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Sophia Morgan

Bethany Toy

ENC1102

02/01/2021

Research Proposal

Overview of Research:

Social media has been around since the early 2000s, meaning most of today’s generation

has known nothing but smart phones and technology. We have grown up using technology our

whole lives and social media has grown with us. According to an article titled “The Rise of

Social Media” on Our World of Data, “The first social media site to reach a million monthly

active users was MySpace – it achieved this milestone around 2004. This is arguably the

beginning of social media as we know it.” (Ortiz-Ospina) Being able to grow up with apps such

as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have its benefits, but it also can be damaging. Writing

genres refer to patterned communication. The scholarly conversation I will be focusing on will

be the academic genre, a genre in which it is used in schools and the academic community. This

is the genre I felt fit my research question which is based on college students and is studied in

various universities.

Research Objective:

How does social media affect the academic genre, specifically a college student's

study habits, mental health, and grades? My research will focus on if social media has an impact

on college student’s mental health and how that applies to their study habits and grades. This

topic interests me a lot because I experience it every day. I grew up in the early 2000s meaning

my childhood was full of technology and I began using social media at the age of 11. For the past
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eight years of my life, I have been comparing my life to others online and constantly checking

my notifications to see if people like what I post. This all takes a toll on a person; young adults

begin to think they aren’t good enough or that their life isn’t as great as the next person’s. “Read

enough of the current research and you’ll find that the negatives tend to feel bigger than the

positives. While teens can use social media to connect and create friendships with others, they

also confront cyberbullying, trolls, toxic comparisons, sleep deprivation, and less frequent face-

to-face interactions, to name a few.” (Hurley, Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media

Affect Teenagers’ Mental Health) I am interested in the question: “How does social media affect

the academic genre, specifically a student's study habits, mental health, and grades?” This study

is necessary to bring attention to how social media is negatively affecting our society. Many

students struggle with procrastination and the inability to focus because social media and

technology are so easily accessible nowadays. Students are more worried if they receive likes on

their post than if their assignments are turned in on time. However, social media does not only

have negative impacts. Many studies have also stated that social media is not the cause of mental

health problems or proven to be harmful. As Chloe Berryman, Christopher J. Ferguson, and

Charles Negy stated in their article Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young Adults,

“Some studies have indicated that social media use may be tied to negative mental health

outcomes, including suicidality, loneliness and decreased empathy. Other studies have not found

evidence for harm, or have indicated that social media use may be beneficial for some

individuals.” A big issue that Berryman, Ferguson, and Negy brought to attention is an act of

vaguebooking. Vaguebooking is posting to social media seeking attention and concern from

viewers. These posts can in many ways be viewed as a cry for help and contain very little

information. A common phenomenon that occurs in many social media users is called FOMO
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also known as “fear of missing out.” This can become a serious issue for young adults who may

not have as many friends or are not as social outside of the online world. This all tethers back to

smartphones and social media where everyone can post how much fun they are having or sharing

their experiences to many users online. “Several studies have also shown that the “fear of

missing out” (FOMO) is associated with problematic smartphone use.20 FOMO is the “pervasive

apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent.” This

new phenomenon is exacerbated by the connective natures of smartphones and social media and

threatens the psychological health of those unable to un-tether themselves.” (Cain, It’s Time to

Confront Student Mental Health Issues Associated with Smartphones and Social Media)

Methodology:

I will be using a few methods to answer my research questions. The first and most

sufficient method for my topic will be ethnography, I can use my own personal experiences and

observations to explain what it is like using social media as a teenager in college. Another

method that will be helpful towards my research is archival research, I can use this method to

show how the popularity and impact of social media have grown over time. Lastly, I will conduct

a survey on one of my social media accounts to get real-life answers from people who are

experiencing the effects of social media in real-time.

I will be collecting data online about students who are actively on social media. Some

specific pieces of evidence may include studies from psychologists, personal experiences,

general online studies, and more. I will also be using a survey that I will post to my own social

media accounts with over a thousand followers. I chose these pieces because I feel they will be
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the most helpful for getting real responses from real people who are being affected by social

media.

Timeline:

Data Preparation

February 1st-5th: Begin research proposal and complete peer review

February 8th-12th: Start researching articles and online studies and take notes

February 13th-14th: Prepare survey questions

February 15th-17th: Finalize research proposal and submit the final draft

February 22nd-24th: Work on annotated bibliography and complete peer review

March 1st: Submit final draft of annotated bibliography

March 8th-12th: Work on research paper and organize data

March 15th-19th: Begin posting the survey on social media accounts

March 22nd-26th: Gather data from survey and interpret

March 28th: Finalize rough draft of research paper

March 29th: Submit rough draft and complete peer review

March 30th-April 2nd: Adjust paper according to comments and proofread

April 5th: Finalize and submit final research paper

Works Cited

Article by: Katie Hurley. “Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental
Health?” Psycom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1996, 17 Nov. 2020,
www.psycom.net/social-media-teen-mental-health.

Berryman, Chloe, et al. “Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young Adults.”
Psychiatric Quarterly, vol. 89, no. 2, 2017, pp. 307–314., doi:10.1007/s11126-017-9535-6.

Cain, Jeff. “It’s Time to Confront Student Mental Health Issues Associated with Smartphones
and Social Media.” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, vol. 82, no. 7, 1 Sept.
2018, pp. 738–741., doi:10.5688/ajpe6862.

Mastrodicasa, Jeanna & Metellus, Paul. (2013). The Impact of Social Media on College
Students. Journal of College and Character. 14. 10.1515/jcc-2013-0004.

Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban. “The Rise of Social Media.” Our World in Data, ourworldindata.org/rise-
of-social-media.

Vinu Ilakkuvan, Amanda Johnson, Andrea C. Villanti, W. Douglas Evans, Monique Turner,

Patterns of Social Media Use and Their Relationship to Health Risks Among Young

Adults, Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 64, Issue 2, 2019, Pages 158-164, ISSN

1054-139X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.06.025

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X18302659)

Wang, Qingya; Chen, Wei; and Liang, Yu, "The Effects of Social Media on College Students"

(2011). MBA Student Scholarship. Paper 5. http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/mba_student/5

Appendix A

About how many hours a day do you spend on social media apps?

Do you ever experience fear of missing out (FOMO) because of something you saw online?

Have you ever seen a post and criticized yourself afterwards?

What are some emotions you feel while using social media apps?

What is your most used social media app?

Have you ever felt feelings of depression or anxiety in response to social media?

Do you use social media while you should be doing schoolwork or studying?

Do you procrastinate schoolwork by using social media?