorable impression than they truly are,
according to empirical studies of the topic. In comparison to real life, people's online
personas tend to be more creative. Most young people simplify their lives because
they think it's too complicated. This development in the social network self can be
traced back to Goffman's research. It would appear that our social media profiles are
customized for a certain audience. The presentation of self serves an objective. It
conveys an impression to others that lies in accordance with one’s own interest.
Goffman’s book is therefore all about the outward appearance of action. This
outward appearance is first applied to the agent. The presentation of self is the way
we appear objectively before others. Others will form an opinion about us through
perceptual rationality. Others are perceived in turn through their external objective
qualities and appearance. “Others” are not the same as “us.” In the context of a
public and accessible narrative of a “brand,” micro-blogging sites that allow
messages to be viewed publically across a platform and to spread through likes and
re-shares (such as the Twitter’s re-tweet) are ideal for personal brand construction.
The relatively limited and short messaging style, coupled with easy categorization of
a theme through a hashtag (#), allows a presentation of cultural, social, and political
interests in a consistent and visible manner. While other social media platforms are
characterized by limited connections with others based on shared geographies,
circumstances, or personal histories, micro-blogging sites allow people to make
connections with any other person on the network, regardless of whether the
persons involved know one another or are connected in any other way, and to
present the self in a representational manner. 

In Heidegger’s “Social Media ‘‘shared-world” Theory”, empirical findings on

social media may be related to Heidegger’s “shared-world,” such as findings about
connectedness or belonging. People are attracted by social media because of
experiences related to others who use such spaces. The existing form of
associations between persons that already exists on these social networking sites
has the potential to be developed in a number of distinct ways. At the moment, the
majority of the most popular social networking sites make use of buddy networks in
order to construct links between users. Historicity is also an aspect of social media
use; for example, when using Facebook, the behavior of users can be related to both
their past and their future projects. The past appears in Facebook status updates;
the present is seen in terms of what is going on; and the future appears through the
intentions of the user or through a user’s continuous use of Facebook. Indeed, social
media are contributing to identity expression and sociability in a peer-based and
critical way . Social media help young people who come to a university from high
school to maintain their previous high school friends and develop new friends at the
university, especially those who are less satisfied with the university or who have a
low level of self-esteem. Indeed, social media are often used to maintain existing
relationships with friends, strengthen young people’s relationships with existing
friends, or develop intimate relationships. Social media contribute to consolidating
identities.

Research Questions

The research questions aims to answer the following:

1. What is your perspective towards expressing yourself on social media?

2. What are your thoughts about social media platforms?
2.1 What social media platforms do you think is the most useful?
3. What are the experiences you encounter while exploring on social media?
3.1 How would you feel after expressing your feelings on social media?
3.2 What makes you think that social media is good for expressing?

Beneficiaries

Adolescents are the beneficiaries of this research. The findings of this study
are helpful to people who spend a lot of time on social media. People will gain
knowledge about what information to share on social media and what information to
keep to themselves.
 Methodology

Participants

The target participant in this study will be intended only individuals who are
qualified for the following criteria: (a) a social media user (b) avid user of any social
media platforms (c) adolescent from UM Digos College. The target number of
participants in this study is minimum of 6 until the data is saturated. Participants in
the study are students from UM Digos College who are in their adolescence and
are avid users of various forms of social media.

Research Instruments

The researchers will employ a phenomenological qualitative methodology.

Phenomenology is the study of people's lived experiences (Creswell, 2007; van
Manen, 1997). To study of Stress and coping mechanisms in relation to the current
state of the community’s goods, we utilized the descriptive phenomenological
method. In accordance with Husserl's philosophy, a descriptive phenomenological
method describes the experiences being lived through very carefully, and after the
raw data has been obtained, a thorough phenomenological psychological analysis of
the data is conducted within the context of the phenomenological psychological
reduction(Giorgi & Giorgi, 2003). In comparing the phenomenological approaches of
Heidegger and Husserl, Giorgi (2007) favored Husserl's approach because it is "built
to deal with any sort of object and its style of presentation is the starting point for
investigative techniques."

In the method of data collecting that consisted of in-depth interviews with the
people who had volunteered to take part in the study, the researcher went with a
phenomenological point of view. In addition, the researchers will adhere to all of the
health standards and procedures when organizing the interviews. The investigators
will often resort to taking handwritten notes in order to facilitate the recovery of
concepts that are discussed throughout the interview. The researchers will not use
video recording as a method of data collection because it is not very practical and
has the potential to just enhance the participants' level of anxiety throughout the
study. Before any data analysis takes place, the data obtained from the interviews
will first be transcribed word for word.

The researchers will be conducting their analysis of the data to be acquired

using a method known as theme analysis. The process of locating, investigating, and
reporting on recurring themes and patterns within a body of data is known as
thematic analysis (Braun, V., et. al, 2006). That entails organizing the data in a
proportionate manner and describing them in extensive detail. On the other hand,
rather commonly it goes beyond this and interprets numerous facets of the research
issue (Boyatzis, 1998). As a result of the fact that this uncertainty will contribute to
the factors that are identified in the study, the researchers will respond to it with the
highest excitement and enthusiasm.

Ethical Considerations

In this study, the researcher will make sure that its conduct will be guided by
ethical principles as described by Mack, et al. (2005), namely: respect for persons,
beneficence, justice, consent, and confidentiality.

Respect for Persons. The researcher will ensure the autonomy of research
participants and where autonomy may be decreased, to protect them from the
exploitation of their weaknesses. In addition, there is a need to think about the
emotional and stressful experiences they may feel during the conduct of the in-depth
interview. Therefore, it is imperative to be cautious in asking questions to avoid
triggering negative thoughts and feelings. Also during the interview, the researcher
will consciously refrain from using offensive, discriminatory, or other unacceptable
language. Beneficence and Non-Maleficence. The researcher is committed to
minimizing the risks associated with this research, including psychological and social
risks, and maximizing the benefits that are due to research participants. Moreover,
the researcher is obligated to provide benefits for those who will participate, do them
no harm, prevent harm, and remove existing sources of harm in the course of the
conduct of the study. In addition, the participants for both the interview and the pilot
testing of the intervention program will receive a special token of gratitude and
compensation for the time they will spend in the interview and intervention from the
researcher as well as reimbursement for their meal and travel expenses. The
amount that they will receive will be more than enough to cover their expenses and
income/salary for the day.

Informed and voluntary consent. The researcher will see to it that the
participants understand what it means to take part in the study so they can decide in
a conscious, deliberate way whether they want to participate. Before the researcher
will proceed with the in-depth interview, she will personally explain the objectives and
purpose of this research and ask their permission to allow the proceedings to be
audio-taped. After getting their approval, the researcher will ask the participants to
sign a written informed consent. She will also inform the participants that before the
finalization of the study, the findings will be presented to them for verification since
they have the right to know and to give them recognition as well.

Anonymity and Confidentiality. To do this, the researcher will use pseudo-

names so that the anonymity of the participants in relation to the information shared
will be maintained (Bloom and Crabtree, 2006). The coding system will be used to
ensure the confidentiality of the findings and protection of the identities of the
informants as well as hide their true identities. Also, the participants will be protected
at all times so data or files of information will be kept in a safe and secret place that
will not be known to everyone (Bricki and Green, 2007).

Privacy. Respect for the right to privacy will also be given due importance in
this study. Participants will be informed that they have the right to refuse to share
any personal information or answer any of the interview questions if they do not feel
comfortable (Bricki and Green, 2007). Moreover, the trustworthiness of the data is of
prime importance. Lincoln and Guba (1985) rely on four general criteria in their
approach to trustworthiness. These are credibility, transferability, dependability, and
confirmability. Credibility is how confident the qualitative researcher is in the truth of
the research study’s findings. Transferability is how the qualitative researcher
demonstrates that the research study’s findings are applicable to other contexts. In
this case, “other contexts” can mean similar situations, similar populations, and
similar phenomena. This would also show that the research study’s findings can be
applied to other contexts, circumstances, and situations. Confirmability is the degree
of neutrality in the research study’s findings. In other words, this means that the
findings are based on participants’ responses and not any potential bias or personal
motivations of the researcher. This involves making sure that researcher bias does
not skew the interpretation of what the research participants said to fit a certain
narrative. To establish confirmability, an audit trail should be provided, which
highlights every step of data analysis that was made in order to provide a rationale
for the decisions made. This helps establish that the research study’s findings
accurately portray participants’ responses. Finally, dependability is the extent that
the study could be repeated by other researchers and that the findings would be
consistent. In other words, if a person wanted to replicate this study, they should
have enough information from this research report to do so and obtain similar
findings as this study did. An inquiry audit can be used in order to establish
dependability, which requires an outside person to review and examine the research
process and the data analysis in order to ensure that the findings are consistent and
could be repeated.
References

Ostic, D., Qalati, S. A., Barbosa, B., Shah, S. M. M., Galvan Vela, E., Herzallah, A.
M., & Liu, F. (2021). Effects of social media use on psychological well-being: a
mediated model. Frontiers in Psychology, 2381.

Reyes, M. E. S., Marasigan, J. P., Gonzales, H. J. Q., Hernandez, K. L. M., Medios,

M. A. O., & Cayubit, R. F. O. (2018). Fear of Missing Out and its Link with Social
Media and Problematic Internet Use Among Filipinos. North American Journal of
Psychology, 20(3).

Carr, C. T., & Hayes, R. A. (2015). Social media: Defining, developing, and
divining. Atlantic journal of communication, 23(1), 46-65.

Stanton, A. L., & Low, C. A. (2012). Expressing emotions in stressful contexts:

Benefits, moderators, and mechanisms. Current directions in psychological
science, 21(2), 124-128.

Creswell, J. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Giorgi, A. P. & Giorgi, B. M. (2003). The descriptive phenomenological method. In P.

M. Camic, J. E. Rhodes, & L. Yardley (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology:
Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 243-273). American
Psychological Association.

Giorgi, A. (2007). Concerning the phenomenological methods of Husserl and

Heidegger and their application in psychology. Collection du Cirp, 1(1), 63-78.

Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated.

International Journal of Qualitative Methods.
Bliss, L (2016). Phenomenological Research: Inquiry to Understand the Meaning of
People’s Experiences. International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and
Technology.

Qutoshi, S. (2108). Phenomenology: A Philosophy and Method of Inquiry. Journal

of Education and Educational Development.

Qi, J., Monod, E., Fang, B., & Deng, S. (2018). Theories of social media:
Philosophical foundations. Engineering, 4(1), 94-102.
 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND INTERVIEW GUIDE QUESTIONS

PRE- VALIDATION YES NO

QUESTIONS

PQ1 Do you like social

media?

PQ2 Do you spend most

of your time in
browsing social
media platforms?

PQ3 Do you consider

yourself as an avid
user of social media?

1.What is your perspective towards expressing 1.1 What are your thoughts about social
yourself on social media media platforms?
1.2 What social media platforms do you think
is the most useful?
1.3 What are the experiences you encounter
while exploring on social media?
1.4 How would you feel after expressing your
feelings on social media?
1.5 What makes you think that social media is
good for expressing?