Research proposal on Social Media

1. Impact of social media on student’s self-satisfaction at
higher education level
Session: 2016-2019
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The Islamia Universityof Bahawalpur

2. INTRODUCTION
With the expansion of technology and the internet, social media websites have become more and
more popular. Among the most popular, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seem to be social
media platforms that many people use frequently in their everyday lives. It is questioned whether
social media has any negative effects on the individuals who use them often. For those who are
constant tweeters, Facebookers and/or Instagrammers, another question for research is whether
this has any effect on their self-concept or self-satisfaction. Does it make them feel better or
worse about themselves, or does it have a neutral effect on users? Many studies and experiments
have been done on the various factors that affect self-report, but there has not been a wide array
of studies on social media’s effect on self-report in particular. Now that social media has
developed into a more accessible online platform and has become more prominent in many
people’s everyday lives, studying the effect it has on individuals is an important aspect to
explore. Recent studies have shown that social media use is a good predictor of body
dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and life satisfaction in adolescent girls (Ferguson,
Muñoz, Garza, & Galindo, 2014). Other studies have shown that increased feelings of envy are
significantly related to decreased feelings of life satisfaction and self-esteem for women who use
online blogs and social media (Cretti, 2015). Many studies have also shown that social media use
causes individuals to create negative social comparisons with the people that they follow or are
friends with on social media websites, which leads to negative effects on self-report (Vogel,
Rose, Okdie, Eckles, & Franz, 2015); (de Vries & Kühne, 2015); (Vogel, Rose, Roberts, &
Eckles, 2014).
Social comparison theory is a psychological theory originally coined by Leon Festinger in 1954.
This theory focuses on the belief that individuals have a drive to gain accurate self-evaluations.

3. The social comparison theory explains how individuals compare themselves to others to evaluate
their own opinions and abilities in order to reduce any uncertainty in these areas and to learn how
to define the self. Social comparison can be a way of self-enhancement by downward social
comparisons, by means of looking to another individual or group that they consider to be worse
off than them in order to feel better about themselves. It can also have a negative impact on an
individual’s self-report by means of upward comparisons, when comparing themselves with
others who are better off or superior. Such negative social comparisons are detrimental to the
perceptions about the self.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The statement of the problem will be ‘Impact of social media on student’s self-satisfaction at
higher education level’.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study will be
1. To analyze the impact of social media on students self-satisfaction at higher education
level.
2. To find out the positive impacts of social media on students self-satisfaction at higher
education level.
3. To enlist the negative impacts of social media on students self-satisfaction at higher
education level.
4. To find out the factors creating negative impacts on student’s life satisfaction at higher
education level.

4. 5. To give suggestion to minimize the negative impacts of social media on students self-
satisfaction at higher education level.
1.4 REASEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How much time they use the social media?
2. What are their academic achievements?
3. When they sleep?
4. What are their eating habits?
5. Which type of dresses they use to wear?
6. Are they happy with their life style?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will be helpful to improve the student’s academic results, give help the teachers to
engage the students in different healthy and interesting activities. Study will also be helpful for
their parents to give them good alternatives to minimize the negative activities.
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research will be descriptive in nature and data will be collected through questionnaires and
interview by adopting survey method.
1.6.1 Population
Population of the study will consist of chairpersons, teachers and the students of the higher
education sectors of Southern Punjab in Pakistan.

5. 1.6.2 Sample
200 teachers including chairpersons, 400 students will be selected randomly from the Higher
education institution of the Southern Punjab.
1.6.3 Instrument
For the collection of data interview and questionnaire will be used by the researcher.
Questionnaire will be prepared by using 7 point Likert’s scale.
1.7 DATA ANLYSIS
Collected data will be analyzed by using SPSS data analysis sheet.

6. References
Clay, D. H. (2005). Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Adolescent Girls: Testing the Influence of
Sociocultural Factors. Journal Of Research On Adolescence (WileyBlackwell), 15(4), 451-477.
Cretti, C. (2015). The relationship between envy, life-satisfaction, and self-esteem for female readers of
women's online personal lifestyle blogs. Dissertation Abstracts International, 76.
de Vries, D. A.,& Kühne, R. (2015). Facebook and self-perception: Individual susceptibility to negative
social comparison on facebook. Personality And Individual Differences,86217- 221.
doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.029
Ferguson, C. J., Muñoz, M. E., Garza, A., & Galindo, M. (2014). Concurrent and prospective analyses of
peer, television and social media influences on body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms and life
satisfaction in adolescent girls. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence,43(1), 1-14. doi:10.1007/s10964-
012-9898-9
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7117-140.
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Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Dmitrieva, J.,& Farruggia, S. P. (2003). Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale--
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Lup, K. L. (2015). Instagram #Instasad?:Exploring Associations Among Instagram Use,Depressive
Symptoms, Negative Social Comparison, and Strangers Followed. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social
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Valenzuela, S., Park,N., & Kee,K. F. (2009). Is there social capital in a social network site?: Facebook
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Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P.,Okdie, B. M., Eckles, K.,& Franz, B. (2015). Who compares and despairs? The
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Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P.,Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-
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