Investigation Into The Relationship Between Social Media Use And Stress Assignment Sample

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Introduction to Investigation Into The Relationship Between Social Media Use And Stress Assignment Sample

Facebook and other social networks have become an inseparable part of the existence of billions of population globally. Popular social networks such as “Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok” provide unqualified connection and knowledge transfer. However, because social media has become almost a norm in people’s lives, the effect it has on people’s stress levels has become a great concern. The purpose of this study is as follows where it can establish a relationship between social media usage and stress, having evaluated stress response variables and their connections with stress through social media utilization. Stress is a complicated physical and psychosocial phenomenon that occurs due to demand or pressure to meet certain expectations. When an individual is confronted with a stressor, the sympathetic nervous system initiates the ‘fight or flight’ response. This causes hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to be released into the body in readiness to act in an attempt to avoid danger. These hormones lead to an increased rate of heartbeat, high blood pressure, and anxiety or alertness. This stress response is, however, useful in the short term particularly if the stressors are dangerous but any prolonged activation of this system will be harmful to the physical and the mental health of an individual. Social media may affect stress in various ways and it will be appropriate to look at how this is so in the subsequent section. The idea is that constantly getting exposed to information and comparison stimuli through social media, people can get to a point where people feel overwhelmed, and their performances deteriorate. Another implication of social media use is the fear of missing out (FOMO), which means anxiety about possible inadequacy in social-related events or interactions. This compulsive checking behavior and the increase in stress levels make it highly recommendable to use this kind of technology.

Nonetheless, it is necessary to highlight the fact that the effect of the use of social media and the generation of stress is not always negative. Critics of social media suggest that despite the withdrawal symptoms that people may develop, social media can fulfill the role of identifying beneficial social support for people whom people in offline life may not offer support. The concept of reaching out to like-minded people as well as getting information is also encouraging and anxiety-relieving to some of the users. The physiological influence of social media can enhance stress levels in recent studies. There are few studies that have observed the correlations and this has noticed the level of cortisol level with the use of social media. This study has contributed to this by inspecting the correlation analysis between the level of stress and the use of social media within the population. With the help of measurement, the report by observing the use of social media and enhancement of the stress by the physiological markers is also essential to develop the link between stress and social media use. Understanding the effect of social media on mental health is very necessary to make suitable guidelines and effective interventions.

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Aim

The study aims to determine if there are important associations between stress levels and the amount of social media use by every person which can be evaluated by the physiological indicators.

Objectives

• To examine the relationship between stress and frequency of social media use, with reference to pulse rate as a measure of stress.
• To analyze the degree of causality between the use of social networks and the development of stress in users.
• To seek physiological processes like increased pulse rate resulting from the duration spent on social media and the effects on stress.

Hypothesis

Alternate hypothesis

There will be a significant correlation between the amount of social media use and the stress level.

Null hypothesis

• H0. There is no important correlation between stress levels and the use of social media.
• H1. There is an important correlation between stress levels and the use of social media.

Method

Research design

It therefore uses a correlational design to analyze the impact of the use of social media on stress levels. The independent variable is the degree of the use of social media which is determined in a self-completion questionnaire. The dependent variable is the level of stress, which will be determined based on a set of subjective ratings that the subject has to make in the post-test questionnaire as well as the physiological responses in the form of the pulse rate. This design makes it possible to investigate the interaction of these variables with a view to determining the possible relationship between them without controlling those (Brailovskaia et al. 2020). A correlational approach is suitable because this will allow for the examination of variations in; usual social media use and participants’ stress levels since variation in social media use could be attributed to naturally occurring differences in stress levels among participants.

Research participants

The study sample comprises of fifteen participants who are selected by using opportunity sample. All of them are adults aged 18 years and over and half of them men and the other half women. The inclusion criteria state that the participants should be active users of social media. Potential exclusion criteria are a diagnosed anxiety disorder or another condition that directly affects the level of stress irrespective of the activity in social networks. The number of participants is moderate which allows conducting Spearman Rho Coefficient correlation and making first conclusions regarding social media usage and stress levels. Even though the participants are told about the broad details of the research, they are not told about the study’s focus on social media and stress in an attempt to keep bias at bay.

Apparatus

• The questionnaire to check the uses of social media
• The stress scale
• The oximeter to evaluate the heart rate
• The sheets for data record
• The consent forms with the sheet of information
• The materials for debriefing
• The software to do statistical analysis
• The online platform for protecting the data with proper storage

Procedure

To reach the participants, the general description of the study is given in an information sheet provided to the participant, without putting emphasis on the fact that it is a study of stress and social media. When the participants have agreed to participate then the researcher gives them a special code name so that their identity cannot be revealed. The social media use questionnaire has questions regarding the amount of time the participant spends using various forms of social media daily and any activity they engage in with the social media. After that participants fill in a standard questionnaire called Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) to determine objective stress perceived by the participants. Pulse rate is measured with the help of a pulse oximeter. In order to get an average resting heart rate, three readings are recorded at 5-minute intervals. All information is entered on datasheets, and therefore identification of the participant is done using a code only (Ellis et al. 2020). At the end of each assessment, participants are provided with a general debriefing of the study where stress caused by social media use is in particular focus. They are allowed a chance to ask certain questions and to withdraw their data if need be. Participants’ data is keyed into statistical software for analysis; the test used to determine the correlation between social media use and stress indicators is Spearman’s Rho Correlation Coefficient. They are also thanked for their participation and told that they can request a copy of the findings of the study once the investigation is over.

Ethical Considerations

In reference to ethical issues in this study, concerns will be limited to participants’ welfare and their information. Due to the sociopolitical regulation of voluntary participation, patients have to understand the study objectives and processes and the way pulse rates will be recorded. Such a participant should have the chance to withdraw from the process at any one time without being prosecuted. They have to be safe and private, employee data has to be protected, and the results of the surveys have to be anonymous. Also, there are no adverse consequences and no significant stress to the participants during their participation in the study, while things like taking pulse rates are not invasions to the participant’s body but rather harmless means, used in a safe and conducive place, should they be called for participation.

Results

Table 1: Descriptive statistics for showing the scores and social media use

Investigation Into The Relationship Between Social Media Use And Stress Assignment Sample

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The following is a tabulation of the scores of the social media questionnaire and pulse rates of fifteen participants. The social media scores are between 7 and 28 which depicts the different levels of use of social media (Zhao, and Zhou, 2021). Correspondingly, pulse rates vary from 65 to 88 beats per minute amongst the volunteers. The participants whose scores from the social media constructed were high have higher pulse rates which can be perceived to have a correlation with stress due to a high rate pulse, for example, a score of 28 for Participant 13 and a pulse rate of 88 bpm. Participant 7 scored 7 and this is associated with a pulse rate of 65 which indicates less stress as compared to the others. These scores are obtained with the help of a questionnaire where it can observe their level of stress.

Treatment of results

All of these images represent the determination of Spearman’s Rho Correlation Coefficient. In the above picture, it can be seen with the help of a table that has the values of the X and Y variables and their ranks as well as the formulas for the rank difference.

The second image shows the formulae used to determine the correlation coefficient (R) by considering the covariance by ranks’ standard deviations. It also displays common definitions; X and Y ranks mean and standard deviation Means and Standard deviations (Huang, 2022). The last sum gives a Spearman’s Rho of equal to zero. 99, which means that there is very strong positive relationship between the X and Y variable. It has also found a p-value of 0 in my correlation which means it is statistically significant. This statistical analysis assists in determining the extent and direction between two variables by the use of ranked data.

 This image describes a scatter plot of the participants’ scores and their pulse rates. To represent the data, the x-axis has been labeled as “Score of the Participants” ranging from 0 to 30 whereas, the y-axis is labeled as “Pulse Rate” which ranges from 0 to 100 (Karim et al. 2020). The overlying trend in significant in the graph indicates a positive linear relationship between the two quantities. As the scores rise, there is a tendency to rise in pulse rates as observed from the data above.

The correlation analysis presented in the table has shown a positive correlation with the r value of 0.989. The two variables are used in this analysis the pulse rate and scores acquired from the questionnaires. So this has indicated that this is a strong association in which it can describe that those who spend more time on social media are linked to a higher pulse rate.

Discussion

The findings of this investigation inform that there is a strong and positive relationship between the use of social media and stress levels of participants as depicted by Spearman’s Rho correlation coefficient of 0. 99 (p < 0. 001). Therefore, it can be agreed that a close correlation exists between frequency of social media usage and level of stress. These findings raise questions to support and build on the current research carried out in this field to give further understanding of the effects of social media on mental health and well-being. The results provided are in paradigm with the theoretical framework put forth by researchers on the Fear of Missing out (FOMO) related to social media usage. The rather high and positive correlation coefficient estimated could be discussed as the primary evidence of the fact that using social media may result in an increased stress level since people can be constantly connected to some platforms and may feel anxious if they do not receive or post some content. The relationship that has been discovered corresponds to the research investigating the contribution of social comparison in online systems (Wong et al. 2020). Stress levels are generally seen to rise with the use of social media, at least up to the point where a user spends more time with social media websites, and this might be due to the fact that people resort to comparing their lives, and their experiences with what they come across when they browse through social media websites, which may put them under pressure or make them feel inadequate. However, it is pertinent to highlight the fact that the conclusions drawn are correlational only, and thus the conclusions drawn are hypothetical only. As much as there is proven evidence that shows a high correlation between the use of social media and stress, it lacks a clear conclusion that shows that the use of social media leads to increased stress.

Limitations of the study

One of the disadvantages is the Sample Size and the model we employed also limits the amount of diversity that was captured in the analysis. This study was carried out on what can be regarded as a relatively small sample size and hence its concentration may not be highly generalizable to the entire populace. Further, the demographic characteristics of the participants involved in the study may not represent the entire population of social media users, therefore restricting the ability to generalize the results (Whelan et al. 2020). The Limitations include Self-Reported Data is also considered as the limitation. The use of self-report measures for social media use as well as self-reported stress levels raises the issue of reporting bias. Limitations can therefore be referred to as social desirability bias or accurate recall where participants may have underreported their social media use or over-reported their stress level.

Suggestions for improvements

It is therefore possible for future studies to employ Longitudinal Design in an endeavor to overcome the limitation that characterizes this study and make it possible to determine causality. Using this approach, differences in social media usage and stress levels would be longitudinally measured thus giving more evidence about the existence of causal relationships and also directionality if any. For future studies to reduce self-reported data the following objective measures could be employed; Future studies could therefore use objective measures of social media usage (screen time data from devices) and stress levels in the hope of reducing the flaws of self-reported data which are as follows; This would give real time information and minimize on biases that are usually reported during the annual general meetings.

The Future Directions and Implications

The close significant relationship evidenced in this study supports the need to need to come up with measures for healthy social media usage. Teaching programs and interventions that help one learn about internet usage for education purposes, emotional intelligence, and other stress-managing tools may be effective in reducing the negative effects of social media to one's mental health (Alonzo et al. 2021). Future studies should attempt to identify contingencies including personality, coping styles, and particular modes of using social media. Such aspects might be beneficial in recognizing those who would be at risk for emerging stress arising from using social media. It would be constructive to examine the exact processes, by which the use of social media would impact on stress levels.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the relation between stress level and pulse rate is necessary to establish where the aim of the study can be achieved. This study provides clear evidence that the higher people’s usage of social media, the higher their stress level, and this is evident from Spearman’s Rho correlation coefficient of 0. 99 (p < 0. 001). The participants’ pulse rates were also found to be higher when the social media questionnaire scores were elevated showing that they were stressed. This correlates with research on the Fear of Missing Out or FOMO and social comparison theory, implying that, using social media more frequently makes one stressed since one’s life is compared to that of others online. However, one must point out that all the observed relations have a nature of correlation, and cause-and-effect relationships cannot be identified. In addition to direct effects, the personality and life conditions of respondents and their baseline stress levels may affect both social media use and stress.

Reference List

Journals

• Alonzo, R., Hussain, J., Stranges, S. and Anderson, K.K., 2021. Interplay between social media use, sleep quality, and mental health in youth: A systematic review. Sleep medicine reviews, 56, p.101414.
• Boer, M., Stevens, G.W., Finkenauer, C., de Looze, M.E. and van den Eijnden, R.J., 2021. Social media use intensity, social media use problems, and mental health among adolescents: Investigating directionality and mediating processes. Computers in Human Behavior, 116, p.106645.
• Boer, M., Van Den Eijnden, R.J., Boniel-Nissim, M., Wong, S.L., Inchley, J.C., Badura, P., Craig, W.M., Gobina, I., Kleszczewska, D., Klanšček, H.J. and Stevens, G.W., 2020. Adolescents' intense and problematic social media use and their well-being in 29 countries. Journal of adolescent health, 66(6), pp.S89-S99.
• Brailovskaia, J., Schillack, H. and Margraf, J., 2020. Tell me why are you using social media (SM)! Relationship between reasons for use of SM, SM flow, daily stress, depression, anxiety, and addictive SM use–An exploratory investigation of young adults in Germany. Computers in human behavior, 113, p.106511.
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