Digital Wellbeing Research Project

Computing Research Project 2020
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Anuj Sharma (HND/Fourth Semester)
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET
STUDENT DETAILS
Student ID 03 Reg No. LK15946
Family Name Anuj Sharma Given Name Anuj Sharma
Enrolment Year 2018 Section P4
Semester Fourth (4th
) Email paudelkritesh@gmail.com
UNIT DETAILS
Unit Title Computing Research
Project
Unit Code T/615/1639
Assessor Name Anup Bhurtel Issued Date 21st
August 2020
Assignment Title Digital wellbeing
Assignment No 01 Submission Date 26th
February,2021
Qualification Campus ISMT
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF
MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY

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When submitting evidence for assessment, each student must sign a declaration confirming that the
work is their own.
Student Name Anuj Sharma Assessor Name Anup Bhurtel
Issue Date 21st,
August, 2020 Submission Date 26th,
February,2021
Programme BTEC HND
Unit Name Computing Research Project
Assignment Title Digital wellbeing
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs and students who
break the rules, however innocently, may be penalized. It is your responsibility to ensure that you
understand correct referencing practices. As a university level student, you are expected to use
appropriate references throughout and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of materials for
material you have used in your work, including any material downloaded from the Internet. Please
consult the relevant unit lecturer or your course tutor if you need any further advice.
Student Declaration
I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand
the consequences of plagiarism. I understand that making a false declaration is a form
of malpractice.
Pearson Education 2018
Higher Education Qualifications

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY
GAIRIGAUN, TINKUNE, KATHMANDU
NEPAL
BTEC HND in Computing
Unit 13: Computing Research Project Unit Code: T/615/1639
Year: 2020 Assessment No: 01
Assignment Launch Date: 21 Aug 2020 Due Date: 21 Oct 2020 (Proposal)
21 Dec 2020 (Research)
Assignment Title: Digital wellbeing
Teacher Name: Anup Bhurtel Iv’s Name & Date:
Student Name: Pearson Reg No: Final Grade:
Purpose of this assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to engage students conduct a research in a specific field of study. This
assignment allows students to demonstrate their capacity and ability to identify a research topic, to
develop research aims, objectives and outcomes, and to present the outcomes of such research in both

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written and verbal formats. This also encourages students to reflect on their engagement in the research
process, during which recommendations for future and personal development are key learning points.
Students have to choose their own research project based on a theme provided (Digital wellbeing). The
project must be related to their specialist pathway of study. This will enable students to explore and
examine a relevant and current topical aspect of Computing in the context of their chosen specialist
pathway.
Assignment submission format
Each student has to submit their assignment as guided in the assignment brief. The students are guided
what sort of information is to produce to meet the criteria targeted. Some tasks might require group work,
but the student has to produce individual assignment.
The course Tutor will
• Make sure that project briefs for this unit is be based on a proposal defined by the student.
• Agree and sign off in the research proposal that each student is embarking on their project. If
this requires extra time to agree, this could be addressed through the student’s tutorial time.
• Make sure that the proposal students develop meets the criteria (given below). This will form
the basis of their project and must be related to their specific pathway, unless the student is on
the general Computing pathway.
• Monitor whether all students complete the research project in order to complete their work for
this unit.
• Guides students on how to go about planning, researching, conducting, recording and reflecting
on the research project.
• Be advisable to direct students to appropriate research sources and advise on qualitative and
quantitative methods.
• Will ask students to reflect on the success of their research project and their performance at the
end of the project, with the inclusion of a project evaluation and recommendations.
Scenario I

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You work as a trainee for a leading IT company. You are supposed to complete a computing research
project based on the theme Digital wellbeing. Most importantly, the chosen project must be related to
your specialist area i.e., Networking or Programming.
In this project you are expected to show your ability to complete a computing research project engaging
yourself in a specific field. Your work must demonstrate that you have the ability to identify a research
topic, to develop research aims and objectives and outcomes and to present the research outcomes to
senior management team both verbally (as a formal presentation) and in written form.
Learning outcomes covered
LO1. Examine appropriate research methodologies and approaches as part of the research process.
LO2. Conduct and analyze research relevant to a computing research project.
LO3. Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified stakeholders.
LO4. Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts.
In order to successfully complete a computing research project, you have to complete the following
tasks as guided.
Part one – Develop a research proposal
• Define your research problem or question. This can be stated as a research question, objectives or
hypothesis.
• Provide a literature review giving the background and conceptualization of your proposed area of
study. This would provide existing knowledge and benchmarks by which your data can be judged.
• Consider and define your research methodology and research process. Demonstrate understanding
of the pitfalls and limitations of the methods chosen and ethical issues that might arise.
Part two – carry out the research and prepare a research report
• Conduct your research as outlined in your proposal. Keep track of your findings as you work.
• Carry out your research and analyses your findings in relation to your original research question.
Draw conclusions.

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Part three - Prepare a presentation using
• Communicate the outcomes of your research project to the identified audience.
Part four: A written reflection on the success of the research
Prepare a written document that reflects on the success of your research project and your
performance at the end of the project with the inclusion of a project evaluation and
recommendations.
Milestones and interim feedback to be used by the teacher
Each student must get approval from the teacher when they have
• Reach topic and aims/objectives are agreed
• completed the research proposal
• developed ethical form
• produced a first draft of findings
• Completed all primary research.
At each milestone, the tutor liaises with the student to check whether it has been achieved. They may need
to redirect the student if necessary.
Guidance for Students
You should read this information before starting to define and work through your research brief. You
should refer to these instructions as you complete work for this unit.
• Consider the development of a methodical and valid research proposal as the foundation for the
project.
• Choose a topic based on the theme released by Pearson Edexceland also make sure of personal
interest in a specialism. The topic chosen should allow a sufficient and suitable degree of research
through the existence of adequate background materials.
• A good project proposal title should meet the following criteria:
○ The proposal is one that has an existing body of literature or source material that can be
reviewed.
○ The proposal extends a current line of learning that will lend itself to further rigorous
exploration
○ Decide on appropriate research methods and select an appropriate sample

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• Ensure that your proposal is ethical, reliable and valid. An ethics form must be submitted prior to
completion of research as part of the research proposal.
• Agree your research proposal with your tutor before beginning your research.
• Conduct your research as outlined in the proposal agreed with your tutor.
• Carry out your research, analyze your research findings and draw conclusions. Apply both
qualitative and quantitative research methods to evaluate data collected from primary research.
• Communicate your research outcomes in a manner appropriate to your audience.
• You will be asked to reflect on the success of your research project and evaluate the problems/issues
encountered.
• On the following pages, there is an example of a research project brief.
• You must complete the research project in order to complete your work for this unit.
Research Proposal
Student name
Centre name
Tutor
Unit
Research Topic:
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title or working title of research project
Research project aims and objectives
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g., links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future
plans, and knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or hypothesis:

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Section Four: Activities and timescales (milestones and target date)
Activities to be carried out during the research project (e.g., research, development, analysis of ideas,
writing, data collection, numerical analysis, tutor meetings, production of final outcome, evaluation,
writing the report) and likely durations.
Section Five: Research approach and methodologies
Type of research approach and methodologies you are likely to use and reasons for your choice:
What your areas of research will cover:
Comments and agreement from tutor Comments
(optional):
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and
is appropriate.
Agreed: ............................................. (Name)................................................... (Date) ........................

Anuj Sharma (HND / Fourth Semester) 9
Pass Merit Distinction
LO1: Examine appropriate research methodologies and approaches as part of the research process
P1 Produce a research proposal that
clearly defines a research question
or hypothesis supported by a
literature review.
P2 Examine appropriate research
methods and approaches to primary
and secondary research.
M1 Evaluate different research
approaches and methodology and
make justifications for the choice of
methods selected based on
philosophical/theoretical
frameworks.
LO1 & 2
D1 Critically evaluate research
methodologies and processes in
application to a computing research
project to justify chosen research
methods and analysis.
LO2: Conduct and analyze research relevant for a computing research
project
P3Conduct primary and secondary
research using appropriate methods
for a computing research project
that consider costs, access and
ethical issues.
P4 Apply appropriate analytical
tools analyze research findings and
data.
M2 Discuss merits, limitations and
pitfalls of approaches to data
collection and analysis.
LO3: Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified stakeholders
P5 Communicate research outcomes
in an appropriate manner for the
intended audience.
M3 Coherently and logically
communicate outcomes to the
intended audience demonstrating
how outcomes meet set research
objectives.
LO3 D2 Communicate critical
analysis of the outcomes and
make valid, justified
recommendations.
LO4: Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts

P6Reflect on the effectiveness of
research methods applied for
meeting objectives of the business
research project.
P7 Consider alternative research
methodologies and lessons learnt in
view of the outcomes.
M4 Provide critical reflection and
insight that result in recommended
actions for improvements and future
research considerations.
LO3 D3 Demonstrate reflection and
engagement in the resource process
leading to recommended actions for
future improvement.
6 | P a g e Mention all the grades awarded in this assignment:
Note: Please access HN Global for additional resources support and reading for this unit. For further
guidance and support on report writing please refer to the Study Skills Unit on HN Global. Link to
www.highernationals.com
Other Recommendations:
✓ It should be the student’s own work – plagiarism is unacceptable.
✓ Clarity of expression and structure are important features.
✓ Your work should be submitted as a well presented, word-processed document with headers
and footers, and headings and subheadings, both in hard and soft copies.
✓ You are expected to undertake research on this subject using books from the library, and
resources available on the Internet.
✓ Any sources of information should be listed as references at the end of your document and
these
sources should be referenced within the text of your document using APA referencing
style ✓ Your report should be illustrated with screen-prints, images, tables, charts and/or
graphics.
✓ All assignments must be typed in Times New Roman, Justified, size 12, 1½ spacing.

I declare that all the work submitted for this assignment is my own work or, in the case of group
work, the work of myself and the other members of the group in which I worked, and that no part of
it has been copied from any source. I understand that if any part of the work submitted for this
assignment is found to be plagiarized, none of the work submitted will be allowed to count towards
the assessment of the assignment.
Assignment Prepared by:
Anup Bhurtel
Signature: Date: 19 Aug 2020
Brief Checked by:
Dhruba Babu Joshi
Signature: Date: 20 Aug 2020

Contents
PART ONE..........................................................................................................................................16
ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................................18
SECTION 1: TITLE, OBJECTIVE, RESPONSIBILITIES................................................................19
Background of the Study..................................................................................................................19
Research Purpose .............................................................................................................................20
Research Questions ..........................................................................................................................20
Delimitation of the Study.................................................................................................................20
SECTION 2: REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS RESEARCH PROJECT .....................................21
Statement of the Problem.................................................................................................................21
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................................21
SECTION 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................23
Introduction......................................................................................................................................23
Facebook Use and Mental Wellbeing ..............................................................................................23
Facebook Quiet Mode and Digital Wellbeing..................................................................................24
Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................24
Policy Review ..................................................................................................................................25
SECTION 4: ACTIVITIES AND TIMESCALES ..............................................................................27
Study Plan ........................................................................................................................................27
Gantt Chart.......................................................................................................................................28
SECTION 5: RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGIES ...............................................29
Introduction......................................................................................................................................29
Research Design...............................................................................................................................29
Research Approach ..........................................................................................................................29
Paradigm of the Study......................................................................................................................30
Study Area........................................................................................................................................31

Study Population ..............................................................................................................................31
Participant Selection (Data Saturation)............................................................................................32
Data Collection Procedure ...............................................................................................................32
Sources and Type of Data ................................................................................................................32
Data Analysis and Interpretation......................................................................................................33
Trustworthiness in the Research ......................................................................................................33
Ethical Consideration.......................................................................................................................34
Organization of the Research ...........................................................................................................35
PART TWO .........................................................................................................................................40
ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................................42
ACKNOWLEDGMENT......................................................................................................................43
SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................46
Background of the study ..................................................................................................................46
Research purpose..............................................................................................................................47
Research questions...........................................................................................................................47
Organization of the research ............................................................................................................47
SECTION 2. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS RESEARCH PROJECT .....................................48
Statement of the problem .................................................................................................................48
Significance of the study..................................................................................................................48
SECTION 3. LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................50
Introduction......................................................................................................................................50
Facebook Use and Mental Wellbeing ..............................................................................................50
Person-Specificity in Facebook and Quiet Mode Usage..................................................................51
Facebook Quiet Mode and Digital Wellbeing..................................................................................51
Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................52
Policy Review ..................................................................................................................................54

SECTION 4. ACTIVITIES AND TIMESCALES ..............................................................................55
Study plan.........................................................................................................................................55
Gantt Chart.......................................................................................................................................56
SECTION 5. RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGIES................................................57
Introduction......................................................................................................................................57
Research Design...............................................................................................................................57
Research Approach ..........................................................................................................................57
Research approach for this study .....................................................................................................58
Qualitative Research Methodologies ...............................................................................................59
Research Methodology for this research..........................................................................................60
Paradigm of the study.......................................................................................................................61
Study Area........................................................................................................................................62
Participant selection (Data saturation) .............................................................................................62
Sample and Recruitment ..................................................................................................................63
Data Collection Method ...................................................................................................................64
Sources and Type of data .................................................................................................................65
Data Analysis and Interpretation......................................................................................................65
Trustworthiness in the research........................................................................................................67
Ethical consideration........................................................................................................................68
Limitation of the study.....................................................................................................................68
Delimitation of the study..................................................................................................................68
SECTION 6. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................70
Introduction......................................................................................................................................70
Participants.......................................................................................................................................70
Themes .............................................................................................................................................71
SECTION 6. CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................83

References............................................................................................................................................84
Appendices...........................................................................................................................................90
PART THREE ...................................................................................................................................100
Presentation Slides .........................................................................................................................101
PART FOUR......................................................................................................................................111
Reflection Paper: Preparing a Research report for Computing Research Project .............................112
Theoretical understanding of subject .............................................................................................112
Evaluation of research methods and strategy.................................................................................113
Evaluation of outcomes..................................................................................................................114
Alternative research methodology .................................................................................................115
Learnt Lessons................................................................................................................................116
Performance Review ......................................................................................................................116
Reflection on actions......................................................................................................................117
Reflection on Further Improvements .............................................................................................118
Future Research consideration .......................................................................................................119
Summary ........................................................................................................................................120
References..........................................................................................................................................121

PART ONE
Develop a research proposal
• Define your research problem or question. This can be stated as a research question, objectives or
hypothesis.
• Provide a literature review giving the background and conceptualization of your proposed area of
study. This would provide existing knowledge and benchmarks by which your data can be judged.
• Consider and define your research methodology and research process. Demonstrate understanding
of the pitfalls and limitations of the methods chosen and ethical issues that might arise.

Research Proposal
Student Name: Anuj Sharma
Centre Name: ISMT College
Tutor: Anup Bhurtel
Research Topic:
Understanding the effectiveness of Facebook's Quiet
Mode on maintaining mental wellbeing of young
adults of Kathmandu
Submission Date: 21 October, 2020

ABSTRACT
Facebook’s Quiet Mode is used as a digital wellbeing tool to give users back their time and maintain
wellbeing of Facebook users. Like various other digital wellbeing tools, its effectiveness is yet to be
measured and understood. Mental wellbeing is affected by several factors, however only wellbeing
through Facebook will be explored. Mental wellbeing being subjective in nature, it is mandatory to
understand how effective is Quiet mode on maintaining mental wellbeing of young adults. In this
study, young adults’ perception about effects of Facebook on mental wellbeing and what effect does
Quiet mode made on their Facebook use will be understood. As participants, young adults of
Kathmandu who have used or are using Quiet mode will be prioritized. The exploratory research
framework will be used and in-depth interview will be done until data saturation is seen. Findings
will be presented after data analysis which will be used to understand about perception about effects
of Facebook and effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet Mode. Finding will open a gateway to
understand about effectiveness of other digital wellbeing tools too and might play a role on spreading
awareness about mental wellbeing and Facebook usage.
Keywords: Digital wellbeing, Quiet Mode, Effectiveness, perception

SECTION 1: TITLE, OBJECTIVE, RESPONSIBILITIES
Background of the Study
Social media like Facebook has been around the world since its beginning. Facebook is now one of
the leading and most known social media, which is used by people of all ages. There are currently
over 2.6 billion monthly active users of Facebook worldwide (Global stats, 2020). Despite having
many positive effects on one’s life, excessive use of Facebook may lead to misuse and addictive
behavior (Griffiths, 2012). Facebook overuse increases screen time and also have an adverse effect
on mental health of people. These effects include sleeping disorder, anxiety, low self-esteem and
ultimately depression. Some research also shows that various people, especially teenagers and young
adults, are not completely aware of such adverse effects of Facebook on their mental wellbeing
(Tsai, et al., 2009). With the increased accessibility and availability of internet, use of social media
like Facebook is currently skyrocketing in Nepal. According to Global stats (2020), the most used
social media in Nepal are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram respectively, among
which 93.31% of social media users use Facebook. Mental health and mental wellbeing are critical
subject but often neglected in developing countries like Nepal. With the rise of Facebook usage but
not enough research with regards to the effect on the mental wellbeing of young adults in Nepal, we
don’t have enough data about the use and effects of Facebook on young adults’ wellbeing in Nepal.
However, various global researches have suggested that Facebook addiction may play a role in
developing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) which may lead to severe mental problems like anxiety,
low self-esteem and depression. When all these problems burst into scene, concept of digital
wellbeing was taken seriously.
Digital wellbeing, defined as the state of being comfortable when using digital technologies, came in
the spotlight when Sundar Pichai spoke about it in Google I/O 2018 (Google, 2018). With the rise of
digital wellbeing concept, Facebook also introduced their own digital wellbeing tool called Quiet
Mode recently. According to Facebook (2020), Quiet mode is the new digital wellbeing tool that can
help users find the right balance for how they use Facebook. Quiet mode not only mutes most
notifications, but it also reminds users they set time aside to limit their time on Facebook. This tools
as introduced to give users their time back and also to promote every aspect of people’s wellbeing
(Facebook, 2020). Despite having a bright future, many young adults believe that some solutions
regarding Facebook use might not support formation of new habits (Alberto Monge Roffarello,
2019), and also might be strongly depends on the monitoring behavior once the monitoring stops, it

may or may not be effective e.g., that feature can easily be neglected after sometime and usage
pattern may not be changed at all. So, it is yet to be understood from Facebook users’ perspective
about the effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet Mode on maintaining their mental wellbeing.
Research Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet Mode on
maintaining the mental wellbeing of young adults of Kathmandu through their own perspective.
Research Questions
- How do young adults perceive about effects of Facebook use on their mental wellbeing?
- How effective is Facebook’s Quiet Mode on changing Facebook’s usage pattern of young
adults?
Delimitation of the Study
The data for research will be collected at Pepsicola because it will be difficult to travel and more
importantly participants of other places might not be ready to meet in the middle of pandemic. Data
will be collected from people of age group 18-24 who use Quiet Mode, since it is believed that 75%
youths identify the problems of mental health before they reach 24. Since there is not enough
existing literature about Quiet Mode hence exploratory research resign will have a deep
understanding about perception of participants.

SECTION 2: REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS RESEARCH PROJECT
Statement of the Problem
To best of our knowledge, there is insufficient research regarding Facebook addiction and its effect
on mental wellbeing of young adults in Nepal. However, in the research of Jha (2016) it has been
revealed that 86.7% of health science students showed they were pretty annoyed when anyone
disturbed them during Facebook, 24.3% of whole participants also admitted they found it difficult to
not to log onto Facebook during one whole day. This may hint towards addictive nature of Facebook.
76.8% of participants also believed that Facebook had negatively affected their overall heath and
behavior, including mental health. The adverse effects on mental aspect experienced by the
participants were disturbed sleep (19%) followed by headache (16%). This research may be a base to
show Facebook addiction has effects on mental wellbeing of young adults, but quantitative approach
was used. This is clearly lack of research about effect of Facebook on mental wellbeing of young
adults which follow qualitative approach.
As a digital tool for managing and reducing screen time, Facebook Quiet mode was introduced. But
there is not any research till date which measures effectiveness or understand effectiveness of Quiet
Mode on maintaining wellbeing of young adults. Most of the research related to feature and tools are
solely focused on measuring the effectiveness based on pre-defined metrics through quantitative
approach (Collins, Cox, Bird & Cornish-Tresstail, 2014). But there are many factors besides pre-
defined metrics of quantitative approach to understand effectiveness of any digital wellbeing tools
which need to be explored. Understanding about effectiveness of feature and tool from a user’s
perspective is slightly neglected in this kind of research. Thus, this subject and different approaches
on digital field and is yet to be explored by researchers.
Facebook’s Quiet Mode being new digital wellbeing tool and affects mental wellbeing but is yet to
be researched through qualitative approach in Nepal so this research is being carried out to
understand from Kathmandu young adults’ perspective about effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet
Mode on maintaining their mental wellbeing.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will help to increase the awareness about the effect of Facebook use on
mental well-being, digital well-being concept, Facebook Quiet Mode which will be beneficial to

Facebook users and digital wellbeing experts. This study will also spread some light on mental health
issues and the overall mental wellbeing of young adults of Nepal. This research can be the bridge for
the communication about mental health issues between people where it is often neglected like Nepal.
This research can crave a path for upcoming researchers to find other critical aspects of social media
which may promote or hinder the overall wellbeing of people which is yet to be found. The findings
of this study can show the picture of where the digital wellbeing concept is heading and how
seriously are tech-giants considering the well-being of their users. This research can also help other
future researchers to evaluate, measure and understand about effectiveness of other digital wellbeing
apps and tools.

SECTION 3: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The following chapter provides a clear picture of existing literature related to concept and its relation
with the subject. It clarifies why research is being done and tries to establish a context for the
research to be completed. This review explains how variables of research topic are interrelated to one
another by analyzing existing literature of different field. This review of existing literature comprises
literature related to Facebook use and mental wellbeing, Facebook’s Quiet mode as digital wellbeing
tool in the form conclusive summary.
Facebook Use and Mental Wellbeing
Using social media is a quotidian phenomenon (Elhai, 2016; Quinn, 2016). The increase in the
number of people using social media or social networking sites is also a worldwide phenomenon,
hence social media has become an integral part of today’s world. Younger age, neuroticism,
extraversion and fear of missing out (FOMO) opened the door for social media usage whereas only
FOMO resulted in social media addiction (Blackwell, et al., 2017). Despite all those positive effects
and additional social support, the excessive use of social media like increases screen time and also
exhibits negative effects on mental health (Lanaj, et al., 2014) and social media addicts also
experience emotional, relational, physical health, mental health, and performance problems (Schou
& Schou, 2015). So, every social media usage should be carefully evaluated and researched.
Having over 2.6 billion monthly active users of worldwide, Facebook is the world’s most widely
used social media (Facebook, 2020). On one side, it has been revealed that Facebook connectedness
is related to higher life satisfaction, and it lowers depression too, which emphasizes that there is a
positive relationship between life satisfaction and Facebook use (Grieve et al., 2013). Numerous
studies also support this and suggest there are positive effects of Facebook on mental health and
boost the overall mental wellbeing. But on the other side, despite having numerous positive effects
on one’s life, excessive use of Facebook may lead to misuse and addictive behavior (Griffiths, 2012).
Internal stimuli like constantly checking Facebook with no reason (Oulasvirta, et al., 2012) play
main role along with external stimuli like notification in causing distraction (Dabbish, et al., 2011)
and developing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) which lead to addictive behavior and can have
negative effects on mental wellbeing of young adults (Jha, 2016).

Facebook Quiet Mode and Digital Wellbeing
The theme of technology and social science has always been apart but are deeply intertwined
(Feenberg, 2020). However, wellbeing differs from one individual to another since it has a different
meaning for different individuals and hence it is hard to determine wellbeing objectively (Brey,
2015). Although wellbeing is of subjective nature, designing technology for wellbeing is very much
possible (Brey, 2018). To make it possible, digital wellbeing concept of google came forward to
design technology for wellbeing of users. Digital wellbeing, defined as the state of being comfortable
when using digital technologies, came in the spotlight when Sundar Pichai spoke about it in Google
I/O 2018 (Google, 2018). Supporting Digital wellbeing concept and also keeping wellbeing of users
in mind, Facebook also launched new digital wellbeing tool called Quiet mode to help users manage
their time on Facebook by controlling external stimuli like notification (Facebook, 2019). According
to Facebook (2020), Quiet mode is the new digital wellbeing tool that can help users find the right
balance for how they use Facebook. This digital wellbeing not only mutes most notifications but it
also reminds users they set this time aside to limit their time in app (Facebook, 2020). Measuring
effectiveness of tools is often envisioned as tools for objectively revealing the world (Sharon &
Zandbergen 2017) and also to have control over how one spends time is a significant measure of
wellbeing (Wajcman 2015: 164). However, digital wellbeing tools and apps have not been evaluated
much by researchers and it is still not clear that how effective are they. Since understanding for
designing for self-regulation of technology use is still in early age (Whittaker, Kalnikaite, Hollis &
Guydish, 2016), there is a lack of robust research on understanding the effectiveness of Facebook
Quiet’s mode from user’s perspective as more research focus on measuring effectiveness through
quantitative approach. Hence this research is being carried out from a qualitative approach to
understand from users’ perspective.
Theoretical Framework
Connecting subjective concept like wellbeing with the technology has always been issue in the
modern society but needs to be done at any cost (Feenberg, 2020). The most common theme of
technology is always considered apart from the common them of social science. However,
(Feenberg, 2020) argue that technology should not be isolate rather should be deeply intertwined
with the social science. Considering that research, Facebook being tech giants not only affect how
one’s perceived the world but might also affect how persons perceive themselves. Technical
acceleration really affects time in phenomenological way which needs to explored through multiple

ways (Feenberg, 2020). Measuring effectiveness of tools is often envisioned as tools for objectively
revealing the world (Sharon & Zandbergen 2017) and also to have control over how one spends time
is a significant measure of wellbeing (Wajcman 2015: 164). However, other thorough approaches
including understanding effectiveness of those tools is slightly complex and multifaceted (Lupton,
2016). A growing trend in the socio-technology research is to think beyond the box in order to
understand specific research problems from fresh perspective. The theory of behavior is centered to
explain more about subjective matter. So, in order to go beyond metrics and quantifiable approach,
the framework which will be used in this study is exploratory framework of the theory of behavior.
This framework works based on behavioral intention and behavior of individual in using Quiet mode
through their own attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.
However, completer and more comprehensive theoretical framework will be developed after data
analysis.
Fig: Theory of Planned behavior
Policy Review
Facebook has various policy regarding maintaining wellbeing of users. As stated on Facebook’s
Newsroom statement says that the company will “no longer allow graphic cutting images to avoid
unintentionally promoting or triggering self-harm, even when someone is seeking support or
expressing themselves to aid their recovery” (Facebook, 2020). It suggests that Facebook care about

overall mental wellbeing of users so no any things which hampers wellbeing could be posted.
Ministry of Health, shortly known as MoH, adopted five policies regarding mental health of people
which clearly states enhancing public awareness to promote mental health and combat stigma
resulting from mental illness, and promote and manage health information system and research
(Ministry of Health and Population [MoHP], 2020). Since Nepal lacks strict policies and laws about
individual wellbeing through Facebook, this research can be a hint towards the mental wellbeing of
young adults to a little extend and more strict policies could be made in future.

SECTION 4: ACTIVITIES AND TIMESCALES
Study Plan
The study plan of the research is illustrated in the table below with milestones
S.N. Task/milestones Start Date End Date Duration
1. Review of existing literature
related to digital wellbeing theme
08/07/2020 08/15/2020 8 days
2. Identifying research problems 08/15/2020 08/20/2020 5 days
3. Selecting Research Topic 08/21/2020 08/25/2020 4 days
4. Reviewing existing literature
related to research topic
08/26/2020 09/03/2020 8 days
5. Preparation of Research Proposal 09/04/2020 09/29/2020 25 days
6. Revision of Research Proposal 09/30/2020 10/05/2020 05 days
7. Data collection 11/03/2020 11/28/2020 25 days
8. Writing report 11/28/2020 12/ 18/2020 20 days
9. Final report submission 12/18/2020 12/21/2020 03 days

Gantt Chart

SECTION 5: RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGIES
Introduction
This chapter describes the methods which will be used in understanding the effectiveness of
Facebook’s Quiet Mode on maintaining the wellbeing of young adults of Nepal. This chapter clearly
illustrates that research is being carried out through a qualitative approach. Along with study design,
a paradigm of the study which has influenced the research is clearly explained through different
philosophical assumptions. The study area and the population are clearly defined with proper reason
on why they will be chosen. Tools and techniques for data collection and analysis and interpretation
will be explained here. Along with ethical concern, how trustworthiness will be maintained will be
clearly stated here.
Research Design
Research design is the way of establishing a roadmap to conduct the research. It is all about how
your structure and organize your study. It dictates your study and clearly outlines the data you are
going to collect, methods and methodology to apply and also how you analyze and interpret data to
answer your research questions (Faryadi, 2019). In particular, this study will follow an exploratory
design.
This study will utilize small sample sizes and rather emphasize insights than a definitive conclusion.
Since Quiet mode being a new digital wellbeing tool, there are few earlier studies on this subject.
This study focuses on relating new terms with existing concept and hence exploratory design will be
used.
Research Approach
The research approach is a plan and procedure which comprises the steps of broad assumptions to
detailed methods of data collection, analysis and interpretation (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012).
In simple words, it is based on the nature of the research problem being addressed (Saunders, Lewis
& Thornhill, 2012). For data collection, there are three types of approach qualitative approach,
quantitative approach and mixed approach. For Data Analysis, there are mainly three approaches:
inductive approach, deductive approach, and abductive research approach. For data collection, a
qualitative approach will be used since qualitative data related to mental wellbeing is needed to
understand effectiveness from the user’s perspective. And for data analysis, an inductive approach
will be used. No hypothesis will be used in this research. The theory will be generated through a

specific pattern formed at last through deep observation and interviewing of the participants so an
inductive approach will be used.
Paradigm of the Study
A research paradigm is “the set of common beliefs and agreement shared between scientist about
how problems should be understood and addressed. (Kuhn, 1970). This study is based on the
interpretive paradigm. Well-being is subjective. It differs from person to person. The study is solely
focused on understanding through participants’ perception and hence interpretive paradigm. Four
assumptions of this research paradigm are explained below:
1. Ontology
Ontology refers to the nature of our beliefs about reality. In the briefer term, it is the
researcher’s assumptions about the nature of the world and social reality which establish
subjects we dissect to sort out the importance embedded in research data and helps to
determine what research objects and phenomena to focus on, orientate our thinking about the
research problem, its significance, research questions and way to find their answer (Kivunja
& Kuyini, 2017; Saunders et al., 2019). This research follows the interpretive paradigm, so
have the ontological assumption that the nature of reality is subjective, multiple, and may
change accordingly. In this study, Quiet may be effective in maintaining the wellbeing of one
young adult and can be ineffective at the same time for others. Certain factors related to
mental wellbeing or participants’ understanding may play a role in having multiple realities at
the same time.
2. Epistemology
Epistemology refers to “the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge and
the process by which knowledge is acquired and validated” (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2003, p.13).
This research is based on understanding the effectiveness of Quiet Mode on the mental
wellbeing of young adults who follow interpretive paradigm so knowledge will be generated
through understanding of subjective meanings, specific and dynamic contexts, through
naturalistic observation.
3. Axiology
Axiology is the branch of philosophy that studies judgement about value, explores the nature
of values (Saunders, et al., 2012). In simple term, axiology is engaged with the assessment of
the role of the researcher’s value on all stages of research. Right and wrong behavior about
the research should be defined, evaluated and understood in axiology. This search is guided

by an interpretive paradigm so subjectivity will be assessed. The research will be done in a
natural setting where participants feel comfortable. The obtained data may be critical, and
hence there will be truthfulness in interpreting the obtained data. Participants will not be
forced to answer questions, which makes them uncomfortable.
4. Methodology
The methodology can be referred to as the strategy, plan of action, process or design that
informs the choice of research methods. In simple terms, it means how a particular piece of
research should be undertaken (Grix, 2004). The researcher questions about how to study the
world of research are answered by methodological questions (Rehman & Alharthi, 2016).
This study is based on an interpretive paradigm so an in-depth interview will be the
methodology. Since the research questions need a qualitative approach and also follow the
exploratory design, so data will be obtained through face-to-face interview with semi-
structured questions. Those data will be used to set a hypothesis
Study Area
The study will be conducted in Pepsicola, Kathmandu. This study area will be used because of two
key reasons. The first one is feasibility in collecting data. A qualitative approach will be used and
related data about the subject matter will be collected through the in-depth interview so during a
pandemic, it will be hard to travel to other places and participants also might not be ready to meet for
a face-to-face interview. The second one is feasibility in finding participants, snowball sampling will
be done so it will be easy to find different participants through one participant within a limited
territory.
Study Population
In research, the population can be referred to as a comprehensive group of individuals, institutions,
object and so forth with have a common characteristic that is the interest of a researcher.
The study population of this research are young adults (18-24) of Pepsicola who use Facebook’s
Quiet Mode. The age group of 18-24 will be studied since they fall under the category of young
adults and it had also been revealed that about 75% of youths identify the problems of mental health
before they reach 24 and also use Facebook quite often. Since research is about understanding about
the effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet Mode so people with prior knowledge about the tool will be
prioritized.

Participant Selection (Data Saturation)
In research, participants size can be referred to as the total number of participants selected for the
study. Qualitative research experts argue that there is no correct answer about ‘how many samples
size or participants size’ in qualitative research since it is very dependent on several factors relating
to epistemological, methodological and practical issues (Baker & Edwards, 2012). So, the criteria
which will be used by this research to determine participants size is data saturation. As researchers
see similar data repeated over and over again and that no additional data are being found about the
subject matter then sampling will be stopped.
Data Collection Procedure
The population will be categorized by geographical location, participants’ knowledge about subject
matter and time of the training. As research will use a qualitative approach and exploratory design,
an in-depth interview will be done to collect data from participants. Face to face interview will be
done to understand deeply participants perception of the subject matter. As Snowball sampling will
be done so interview schedule will be set according to the feasibility of both researcher and
participants. Mental wellbeing being subjective and critical, semi-structured questions pattern will be
used. However, the pattern of a semi-structured question will be used to keep participants within the
subject matter and to have a deep understanding. Order and number of questions may change since
some participants may want or may not want to answer some questions due to various personals
reasons. The interview will be done only after the approval of participants. Participants' approval will
be taken through phone contact and entire aspects of the research topic will be clearly explained
before the interview. To maintain the integrity of data and control researcher biases, an additional
authentic person will be taken at the interview. The entire interview session may be recorded via
camcorder or noted as per the wish of participants for further analysis and interpretation. Re-piloting
will be done if necessary and data collection will be stopped when data saturation is seen on the
obtained data.
Sources and Type of Data
The data will be collected from two sources i.e., primary source and secondary sources. The data
collected from primary sources are known as primary data and the data collected from secondary
sources is called secondary sources.
1. Primary source: - In-depth interview

2. Secondary sources: - Books, Journal, websites etc.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
The process of bringing order, structure and meaning to the mass of collected data is considered as
data analysis (Marshall & Rossman, 2011). Similarly, Qualitative data analysis can be explained as
the way of making sense from participants’ views and opinions of situations, corresponding patterns,
themes to correlate among categories of data (Cohen et al., 2007; Marshall & Rossman, 2011)
After finishing data collection, the researcher only has raw data which generally means nothing
before its analysis and interpretation. Data analysis and interpretation will be done manually. Firstly,
data transcription will be done. The recorded interview will be transformed into text format and all
noted data will be once again noted in the same file. Data of participants will be noted separately and
as it is without changing single words. The same opinions will be categorized into specific groups
based on their connection to the overall theme of research which will be interpreted as key findings
of the research. However, the opinions of each participant will be presented as it is as the opinions of
the participants regarding the research topic and some interpretation of the researcher will be written
at last of research findings chapter.
Trustworthiness in the Research
Trustworthiness is the term used in qualitative research to know to which extent researches are
believable and trustworthy. Since most qualitative research is not generally based upon standardized
instruments and they often utilize smaller and non-random samples that question whether research is
trustworthy or not. Many researchers even criticize the biasness of findings of this type of research
(Gunawan, 2015). According to Guba & Lincoln (1985), there are mainly four basic criteria to
ensure the trustworthiness of the Qualitative research which are being used as criteria for ensuring
the trustworthiness of this research.
1. Credibility
Credibility in qualitative research is equivalent to validity in quantitative research. Guba and
Lincoln (1985) argue that ensuring credibility is one of the most important factors in ensuring
the trustworthiness of research. It can be defined as the extent to which the data and data
analysis are believable and trustworthy. Triangulation, peer scrutiny. Member checks,
reflective commentary, iterative questioning, examination of previous research findings,
observations of participants will be done for ensuring credibility and support the
trustworthiness of the research.

2. Transferability
Transferability in qualitative research generalizes study findings and try to apply them to
other situation and contexts. The researchers can only determine the possibility that data can
be transferred in other situations rather than proving it can be transferred. Guba and Lincoln
(1985) suggested that it is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure that sufficient
contextual information about the fieldwork sites is provided to enable the reader or other
researcher to make such a transfer. Purposive sampling will be done in order to get rich
contextual data.
3. Dependability
Dependability in qualitative research is equivalent to reliability in quantitative research which
is the consistency of observing the same finding under similar circumstances. Dependability
can be achieved through auditing which consists of the researcher’s documentation of data,
methods used, decisions made during the research (Seale, 1999). Thick, rich and elaborative
data will be collected through in-depth interview and a description of the research will be
presented with researcher commentary.
4. Confirmability
Confirmability is the degree to which the findings of the research can be confirmed or
corroborated by others. Replications of the findings are important to prove research is subject
to minimum biasness or no biasness. Seale (1999) argues that proper auditing could be used
to ensure confirmability in which the researcher makes the provision of a methodological
self-critical account of how the research was done (p.45). Reporting results, member
checking and thorough descriptions of the setting will be presented to have more realistic
findings.
Ethical Consideration
In many kinds of research, it is mandatory to protect human subjects through the application of
appropriate ethical principles (Orb, Eisenhauer & Wynaden, 2001). To keep the perfect balance
between the potential risks of research and the likely benefits of the research, the consideration of
ethical issues is crucial (Arifin, 2018). So, the responsibility of the researcher to maintain ethical
principles will be outlined clearly for the participants. Firstly, Participants will be made fully aware
of research questions and topic and participants will not be forced to be a part of research if they
don’t want to be. Mental wellbeing is a critical aspect so the researcher will be ensured of the
confidentiality of their data. Participants will have full freedom of not answering the certain question

if they don’t feel comfortable. Private information like their name, address, phone number will not be
exposed under any circumstances. The researcher will respect every right of participants and research
ethics and research will be done being within the boundary of those aspects.
Organization of the Research
This study has been organized into 3 main chapters. In the first chapter, the study has been
introduced briefly. In the introduction section, firstly the research has presented an introduction
which highlights overall key terms of study. After the introduction, the research problem has been
emphasized through some existing literature on that particular field on the portion called ‘Statement
of the problem’. The gaps found on ‘Statement of the problem’ has been presented as the main
purpose of the study later with certain research topics which will be used on addressing the purpose.
Limitation and delimitation of the study have also been highlighted.
In the very next chapter, a literature review of the existing literature has been done in the conclusive
summary which used to link our research through previous literature. Within the literature review,
the theoretical framework of the study has been highlighted.
In the last chapter, research methods were highlighted which will be used to carry out the study.
Here, study design, the paradigm of the study, study population, study area, sample size data
collection procedures, data analysis and interpretation procedure were discussed along with some
ethical consideration of the research and organization of the study.

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PART TWO
Carry out the research and prepare a research report
• Conduct your research as outlined in your proposal. Keep track of your findings as you work.
• Carry out your research and analyses your findings in relation to your original research question.
Draw conclusions.

Understanding the effectiveness of Facebook's
Quiet Mode on maintaining mental wellbeing of
young adults of Kathmandu
by
Anuj Sharma
A dissertation submitted to the assignment department of ISMT for the degree of
BTEC HND in Computing.
Tutor: Anup Bhurtel.
International School of Management and Technology (ISMT)
Tinkune, Kathmandu
2021

ABSTRACT
Facebook’s Quiet Mode is used as a digital wellbeing tool to give users back their time and maintain
the well-being of Facebook users. Like various other digital wellbeing tools, its effectiveness was yet
to be measured and understood. This research study examines young adults’ perception of the
effectiveness of Quiet Mode on maintaining their mental wellbeing. This, study, based on the
interpretive paradigm, used exploratory design to understand young adults’ perception of the effects
of Facebook on their mental wellbeing and the effectiveness of Quiet mode on maintaining their
mental wellbeing. This study recruited participants who had experience with Facebook as well as
Quiet Mode. Participant perception and feedback were analyzed to answer the modelled research
questions presented in the study. It also provided knowledge about existing literature which was used
to present the theory of planned behavior as the theoretical framework of this research. It also spread
light on various research method, process and methodology to justified the reason for selecting
interview of exploratory design of inductive approach.
These study findings suggested that Facebook have negatively affected mental wellbeing. Facebook
can leave some individual in a state where they always have the feeling of annoyance, low self-
esteem, fear of missing out (FOMO) and stress and anxiety. The research findings also suggested
that young adults perceive the effectiveness of Quiet mode on maintaining their mental wellbeing: as
a showoff feature, as a Gatekeeper, could have been much more effective and as a pile of
notifications after disabling Quiet Mode. Findings were later discussed and concluded in an effective
manner.
Keywords: Digital wellbeing, Quiet Mode, Effectiveness, perception

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I am a lifelong learner who seeks to learn what I can to be the best person and leader. I wanted to get
my Bachelor’s degree for various reasons. One reason I wanted the degree is to prove that a person
with average intelligence can get a degree through hard work, persistence, and the support of others.
I decided to complete my Bachelor’s degree to continue learning, too. Besides this, I wanted to
complete research on my own to have a greater understanding of the subject through different
available works of literature. I wanted to learn about the process of writing a research proposal as
well as a full research paper. My goal is to be a master of my field and fate. I am willing to be
independent of my virtual social media life, so I chose this research topic to foster a greater
understanding of this subject matter.
However, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this research without the help of others. Staying
motivated to explore a new subject and a new process was very crucial throughout the writing and
revision process. I have many people to thank. First of all, I want to thank my mom and dad. They
constantly motivated me to do my task for my better future. My hardest critics and also my biggest
fan were my brothers and sisters. They constantly criticized my work through honest feedback, even
though there are times I do not enjoy hearing it. I love them for that because they helped me
complete this research. I would also like to thank Novia, my hearty friend, who pushed me very hard
so that I would focus on my research paper.
I want to thank my research professor Mr. Anup Bhurtel for all of his time and attention to my
research paper. This research would not have been completed without his guidance and dedication. I
appreciate his feedback and efforts in making me a better researcher and learning throughout this
process. His modelling and passion for changing the way researcher should think inspired and
motivated me to complete this research. Besides this, I would also like to thank Mr. Nirajan Rijal sir
for providing me various support through constant feedback and guidance.
Lastly, I want to thank my friends from college who helped pull me through the rough days to
complete this research paper. Without my friends, I would not have been able to cope with certain
circumstances and would not have been here. I thank every one of you guys for your support and
hope that I can support you as well.

Contents
ABSTRACT...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Background of the study ............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Research purpose........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Research questions.....................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Organization of the research ......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 2. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS RESEARCH PROJECTError! Bookmark not
defined.
Statement of the problem ...........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Significance of the study............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 3. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Introduction................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Facebook use and mental wellbeing...........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Person-Specificity in Facebook and Quiet Mode Usage............Error! Bookmark not defined.
Facebook Quiet Mode and digital wellbeing .............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Theoretical Framework ..............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Policy Review ............................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 4. ACTIVITIES AND TIMESCALES ........................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Study plan...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Gantt Chart.................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 5. RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGIESError! Bookmark not defined.

Research Design.........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Research Approach ....................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Research approach for this study ...............................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Qualitative Research Methodologies .........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Research Methodology for this research....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Paradigm of the study.................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Study Area..................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Participants selection (Data saturation)......................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Sample and Recruitment ............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Data Collection Method .............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Sources and Type of data ...........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Data Analysis and Interpretation................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Trustworthiness in the research..................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Ethical consideration..................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Limitation of the study...............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Delimitation of the study............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 6. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Participants.................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Themes .......................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
SECTION 6. CONCLUSION........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
References......................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………….Error
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SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Social media like Facebook has been around the world since its beginning. Facebook is now one of
the leading and most known social media, which is used by people of all ages. There are currently
over 2.6 billion monthly active users of Facebook worldwide (Global stats, 2020). Despite being
numerous positive impacts on one’s life, excessive use of Facebook may lead to misuse and
addictive behavior (Griffiths, 2012). Facebook overuse increases screen time and also have an
adverse effect on the mental health of people. These effects include sleeping disorder, anxiety, low
self-esteem and ultimately depression. Some research also shows that various people, especially
teenagers and young adults, are not completely aware of such adverse effects of Facebook on their
mental wellbeing (Tsai, et al., 2009). With the increased accessibility and availability of the internet,
the use of social media like Facebook is currently skyrocketing in Nepal. According to Global stats
(2020), the most used social media in Nepal are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram
respectively, among which 93.31% of social media users use Facebook. Mental health and mental
wellbeing are critical subject but often neglected in developing countries like Nepal. With the rise of
Facebook usage but not enough research on regards to its effect on the mental wellbeing of young
adults in Nepal, we don’t have enough data about the use and effects of Facebook on young adults’
wellbeing in Nepal. However, various global researches have suggested that Facebook addiction may
play a role in developing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) which may lead to severe mental problems
like anxiety, low self-esteem and depression. When all these problems burst into the scene, the
concept of digital wellbeing was taken seriously.
Digital wellbeing, defined as the state of being comfortable when using digital technologies, came
into the spotlight when Sundar Pichai spoke about it in Google I/O 2018 (Google, 2018). With the
rise of the digital well-being concept, Facebook also introduced their digital wellbeing tool called
Quiet Mode recently. According to Facebook (2020), Quiet mode is the new digital wellbeing tool
that can help users find the right balance for how they use Facebook. Quiet mode not only mutes
most notifications but also reminds users they set this time aside to limit their time in the app. These
tools as introduced to give users their time back and also to promote every aspect of people’s
wellbeing (Facebook, 2020). Despite having a bright future, many young adults believe that some
solutions regarding Facebook usage might not be sufficient to support the formation of new and also

might be strongly depending on the monitoring behavior once the monitoring stops, it may or may
not be effective e.g., that feature can easily be neglected after some time and usage pattern may not
be changed at all. So, it was yet to be understood from Facebook users’ perspective about the
effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet Mode on maintaining their mental wellbeing.
Research Purpose
The purpose of this study was to understand the effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet Mode on
maintaining the mental wellbeing of young adults of Kathmandu through their own perspective.
Research Questions
- How do young adults perceive about effects of Facebook use on their mental wellbeing?
- How do users describe their feelings about effectiveness Facebook’s Quiet Mode on changing
their Facebook’s usage pattern?
Organization of the Research
This study has been organized into 3 main chapters. In the first chapter, the study had been
introduced briefly. In the introduction section, firstly the research had presented an introduction that
highlights the overall key terms of study. After the introduction, the research problem had been
emphasized through some existing literature on that particular field on the portion called ‘Statement
of the problem’. The gaps found on ‘Statement of the problem’ has been presented as the main
purpose of the study later with certain research topics which were used on addressing the purpose.
Limitation and delimitation of the study have also been highlighted.
In the very next chapter, a literature review of the existing literature has been done inconclusive
summary which used to link our research through previous literature. Within the literature review,
the theoretical framework of the study has been highlighted.
In the last chapter, research methods were highlighted which were used to carry out the study. Here,
study design, the paradigm of the study, study population, study area, sample size data collection
procedures, data analysis and interpretation procedure were discussed along with some ethical
consideration of the research and organization of the study.

SECTION 2. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS RESEARCH PROJECT
Statement of the Problem
To the best of our knowledge, there is insufficient research regarding Facebook addiction and its
effect on the mental wellbeing of young adults in Nepal. However, in the research of Jha (2016), it
has been revealed that 86.7% of health science students indicated that they were pretty annoyed
when anyone disturbed them during Facebook, 24.3 % of whole participants also admitted they
found it difficult not to log onto Facebook during one whole day. This may hint at the addictive
nature of Facebook. 76.8 % of participants also believed that Facebook had negatively affected their
overall health and behavior including mental health. The adversely effects on the mental aspect
experienced by the participants were disturbed sleep (19%) followed by headache (16%). This
research may be used as a base to show Facebook addiction has effects on the mental wellbeing of
young adults but a quantitative approach was used. This was a lack of research about the effect of
Facebook on the mental wellbeing of young adults which follow a qualitative approach.
As a digital tool for managing and reducing screen time, Facebook Quiet mode was introduced. But
there is no research to date which measures the effectiveness or understanding of the effectiveness of
Quiet Mode on maintaining the wellbeing of young adults. Most of the research related to feature
and tools are solely focused on measuring the effectiveness based on pre-defined metrics through
quantitative approach (Collins, Cox, Bird & Cornish-Tresstail, 2014). But there are many factors
besides pre-defined metrics of a quantitative approach to understanding the effectiveness of any
digital wellbeing tools which needs to be explored. Understanding the effectiveness of feature and
tool from the user’s perspective was slightly neglected in this kind of research. Thus, this subject
matter and different approaches to the digital field was yet to be explored by researchers.
Facebook’s Quiet Mode being a new digital well-being tool and affects mental wellbeing but was yet
to be researched through a qualitative approach in Nepal so this research was carried out to
understand from Kathmandu young adults’ perspective about the effectiveness of Facebook’s Quiet
Mode on maintaining their mental wellbeing. It is hoped that the future findings can open a gate to
explore a novel approach to attract more researcher to find various factors about the effects of
Facebook and digital wellbeing tools on the mental well-being of young adults.

Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will help to increase the awareness about the effect of Facebook use on
mental well-being, digital well-being concept, Facebook Quiet Mode, which will be beneficial to
Facebook users and digital well-being experts. This study will also spread some light on mental
health issues and the overall mental wellbeing of young adults of Nepal. This research can be the
bridge for the communication about mental health issues between peoples where it is often neglected
like Nepal.
This research can crave a path for upcoming researchers to find other critical aspects of social media
which may promote or hinder the overall wellbeing of people which is yet to be found. The findings
of this study can show the picture of where the digital wellbeing concept is heading and how
seriously are tech-giants considering the well-being of their users. This research can also help other
future researchers to evaluate, measure and understand about effectiveness of other digital wellbeing
apps and tools.

SECTION 3. LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The following chapter provides a clear picture of existing literature related to the concept and its
relation to the subject matter. This portion clarifies why research is being done and try to establish a
context for the research to be completed. This review explains how variables of research topic are
interrelated to one another by analyzing existing literature of the different field. This review of
existing literature consists of literature related to Facebook use and mental wellbeing, Facebook’s
Quiet mode as a digital wellbeing tool in the form of conclusive summary. Finally, the chapter
polishes in on some theoretical underpinnings of the study along with reviewing some of the existing
policies regarding Facebook and mental wellbeing as well.
Facebook Use and Mental Wellbeing
Using social media is a quotidian phenomenon (Elhai, 2016) (Quinn, 2016) and increment in the
number of users of social media or social networking sites is also a global phenomenon, hence social
media has become an integral part of today’s world. Younger age, neuroticism, extraversion and fear
of missing out (FOMO) opened the door for social media usage whereas only FOMO resulted in
social media addiction. (Blackwell, Leaman, Tramposch, Osborne, & Liss, 2017). Despite all those
positive effects and additional social support, the excessive use of social media increases screen time
and also exhibits negative effects on mental health. (Lanaj, Johnson, & Barnes, 2014) and social
media addicts also experience emotional, relational, physical health, mental health, and performance
problems. (Andreassen & Schou, 2015). So, every social media usage should be carefully evaluated
and researched.
Having more than 2.6 billion monthly active users worldwide (Facebook, 2020) Facebook is the
world’s most widely used social media. On one side, it has been revealed that Facebook
connectedness is related to higher life satisfaction, and it lowers depression too, which tends to
emphasize that there is a positive relationship between life satisfaction and Facebook use (Grieve et
al., 2013). Numerous studies also support this and suggest there are positive impacts of Facebook on
mental health and boost overall mental wellbeing. But on the other side, despite having numerous
positive impacts on one’s life, excessive use of Facebook may lead to misuse and addictive behavior
(Griffiths, 2012). Internal stimuli like constantly checking Facebook without any reason (Oulasvirta,

Rattenbury, Ma, & Raita, 2012) play a crucial role along with external stimuli like notification in
causing distraction. (Dabbish, Mark, & Gonzalez, 2011) and developing FOMO (Fear of Missing
Out) which lead to addictive behavior and can have negative effects on the mental wellbeing of
young adults (Jha, 2016).
Person-Specificity in Facebook and Quiet Mode Usage
Apart from social support, the various reasons for using Facebook include the desire for friends,
entertainment, knowledge, and convenience as well as social capital and life satisfaction (Basilisco &
Cha, 2015). However, factors that influence Facebook and alter the pattern of Facebook usage
include attitude towards Facebook, subjective norms of individual, perceived behavioral control of
the individual over Facebook. Behavioral psychology also plays a major role in affecting one’s
Facebook usage pattern. Facebook and Technology addiction is commonly thought to be a
temporally stable and structurally invariant condition that can be identified using a ‘one-size-fits-all’
screening tool (Huang, 2010) (Yu & Shek, 2013). However, various literature questions the
validation of the assumption in this research. Temporal stability may be an unwarranted assumption,
as research shows that excessive media use is sometimes only temporary- and potentially function-
coping response to a certain instantaneous stressful life event (Li et al., 2010). Structural invariance
may also be an unwarranted assumption, as studies show that problematic use can have different
forms, depending on the pathways leading to it which is person-specific and subjective (Billieux,
2012). However, general screening instrument like digital wellbeing tool can find difficulty
differentiating passionate and enthusiastic media users from pathological users (Billieux, 2012).
Different other factors can help in changing behavioral aspect of the individual like the behavior of
checking and interacting with notification creates a cognitive reward system, and this behavior is
likely to be an adopter into the user’s daily routine life. (Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014). However,
the addiction model is nowadays frequently applied to excessive behaviors but such an approach,
which is centered around excessive usage behavior, might lead to neglecting the key psychological
factors or processes (motivational, affective, cognitive, interpersonal and social) sustaining
dysfunctional involvement in specific conduct. (Dudley, Kuyken & Padesky, 2011; Kinderman &
Tai, 2007). These factors might play a vital role in with-holding or changing behavioral aspect of
individual towards Facebook and Quiet mode as well.
Facebook Quiet Mode and Digital Wellbeing
The theme of technology and social science has always been considered apart but are deeply

intertwined (Feenberg, 2020). However, wellbeing differs from one individual to another since it has
a different meaning for different individuals and hence it is hard to determine wellbeing objectively
(Brey, 2015). Although wellbeing is subjective, designing technology for wellbeing is very much
possible (Brey, 2018). To make it possible, the digital wellbeing concept of google came forward to
design technology for the wellbeing of users. Digital wellbeing, defined as the state of being
comfortable when using digital technologies, came into the spotlight when Sundar Pichai spoke
about it in Google I/O 2018 (Google, 2018). Digital wellbeing does not medicalize people’s
relationship with technology but recognizes both problems and benefits experienced with
connectivity, that acknowledge the subjective and dynamic nature of our experiences with
technology, and that recognize the ambivalence of our relationship to technology (Vanden Abeele,
2020).
Supporting the digital well-being concept and also keeping the well-being of users in mind,
Facebook also launched a new digital wellbeing tool called Quiet mode to help users manage their
time on Facebook by controlling external stimuli like notification (Facebook, 2019). According to
Facebook (2020), Quiet mode is the new digital wellbeing tool that can help users find the right
balance for how they use Facebook. This digital wellbeing not only mutes most notifications but also
reminds users that they set this time aside to limit their time in-app (Facebook, 2020). Measuring the
effectiveness of tools is often envisioned as tools for objectively revealing the world (Sharon &
Zandbergen 2017) and also having control over how one spends time is a significant measure of
wellbeing (Wajcman 2015: 164). However, digital wellbeing tools and apps have not been evaluated
much by researchers and it is still not clear that how effective are they. Since understanding for
designing for self-regulation of technology use is still at an early age (Whittaker, Kalnikaite, Hollis
& Guydish, 2016), there is a lack of robust research on understanding the effectiveness of Facebook
Quiet’s mode from user’s perspective as more research focuses on measuring effectiveness through a
quantitative approach. Hence this research was carried out from a qualitative approach to understand
from users’ perspective.
Theoretical Framework
Connecting subjective concept like wellbeing with technology has always been an issue in modern
society but needs to be done at any cost (Feenberg, 2020). The most common theme of technology is
always considered apart from the common theme of social science. However, (Feenberg, 2020) argue
that technology should not be isolated rather should be deeply intertwined with social science.
Taking account of those research, Facebook being tech giants not only affect how one’s perceived

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