The Impact of Social Media on Social Anxiety Among Adolescent

Research Project Design
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1.0. Research Question/Topic
The topic for the proposed research is "The impact of social media on social anxiety among adolescents." The topic interests me since, according to the recent findings by Pew Research, 97% of teens have self-reported using social media daily. It is 5% up from the survey results conducted in 2014-2015 (Pew Research Center, 2022). Furthermore, the background research indicates a significant relationship between social media usage and social anxiety (O’Day & Heimberg, 2021). However, most research in this direction is carried out irrespective of age. Since adolescents are more vulnerable to threats to their mental health and psychological well-being, it is important to consider how the use of social media can specifically affect their susceptibility to social anxiety disorders (SAD). The research questions that will guide the research include the following:
* How does the use of social media by adolescents affect or trigger the physical symptoms of social anxiety disorder?
* How does the use of social media by adolescents affect or trigger cognitive symptoms of social anxiety disorder?
* To what extent does adolescents' use of social media trigger avoidant behavior?
* Can social media also help adolescents suffering from social anxiety disorder to ease the underlying symptoms?
2.0. Terms and Variables
Some of the terms that may repeat throughout the project are defined as follows:
Adolescents: The term categorizes all young adults aged roughly between 13 years and 19 years.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD): It is also termed social phobia, which is the fear of being watched by others. People suffering from SAD usually prefer isolation and avoid social gatherings as it triggers their fear and results in social anxiety (O’Day & Heimberg, 2021).
Social Media Usage: This includes using all renowned social media platforms where users may interact with each other and exchange user-generated content, such as pictures, videos, and written content.
Social comparison and envy: These themes frequently appear while scanning the literature dealing with the sociological impact of social media, which involves users' practice of competing with others.
Coping strategies/mechanism: This term includes all strategies and tactics that users may employ to combat negative instincts and thought patterns resulting from their exposure to social media.
SAD is a complex phenomenon relying on the interplay of different factors and symptoms. Specifically, the research will involve measuring the three important factors to determine the intensity of SAD among the users. These three measures are (i) physical measures (racing heart, sweating, or trembling), (ii) cognitive symptoms (negative thoughts), and (iii) avoidant behavior (Osório, 2018). Hence, the behaviors will be measured at three levels, and the three factors mentioned earlier will be the dependent variables in each case, while 'social media usage' will be the independent variables. Hence, the impact of social media usage will be evaluated for these three measures.
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