How the Students Are Spending Their Time on Social Networking Sites - Assignment Example

? Marketing Research Report Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Problem ment 3 Literature Review 4 Research Methodology 6 Sampling Plan 6 Data Collection 7 Focus Group Interview 8 Questionnaire 8 Ethical Consideration 8 Budget and Timeframe 9 Findings and Data Analysis 10 Conclusion 15 Expected Findings and Implications 15 References 16 Appendix 18 Appendix I – Focus Group Interview Questions 18 Appendix II – Questionnaire 18 Introduction Social Media can be defined as a relationship existing between people’s network. In the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic change in the social world. With the invention of social media, many young men and women exchange feelings, ideas, personal information, videos and pictures at an astonishing rate (Domine, 2009). Every day, a very large number of students are spending endless hours on these social networking sites. Even though social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace take a large chunk of the student’s time, it helps in developing social skills and helps in knowledge and information sharing (Martin, 2008). However, according to Oberst, (2010) it has also been found out that high use of social media sites encourage negative feelings and behaviours among students and teenagers and result in negative behaviours such as procrastination, because they are always catching up with friends and they are more likely to be engaged in drugs and drinking. The purpose of this study will be to find out how the students are spending their time on these social networking sites. The study will also aim to find out how the use of these social sites are affecting the overall performance of students and what is the opinion of students on spending time on these social networking sites, especially face book. For the purpose of the study, research will be conducted among students of a university to find out their usage patterns opinion about Facebook. Problem Statement Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites which are used by the young population, especially students and teenagers, all over the world (Gerlich et al, 2011). With the ever increasing of the popularity of social media sites and students spending more and more time in Facebook, it has been regarded as the topmost reason for diverting the attention of students from academic work. According to some scholars, social media sites decrease the researching and learning capabilities of college students. The purpose of this study will be to find out how the students are spending their time on Facebook. The study will also aim to find out how the use of Facebook is affecting the overall performance of students and their opinion about spending time on Facebook. For the purpose of the study, research will be conducted among students of a university to find out their usage patterns opinion about Facebook. Literature Review There have been recent considerable discussions on the frequent use of social media tools such as Facebook, twitter, MySpace etc. by college and university students and the possible effect of these social media tools on the academic performances of these students (Connolly, 2011). E- Learning is a critical tool for learners, especially students. This medium of leaning has evolved with the growing number of its applications. Now young people use internet as a source of distributing information through social media sites. Connecting with people through social media sites started as a niche activity, but now it has become a phenomenon. Apart from being used for blogging, chatting and creating communities, these social media sites are used by many institutions to form online communities and groups. It was started as a hobby for some people but now it has become a compulsory social norm and a part of the daily life of people all over the world (Boyd, 2007). Young adults and teenagers are the special enthusiasts and they have found it a major medium to connect with their peers, reinvent their personalities, share information, and socialize. Since the current college going students are growing up in a technological era, the inclusion of social networking sites in their daily lives has become a common phenomenon. Facebook has been seen as one of the most frequent sites used by the college students. According to a nelson media research study, about 25 percent of the total time which the student spends on internet, is devoted to these social media sites like face book (Jacobsen, and Forste, 2011). According to Facebook, it has 500 million active users, almost 50 percent of which log in on a daily basis. Another study revealed that each student spends at least 100 minutes per day in Facebook. The debate of weather social media helps or degrades a students’ academic performance is often judged in bigger aspect while finding out the overall use of social media. Theses can by psychological effects, safety and privacy concern, self-concern and self-discipline of the individual and the adaptability of human (Zwart, 2011). Typical benefits associated with the use of these social media sites and especially Facebook include encouragement of higher social interaction, encouraging and promoting creativity between individuals and among groups, creating a self-belonging image between the social media users, greater access to information, increasing communication and interaction by reducing the barriers of states and countries and higher levels of technological competencies because of the frequent use of these sites (Brydolf, 2007). The online communities have been seen positively because they help students in increasing their academic performances (Lusk, 2010). Social media has the ability to enhance connection through making them easily accessible. Social media has the ability of providing benefits to the young generation by providing a virtual space for them. This helps to explore their potential interests and share them with individual with similar interests. This also helps in building skills in online communication. Even though there are students who are reluctant to participate in the class activity, it has been seen that they actively participate in online Facebook programmes related to education and other social and cultural matters which in turn helps them to learn and enhances their confidence (Schill, 2011). However, these are much more potential drawbacks or risks which have been identified with the frequent use of these social networking sites. There are issues such as degradation in health and psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, loss of sleep, poor eating habits and minimal physical exercise. Decreased concentration level, analytical reasoning skills and a decreased persistence to work and studies have been found as the resultant effects of frequent use of media sites. It has also been revealed that students who use social networking sites like Facebook while doing their homework or assignment are more likely to have lower grades compared to those students who do not use social networking sites while finishing their assignments (Kalpidou et al, 2011). The main issue with using Facebook is that, since majority of students have Facebook, their instant messaging and emails are continuously running and updating with Facebook in the background, while they are still doing their assignments. Even though there are conflicting benefits related with the use of media sites, a few contradictory findings have been seen regarding its effect on a student’s academic performance. Some researchers, who studied the impact of the use of social media on student’s academic performance found out that it has a negative effect, which means that because of the frequent use of these sites, these has been a decrease in the grades of students (Wang, Chen, & Liang, 2011). However, other researchers, who studies the same issue found little or no impact between the usage of social media and the academic performance of students (Ahmed and Qazi, 2011). According to Hargittai & Hsieh, (2010), the use of these media sites actually increased the competency of students in terms of social interaction; according to the research they conducted. An increase in the frequent use of social media sites calls for stringent monitoring from parents as well as teachers. The use of social networking sites by students has been creating difficulties and challenges for higher educational professionals. Keeping at pace with these challenges is proving to be very difficult because of the constant upgradation of the technologies. It has also been found that many higher educational institutions do not disclose the information regarding the usage of social networking sites among their students. Research Methodology This segment will highlight the methodology adopted to address the problem statement of the study. This section is divided into 6 segments and each segment will explain about the aspects used in the methodology. Factors such as sampling, data collection methods and data analysis methods will be discussed. The section will also highlight on the ethical considerations surrounding this study. The entire study will be conducted for one month. Sampling Plan Sampling can be defined as a technique by which a subset of a larger population is chosen and this chosen population represents the characteristics of the entire population. Sampling has a large number of advantages to the researchers (Deming, 1996). The most common advantage is that the data collection process becomes faster and the cost to be incurred is minimized. A sampling plan is essentially a detailed outline of the measurements like time frame; place, who is going to measure and for whom. Sampling plan should be designed in such a way that all or most of the research questions can be answered. Now, in this context, the sampling of the customers will be done with the help of stratified sampling method. In order to satisfy the objectives of the study, primary research will be conducted. The target respondents for this study will be college students. The primary data will be collected from the respondents or participants of the primary research. For this, five fellow students will be taken for primary analysis. The responses of the college students for further analysis will be recorded with the help of a structured questionnaire. The study will also consider questionnaire survey of the university students within the convenience range for the purpose of gaining in-depth information about the area of concern. Now, in order to calculate the sample size it is necessary to determine the population within the convenience range. The study revealed there are around 412 students. Hence, the total sample size for the study, with 95 % confidence level is calculated below. The equation used for calculating the sample size is: - x = Z(c/100)2r(100-r) n = N x/((N-1)E2 + x) E = Sqrt[(N - n)x/n(N-1)] (Source: Raosoft, 2004) There the sample of the study will comprise of 200 college students. Data Collection Data collection is the systemic collection or bringing together of the information that has been observed, recorded and organised and categorise the data in such a way that logical information can be drawn from the collected data. The aim of data collection is to establish a factual basis for making useful decisions. Data collection is the next step of a research study after the research design (The Air University, 2012). Data collection forms a critical part of the research study because it helps gathering useful information regarding the hypothesis or the research problem (Deming, 1996). For the purpose of this study, data will be collected with the help two data collection methods namely focus group interview and questionnaire. Focus Group Interview A focus group interview in a type of qualitative research in which respondents are asked in-depth questions and feedback are collected. The respondents who participate in this session are asked about their perceptions, attitudes, opinions and beliefs towards a particular service, product or concept. It typically involves face to face interview between the interviewer and the interviewee. For this study, in depth focus group interview will be conducted in which five college students will be the participants. They will be asked in-depth questions regarding Facebook, their opinion about this social media site and weather they feel that Facebook is taking their crucial time which otherwise would have been devoted to studies. Questionnaire It is a process in which the data from the participants is collected in the form of a questionnaire. It is an instrument of data collection comprising a set of questions given to respondents and collecting their response. The questions can be closed ended or open ended, depending on the requirements of the study. In this study, the questions will be closed ended. The biggest advantage of using questionnaire survey is that the data collection process becomes fast and easy. Hence, for this study questionnaire survey to the college students will help to serve the purpose of the study. Ethical Consideration There is a growing importance of ethics in the field of research, which is gaining popularity and taken seriously by the researchers in various fields of research. The importance of this ethical consideration increases further if the participants of the study come from different cultural and social backgrounds. The aim of this study is to find out the affect of Facebook on the academic performance of college students who come from diverse backgrounds. To fulfil this, the study will carry out questionnaire survey and focus group interviews. To carry out this research it is important to have high level of coordination between the interviewee and the participants. Therefore it becomes very necessary to design the study questions in such a way that, that it does not hurt or offend any community, religion or culture. Some of the ethical factors which will be considered for this study are mentioned below: - The questions asked in questionnaire or in the focus group interview session should be designed in such a way that it does not harm or hurt the candidates psychologically. The questions should not hurt the social or cultural community or affect the communal harmony in any manner. The research study will ensure no participant, in any case and by any means gets physically affected or compromised. Finally, it should be also noted that the respondents of the study are free to leave the interview process or questionnaire survey whenever they feel. Even, in the middle of session they are allowed to leave if they wish. Budget and Timeframe Budget- The estimated budget for the study to be conducted is as follows. Expenses Amount in Dollars Equipment 1000 Travel 700 Materials and Supplies 800 Printing 500 Miscellaneous 500 Total 3500 The study will be conducted for a timeframe of one month. The estimate cut-off of the timeframe is as follows. Activity/Timeframe WK1 WK1 WK3 WK4 Collecting the literature         Findings of the secondary research         Research Design         Collecting Primary Data         Data Analysis         Final report         Submission          Findings and Data Analysis The study was about analysing the effect of Facebook on the overall academic performance of students. In order to address this objective, the study has formulated a problem statement which though efficient data collection and data analysis will satisfy the objective of the study. This section of the study will shed light on the findings from the analysis of the data collected during the research and on the basis of that meaningful information will be interpreted. The first problem statement was how Facebook was affecting the academic performance of the students. To find the preliminary analysis five students were chosen for Focus group interview. The respondents were asked about the effect of Facebook usage in general. Two respondents said that Facebook affects the mindset of students both positively and negatively. Though it increases social interaction and helps building communication between similar individuals and groups, it quickly becomes addictive and they distract you from your academics. One student responded that Facebook though an addiction now, has no beneficial usage. When asked if frequent and addicted use of Facebook affects the language, study habits and study timings or not, almost all respondents agreed that frequent use of Facebook had negative impact on their daily use of language and time management. One student also argued that it depends on how the student uses Facebook and divides his/her time between social networking and studying. The students were also asked to suggest ways or solutions that can help in reducing the negative effects of using Facebook. To its reply, two students said that the students will have to help themselves in order to make a balance. One student also suggested a campus forum discussing the affect of Facebook on academic performance and how to solve this issue. Thus from the preliminary focus group interview, it is evident that though students admit that Facebook have an overall negative impact on their performances, they are not willing to give up this social media. In the second part of the research, a questionnaire was formed and 200 respondents were chosen to fill up the questionnaire. From the questionnaire it was found that around 49 percent of the participants were using Facebook for more than 3 years. 29 percent students started using Facebook from the past two years while only 15 percent of them were comparatively new, being active in Facebook for less than a year. 7 percent of the students were found to be active users since the launch of Facebook for general people. Figure 1 Facebook Membership Around 52 percent of the participants admitted that they opened their Facebook account more than 4 times in a day. 33 percent of them opened their Facebook account seven or more time in a day, while only 12 percent students said that they opened their account only 2-3 times a day. The number of students using Facebook only once daily was a meagre 3 percent. Figure 2 No of times student log into Facebook on a daily basis. 35 percent of the sample respondents reported that they primarily used a laptop to check Facebook, while 20percent use a cell phone. While only 4 percent preferred to use a desktop computer, 40 percent of students accepted that they used multiple equipments to log in and use Facebook. Figure 3 Major devices for logging into Facebook Account 45 percent of the respondents admitted that they spent more than 6 hours per day to check their Facebook account, 23 percent spent around 5-6 hours, 20percent spent 2-4 hours and only 12percent spent less than 2 hours. Figure 4 Time spent on Facebook daily. 56 percent of the participants posted that they responded or posted through Facebook during college hours vey frequently. 24 percent respondents said that they used Facebook sometimes during college hours. Only 10 percent said that they rarely use Facebook and 6 percent said that they don’t prefer using Facebook during college hours. Figure 5 Facebook usages during college hours 75 percent of the respondents accepted that they used Facebook very frequently while completing their assignments.14 percent said that they used Facebook sometimes while 5 percent said they while doing their assignments they rarely opened their account. Only 3 percent said that they don’t like using Facebook during assignments. Figure 6 Facebook usage during Assignments and Homework Around 80 percent of the frequent Facebook users admitted that not logging into the account makes them feel left out in the campus and only 20 percent of them gave felt that not logging has less or no impact on the social life on campus. Almost 65 percent respondents admitted that using Facebook has impacted their overall academic performance and they are giving less time to their academics now. However, around 75 percent of respondents accepted that Facebook has become a daily phenomenon in the social life. Figure 7 Results of Focus Group and Questionnaire Survey Conclusion Thus from the above findings it is clear that majority of students in the campus are a frequent and active users of Facebook. It is also evident from the findings that more than 50 percent of individuals spend more than 5 hours a day in Facebook. Another data reveals that more than 60 percent of students use Facebook during college hours and also while making their assignments and reports. Thus it can be said that Facebook negatively affects the academic performance of the students by wasting most of their free time in using Facebook. It was also clear from the focus group interview that most of the users of Facebook were addicted to it and felt left out when not logged. Thus it has a psychological impact on the users. From the questionnaire it was also clear that most of the students were aware that using Facebook had some kind of effect on their daily life and academic performance, but they also said that they do not want to change their situation. Expected Findings and Implications The above study has been conducted exclusively on college students and their academic performance. This study takes into consideration about the usage of Facebook by students during and after classes and how it affects them. For further research, this study can be taken into a new dimension by taking working professionals as primary target respondents. Further studies can be done on the areas such as affect on the efficiency of working professions due to usage of Facebook during office hours. From the above study it has been found out that frequent and addictive use of Facebook leads to various issues such as decreased overall academic performance, psychological complications such as depression, anxiety, loss of concentration etc,. Since all these have a negative impact on the overall lifestyle of students, the university can take few regulatory steps to monitor and regularise the usage of Facebook. First, the university can ban Facebook during college hours, which will help in reducing diverted concentration of the students. There should be stringent deadlines for assignments and reports. The university can also set up forums where students will participate and discuss about the negative effects of Facebook and how to minimise them. Thus through these regulations, the university can monitor and regularise the usage of Facebook. References Boyd, D., and Ellison, N., 2007. Social Network Sites: Definition, History and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), pp. 210-230. Brydolf, C., 2007. Minding MySpace: Balancing the benefits and risks of students' online social networks. Education Digest. 73(2), pp. 4-5. Connolly, M., 2011. Benefits and Drawbacks of Social Media in Education. [online] Available at http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/news/coverstories/2011/benefits_and_drawbacks.php [Accessed 19 April 2013]. Deming, W. E., 1996. Some Theory of Sampling. New York: Courier Dover Publications. Domine, V., 2009. A social history of media, technology and schooling. Journal of Media Literacy Education. 1(1), pp. 42-52. Gerlich, R., Browning, L., and Westermann, L., 2010. The social media affinity scale: implications for education. Contemporary Issues in Education Research. 3(11), pp. 35-41. Hargittai, E., and Hsieh, Y., P, 2010. Predictors and Consequences of Differentiated Practices on Social Network Sites. Information, Communication & Society. 13(4), pp. 515-536. Jacobsen, W. C., and Forste, R., 2011.The Wired Generation: Academic and Social Outcomes of Electronic Media Use among University Students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking. 14(5), pp. 275-80. Kalpidou, M., Costin, D., and Morris, J., 2011. The relationship between Facebook and the well-being of undergraduate college students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 14 (4), pp. 183-189. Lusk, B., 2010. Digital natives and social media behaviors: An overview. Prevention Researcher, 17(5), pp. 173-6. Oberst, L., 2010. The 6S Social Network. [online] Available at http://sixsentences.ning.com/profile/LindsayOberst [Accessed 19 April 2013]. Qazi, T. F., and Ahmed, A., 2011. A Look Out For Academic Impacts of Social Networking Sites (Snss): A Student Based Perspective. African Journal of Business Management. 5(12), pp. 5022-5031. Raosoft, 2004. Sample Size Calculator. [online] Available at: < http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html> [Accessed 22 April 2013]. Schill, R., 2011. Social Networking Teens More Likely to Drink, Use Drugs, Study Finds. [online] Available at http://jjie.org/teens-on-facebook-more-likely-drink-or-use-drugs-study-finds/20713 [Accessed 19 April 2013]. The Air University, 2012. Data Collection. [pdf] Available at http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/bpi_manual/mod7-datacoll.pdf [Accessed 19 April 2013]. Zwart, M. D., Lindsay, D., Henderson, M., and Phillips, M., 2011. Teenageers, Legal Risks and Social Networking Sites. Victoria: Victoria Law Foundation. Appendix Appendix I – Focus Group Interview Questions 1. What do you think about the affect of the use of Facebook in general? 2. Do you think the use of Facebook helps or hurt the overall academic performance? 3. Do you think that frequent and addicted use of Facebook affects the Language, Study Habits and Study Timings? 4. What are the solutions you can suggest that can help students suffering from academic problem related to Facebook use? Appendix II – Questionnaire Name: - Age: - Sex: - Male/Female (Tick above the option) Country/ State:- Contact No (If any): - 1. How long have you been a member of Facebook? a. Less than a year b. 1-2 years c. 3-5 years d. Ever since it hit the mainstream in 2002 2. How often do you log in to your Facebook in a day? a. Once b. 2-3 times c. 4-5 times d. I lost count, too many times 3. From which device do you use Facebook? a. Laptop b. Mobile c. Desktop d. More than one device. 4. How many hours in a day you spend on Facebook? a. Less than 2 b. 2-4 hours c. 5-6 hours d. More than 6 hours. 5. How often do you use Facebook during college hours? a. Very often b. Sometimes c. Rarely d. Don’t like to use. 6. How often do you use Facebook while working on assignments/ homework? a. Very often b. Sometimes c. Rarely d. Don’t like to use. 7. For what purpose do you use Facebook? a. Status Updates b. Pasting Photos c. Chatting d. Others. 8. What proportion of your online friends do you visit least? a. Less than 10 percent b. 10-25 percent c. 25-50 percent d. More than 75 percent. 9. Not logging onto Facebook can cause a student to feel left out of campus life, a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly disagree 10. Facebook is important to social life on campus. a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly disagree 11. Facebook is a distraction from studying a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Disagree d. Strongly disagree 12. What other social sites you use apart from Facebook. a. Twitter b. LinkedIn c. MySpace d. Tumbler 13. What drives you to Facebook? a. It increases social interaction b. It helps in networking c. It helps in Building online Communities d. It is a leisure activity 14. Will you ever quit Facebook? a. Yes b. No c. Can’t Say d. Depends 15. Will you use a social networking website designed by the university to replace Facebook? a. Yes b. No c. Can’t say d. Depends Read More