A Flawed Social Media Study

As a web designer, SEO, and social media consultant, I am responsible for increasing social media user engagement for my clients. The more followers my client’s social media accounts have the better. Increasing the time those followers spend online engaged on my client’s social media accounts, the more likely sales will be generated. Due to this, I always read social media studies as I worry about the impact of my work on society. The latest study I have read is called The Impact of Social Networking Sites on the Youth. It was an interesting read, and below are my thoughts on each of the sections that comprise the study.

Introduction

The influence of social networking sites on the user’s life will be gauged. Both the positive and negative impacts of online networking are investigated. The study will analyze the credibility of information received from social media. After reading the study, I feel the objectives were not clearly defined with specific measurements. For example, how would the researchers gauge the credibility of the information from social media?

Hypothesis

1. Social media sites have more negatives than positives if both the parameters are evaluated. 

2. Users are more inclined towards fields of entertainment other than relevant information. 

3. Participation in social gatherings is declining due to the overutilization of social media sites.

The hypothesis in this study lacks clarity and is too general. What determines a negative vs. a positive parameter and how are they evaluated? I did not see anywhere in the study what constituents a negative or positive parameter.

Research Methodology

The study used the quantitative approach to study the research objectives. Sampling was via questionnaires where the questions were close-ended, and the target group consisted of ages 15 to 24. The respondents were from the Delhi/NCR region. One hundred questionnaires were filled out, each containing a total of 10 questions. 

Looking at the methodology, I felt the size of the target group was very small and not effective. Choosing all participants from one region does not make sense to me. I feel the study would have been more effective if the target group was larger and from multiple areas both urban and rural.

Conclusion 

The primary objective of the study was to measure the positive and negative aspects of social media usage. Social media use from the target group was found to be heavily skewed towards entertainment. It was found users can discriminate between the real and virtual world. Users realize social media does not build stronger contacts with people than in person. The target group spends on average more than 2 hours a day on social media which keeps them from real-world social interactions. After reading this research paper, I don’t think such a small and localized study can prove much. The research methods seemed flawed from the beginning. Including the criteria for what constitutes negative and positive parameters is needed to provide clarity to the reader. A larger target group from multiple areas would also be beneficial and provide more accurate results.