Quantitative Research on Perceptions of Texas Tech University Students about Social Media

Niloofar Gholamrezaei

Academic Writing ESL 5315, Fall, 2016
Texas Tech University

Abstract

This paper is a quantitative research on perceptions of Texas Tech University students about social media. I conducted this research for my academic writing class. In this research, I wanted to know about Texas Tech (TTU) students’ perceptions on five different features of social media: social media and their security, the most well-liked kind of social media, social media and constructing students’ identity, social media and social change, and social media and students’ happiness. In this regard, I had some assumptions, and then I examined the correctness of them by conducting surveys among two hundred and ninety-six students at TTU. I also engaged twelve articles about social media to deepen the content of my hypotheses and arguments. The goal for writing this paper was practicing academic writing through social science research. Thus, the results of the research are not scientifically valid, mainly due to the limited numbers of the surveys.

Niloofar Gholamrezaei

Introduction

Nowadays the impact of social media on the humans’ lives has become a major concern for sociologists, psychologists, and politicians. I think this is because social media has transformed all the aspects of humans’ lives dramatically. Most people around the world spend a considerable amount of their time using social media such as Facebook, Linked-In, Instagram, Twitter, and so forth. Social media has provided new and powerful environments for promoting ideas, education, or business very fast and within a great and diverse population, who live all over the world.

Accordingly, in our academic writing class, we found the topic, social media, fascinating. In this project, we will reflect Texas Tech Students’ (TTU) perception of different aspects of social media. I will develop this research based on a survey that we conducted among TTU students. In what follows, I will explore different perspectives on various dimensions of social media, my assumptions about how TTU students perceive social media, and the results of the surveys. Moreover, I will discuss the possible reasons that lead me to the certain presumptions and results.

Literature review

According to our readings, safety and security in social media is a concern for many people. Liube, in his article, points to this problem and gives us some suggestions for having a safe and secure use of social media (2013). For example, he warns the users about sharing too much personal information in the social media, which is a public space that can be accessed easily (2013). He even suggests that using a nick name is better than the real name of the users (2013).

Another article is concerned about the ways in which social media is linked to humans’ psychological health, and happiness. Honor, believes that one fourth of people around the world use social media several hours per month (2015). He also suggests that based on several research studies, there is a link between stress and insecurity and the use of social media. Indeed, the individuals who experience more anxiety or feel more insecure, tend to use social media more (2015). The impact of social medias on humans’ brain is also a notable matter. For example, according to research, the likes or comments in Facebook can have a similar effect on teenagers’ brain to that facial expressions do (Susie, 2016). Moreover, in social media, relationships can be artificial and superficial, which can make us unhappy about our social lives (Jung, 2016)

 Moreover, social media can play a role in shaping individuals’ identities, particularly teenagers’ (Abhishek, 2015). Abhishek, in his research, argues that students mostly try to create a sense of identity in and through the virtual world (2015). However, social media can lead students and teenagers to face identity crises (Abhishek, 2015).  This is because they learn or become influenced by the pictures, posts, etc. they see social media. However, learning from their parents or the real world experience is more crucial for constructing a healthy identity (Karadkar, 2015).

Another way that social media has transformed our lives is the role that social media plays in one’s professional life. In particular, social media has become a strong tool for having a more successful business. Agnihotri argues that social media can reinforce businesses because a company or business people can easily communicate with their customers to promote their products, and to have a positive impact on the customers (2016). Therefore, it is crucial for different companies to use social media thoughtfully (Kaplan, 2010). For instance, each social media has its one specific characteristic and users. Thus, considering the quality and the quantity of users for a specific kind of social media is very important (Kaplan, 2010). In this regards, Hermkens Kietzmann, provides us with several crucial points that companies need to take into their consideration for using the social media in a more successful manner (2011).  For instance, representing their business in a unique way or providing an environment for sharing ideas or discussion would be some important steps in a more successful use of social media (Kietzmann, 2011).

Social media also can be considered as influential tools for social or political change. In this respect, Ritu Sharma believes that Social media are the most powerful tools for promoting democracy among different nations (2015). She also argues that Social media can promote education and social justice in positive and strong ways (2015). On the other hand, some sociologists such as Zygmunt Bauman have a pessimistic look toward the roles of social media in social or political changes (2016). Bauman argues that social media provide us with artificial communities, in which we fail to have a healthy dialogue, because we make such communities in ways that we do not face any conflict or controversy (2016). For him such kinds of communications will not lead to any social change because social transformation needs a healthy dialogue within people with diverse ideas, beliefs, or social and cultural backgrounds (2016).  The link between dialogue and social media is also a concern for Sonia Livingston (2015). Indeed, she thinks of dialog or the dynamic between audience and speaker as the most determinate point that can lead to social or political change (2015).

The above that was my literature review of the essays we used for conducting our research. The review can illustrate some significant ways through which one can social media. It also shows the importance of social media in all aspects of humans’ lives.

Hypotheses

Based my literature review, and my overall perception of Texas Tech environment, I have five hypotheses about how Texas Tech Students perceive social media in their everyday lives, though such hypothesis may be right or wrong. 

My first hypothesis is that majority of Texan TTU students are concerned about their privacy and safety while using social media, though they do not want the governments to get involved to protect their information. According to the literature review, particularly Tom Llube’s article, privacy and safety are important factors that need to be taken into consideration for the users (2013). Hence, it is very natural to assume that most of the social media users, including TTU students, think about these issues. Moreover, I think, Texan people, in general, prefer to protect their safety on their own rather than trusting the government to do so. The best example that can support my assumption is the Texan interest in having guns. This can signify to the fact that majority of the people in Texas, including TTU students, would rather find the ways that they can protect themselves on their own and independent from the governments.

My second hypothesis is that the majority of Texas Tech students, particularly undergraduate students, feel satisfied by getting likes and comments for the images or information they post in their social media. My reason for making such assumption is the fact that we, humans, naturally need our others’ approval and attention. In other words, this is also a natural desire and thus TTU students also probably are not an exception from such natural need. Moreover, most of the TTU youngest students are more likely to get influenced by likes. This is because teenagers mostly are seeking to discover and construct their identities (Abhishek, 2015). I think identity always is shaped and becomes meaningful in relation to our others and the likes in social media can be the representative of such otherness.

My third hypothesis is that Facebook is the most popular media for majority of TTU students. Moreover, TTU students think of Facebook as the best social media for their professional needs. This is because I think Facebook has a broad range of tools for communication. Facebook can be used for sharing films, photos, texts, feelings, etc. while other kinds of social media have some limitations. For instance, Instagram is made only for sharing films and photos. Thus, I think the broad varieties of tools that Facebook provides for its users, makes it the most popular kind of social media among the students, including TTU students.

My fourth supposition is that majority of American students at TTU do not use social media as a means for social change or political transformation, and they mostly use social media for socializing with their friends in a very individual level. However, I think the international students at TTU tend to use social media for social and political dialogue more. The reason behind such assumption is the fact that most of the American students I have personally met are happy with their environment and they do not feel the need for any change or transformation.  Moreover, they may not think of social media as an appropriate tool for social or political dialogue. On the other hand, international students have more desire for change while they may have fewer tools for promoting their voice. Therefore, I think American students at TTU are less likely to use social media for social and political dialogue, while international students are more likely to do so.

My fifth assumption is that majority of TTU students believe that social media have positive impacts on their social lives. However, I think majority of TTU students are not aware of down sides of social media. Majority of students at TTU have smart phones and use social media, which signifies to their satisfaction about using such media.  According to the sociologist Bauman, in social media socializing is easier that the real life (2016). This is because the users can easily manage their friends lists in ways that they do not face any conflict or disagreement (2016). I think based on Bauman’s argument one can also assume that majority of people find more pleasure and easiness while socializing in their social media. However, as Bauman suggests, they are not aware of the negative sides of social media, and how social media impact the quality of social lives negatively.

Methodology

The quantitative research I conducted was based on two hundred and ninety-six students surveys that Texas Tech(TTU) students filled out. We, the students in an academic writing class, designed the questions about the perception of TTU students regarding social media, parental leave and the Black Lives Matter movement. However, my research is about perceptions of TTU students about Social Media. Our primary goal was practicing academic writing, and not a scientific research with valid results.

Among two hundred and ninety-six surveys, fifty surveys were filled out by international students and two hundred and fifty of them by Americans. Among two hundred and fifty American students who filled out the survey, one hundred and twenty-five of them were males, and one hundred and twenty-five of them of them were females. We chose the two hundred and ninety-six students arbitrarily in the Students Union Building and other parts of the campus. In other words, students were from different majors with various ages, social classes, ethnicities, etc. and we did not make any particular selection in those respects.

TTU students’ ideas about different dimensions of social media in relation to their personal and social lives was, in fact, the theme that I and some other students focused on. We asked questions about their ideas regarding impacts of social media on students’ security, happiness, personal life, academic life, and the ways in which they think social media can impact societies and communities.

In this research, firstly, I wanted to know if TTU students were concerned about their privacy while using social media, and whether they thought that governments should protect their privacy (questions number eight and nine). I assumed that Texan students at TTU were mostly concern about their privacy, though they do not want protection from governments. In this respect, in the survey, we asked if the students were worried about their privacy and if they thought that governments should protect them.

Secondly, I assumed that undergraduate students at TTU were more likely to feel satisfied by getting likes and comments in their social media than graduate students. The question number ten that asked if “likes or lack of them alter” their mood could help me to understand if my assumption was right or wrong, and it could help to find a pattern on how TTU student felt about getting likes and comments.

Thirdly, I wanted to know what the most popular social media among TTU students was. Based on my personal observations, I presumed Facebook as the most popular social media among the students. In particular, I guessed that students thought of Facebook as the best social media for their professional needs, such as promoting their career. The questions number five, six, and seven asked which social media they frequently used and what their interests were in using social media. These questions in the survey could show if my hypothesis was right or wrong.

Fourthly, I was interested to understand whether TTU students used social media as a tool for social change or they used it only on a personal level. My assumption was that international students tended to use social media for social change more than American students. The questions number one, two, and eighteen asked if they used social media as means of change in society, if they used social media to have dialogues with the people they didn’t know, and whether they reacted to conflicts through social media

Fifthly, I was curious to know if TTU students thought social media had a positive impact on their lives or not. I supposed that most TTU students thought that social media provided them with happiness and pleasure. Questions number three, four, and twelve asked if they found different dimensions of social media, such as reminding memories, pleasurable and useful. The questions could prove if my hypothesis was right or not.

In conclusion, my quantitative research was about perceptions of TTU students on different features of social media. The results were based on three hundred surveys filled out by TTU students. One should take into consideration that the result of the research is not a valid or scientific outcome, since I have conducted it based on only three hundred surveys and the population also is chosen arbitrarily.

Results

In this section I will examine my hypotheses based on the results of the surveys we conducted among two hundred and ninety-six students.

My first assumption in this paper was that Texan students at TTU were mostly worried about their privacy, though they did not want protection from governments. The survey illustrated that most Texan students at TTU were concerned about their privacy in social media, though they mostly did want governments to protect their personal information. Based on the surveys we conducted, thirty five percent of Texan students were worried about their personal information on social media, and thirty two percent of them were a little concerned, while thirty one percent were not worried at all. Furthermore, twenty eight percent of Texan students at TTU wanted governments to get involved and to protect their privacy, though twenty percent of students did not want governments’ protection. In addition, sixty percent said that it depends on different situations; they might want the government to protect their privacy. Accordingly, the statistics illustrated that most Texan students were worried about their personal information on social media, though, in contrast to my assumption, they wanted protection from governments.

My second hypothesis suggested that undergraduate students at TTU were more likely to feel satisfied by getting likes and comments in their social media than graduate students. Interestingly, the surveys showed that my hypothesis was wrong. Indeed, the surveys pictured that undergraduates were less concerned about getting likes on social media than graduate students. Based on the surveys, twenty percent of the undergraduate students said “likes” or lack of them impacted their mood, while forty-five percent of graduate students thought likes influenced their feelings. Moreover, fifty-five percent of undergraduate students said likes did not affect their mood, while only nineteen percent of graduate students though that likes did not impact their feelings. Thus, in contrast to my hypothesis, undergraduate students at TTU were less influenced by “likes” they got in their social media.

My third assumption was that Facebook was the most popular social medium among the students. Particularly, students thought of Facebook as the best social medium in their professional life, say, for promoting their careers. According to the results of the surveys, Facebook was indeed the most popular kind of social media among TTU students. And the students used Facebook most frequently. In fact, forty-three percent of the students who filled out the survey said they would choose Facebook if they were supposed to use only one social medium. In contrast, only sixteen percent chose Snapchat, one percent LinkedIn, one percent Instagram, sixteen percent Twitter, and five percent other kinds of applications. Moreover, forty percent of the students said they used Facebook most frequently, while only twenty- four percent said they used Instagram the most; seventeen percent said Twitter, and sixteen percent used other kinds the most. The statistics then showed that my hypothesis was correct and the majority of the students liked Facebook the most.

 Moreover, sixty percent of the students who chose Facebook as their favorite social media said that social media helped them with their studies. This can signify to the fact that majority of the students thought Facebook also was a good tool to improve their professional life. Although, I think I could design a better question that addressed students’ idea about the relation between Facebook and their professional life more directly.

Fourthly I presumed that international students tended to use social media for social change more than American students. The surveys also depicted that international students tended to use social media as a mean for social change more than American students, though there was not a big gap between the statistics. In fact, based on the surveys, twenty- three percent of American students often used social media as a tool for social change. Interestingly, this percentage was the same for the international students. Thus, twenty three percent of international students also often used social media for social change. However, thirty percent of American students sometimes used social media for social change while forty-two percent of international students sometimes used social media for social transformations. Therefore, my assumption was right and TTU international students used social media as a tool for social work more than Americans.

Finally, I supposed that most TTU students thought that social media provided them with happiness and pleasure. The statistics from our surveys also suggested that most TTU students believed that social media impacted their lives positively. Based on the surveys, forty eight percent of TTU students thought social media had positive impacts on their lives while only fifteen percent said social media had negative impact, and thirty percent were unsure about the answer. Moreover, fifty percent of students found being reminded of their memories and old post by Facebook useful and pleasurable and only twenty nine percent did not like it. Furthermore, fifty four percent of students thought social media was good for their studies while forty three percent thought social media was not good for their studies. Hence, most TTU students considered social media as tools that impacted different aspects of their lives positively.

Discussion

 In only few seconds, one can share a message among millions of people all over the globe. Social media is an extraordinarily powerful tool for communicating and exchanging ideas. Therefore, we found the topic of social media, and its different dimensions, significant themes that needed to be studied. In what follows, I will discuss different aspects of social media that we studied, and will explain why we thought those aspects were important. Moreover, I will analyze my hypotheses and results in detail.

Many social media users have expressed their worries about the security of their personal information on social media. Here, there is an extremely controversial question connected to this concern: Should government provide us with security by having more control over social media? We thought of such concerns and questions as critical aspects of our everyday lives that are tied with social media. In this regard, I assumed that most Texan students at TTU were worried about their security in social media, though they did not want governments to get involved.  I assumed this because I thought security was a natural need, not only for TTU students, but also for everyone else too. Moreover, based on my observations, Texans would rather provide security on their own. Their interest in having guns could signify to this fact. However, most students who filled out the survey said that they were worried about their security, though, surprisingly, they did want protection from governments. The reason can be because protecting our information in the virtual world is more complex than, say, protecting our security in our houses. Invading our information in social media can be invisible or involved with technological complexity. Within such complex environment, people can feel powerless to protect themselves.

The ways in which people feel about others’ feedback on social media is also another important aspect of social media. This is because others’ approval in social media, like any other kinds of communication, can impact us. In this respect, I presumed that TTU undergraduate students were more likely to get impacted by likes in their social media than graduate students. I postulated that since undergraduate students were younger, then, they were more involved with constructing a sense of identity than graduate students. The ways that others perceive us are also very influential in shaping our identity. However, I was very surprised to see, based on the surveys, graduate students were in fact more concerned about likes on their social media than undergraduates. The reason can be because undergraduate students have more time and passion to socialize with their friends in parties, gatherings and so forth, while graduate students are busier and have to spend more time studying in libraries. Thus, they are more likely to socialize through the virtual world, and thus they become more sensitive about the likes and comments they receive in their social media. Moreover, younger students like to feel they have control over their feelings and they are not impacted by others, though graduate students are more acceptance to the fact that others’ reactions can affect them.

These days, there is a broad range of social media on the internet. Each social medium has its specific tools and characteristics through which it shapes the dynamic of our communication. Therefore, for understanding communication in social media better, it is important to explore what kinds of social media are more popular. In this regards, I guessed that Facebook was the most well liked social medium among TTU students. Moreover, I assumed TTU students used Facebook for their professional and educational needs the most. This was because I thought Facebook had wider range of tools than other social media. The results of the surveys also showed that Facebook was indeed the most favored type of social media among TTU students. And the students used Facebook most frequently. However, the survey’s question didn’t lead me directly to answer whether students used Facebook for their professional needs the most.

Social media, like other kinds of media, can also play roles in making changes in society. This is because social media gives a strong voice and power to ordinary people. Therefore, the relation between social media and social changes was also a critical aspect of social media for our research. My assumption was that international students tended to use social media for social change more than American students, because, based on my observations, many people in non-Western countries feel the need for change more. The surveys also proved that international students were more likely to use social media as a mean for social change than American students.

Many psychologists and sociologists are also interested in the connection between social media and happiness, because many people around the globe spend a considerable amount of their time using social media. Thus, it is important to study how social media impact their lives.

My hypothesis was that most TTU students thought social media provide them with happiness. This is because in social media we have control over the quality of our interaction with other people. We can make our own friend list or follow the pages that interest us. I think, such characteristics make socializing pleasurable and easier. The statistics from our surveys also proved that most TTU students believed that social media impacted their social lives positively.

The above discussions, however, are based on limited numbers of surveys we conducted among TTU students. Although the results were not scientifically valid, I think, we highlighted several interesting points about how TTU students perceive social media. Furthermore, our research could be a good foundation for future scientific research by providing interesting questions and ideas even if the results were not necessarily valid.

Conclusion

Nowadays, social media have radically transformed all the dimensions of humans’ lives. It has provided a strong tool promoting ideas in only few seconds throughout the world. Thus, in our academic writing class we found the topic, social media, important. In this project, I reflected Texas Tech Students’ perception of different aspects of social media. I developed this research based on limited surveys that we will conducted among the TTU students.

Appendix

Thank you for filling out our survey!

(Black Lives Matter, Social Media, Parental Leave)

Demographic Questions:

1.      ___ Undergraduate   ____Graduate    ____ Faculty/Staff/Other

2.      ___ Male      ____Female

3.      Age ____ 18-22      ____ 23-28     ____ 29 or more

4.      Where are you from, originally?   ___ Texas    ___ USA, not TX      ___international

Survey Questions on Social Media

1- Do you use social media as a tool for social change? For example, sharing news, film, or an article that you think is important for promoting social awareness regarding an issue? 

___ Often             ___ Sometimes                 ___ Rarely           ____ Never          ___ N/A don’t know

2- How much do you think social media helps you to have a dialogue with the people you don't know?      `  ___ meet a lot of people I didn’t know     ___ sometimes    ___ doesn’t help/rarely   ___ N/A

3- Do you think social media has a positive impact on your social life or a negative impact?

___ positive                       ____ negative        ____ N/A, not sure, no impact       Why? 

4. How long do you use social media each day?

____ > 4 hrs/day              ___ >2 hrs/day  ____>1 hr/day   ____ >1/2 hr/day     ____ <1/2 hr/day

5. Do you agree social media makes you happy?                                                                                                             ___ Yes a lot   ____ sometimes  ____ usually not     ____ N/A/don’t know

6. If you were allowed to use only one social media application what would it be?                                  ___ Facebook    ___ Snapchat     ___ LinkedIn    ___ Instagram      ___Twitter                                                 

___ Any other      ____________

7. Social media sites are nowadays extensively used for networking. Are you in favor of it?               ___ Yes        ___ No        ___ Maybe        ___  I don’t care

8. What is the social media tool you most frequently use every day?                                                              ___ Facebook        ___ Instagram   ___ Twitter     ___ other: __________________________________

9.  What is your passion for using social media applications?                                                                          ___ Checking news      ___ Making new friends      ___ Shopping    ___ Other: _______________________

10. Have you ever been worried about personal privacy being compromised in social media?      

 ___ Yes   ___ No      ___ A little

11. Do you think the government needs to protect the personal privacy in social media?              

___ Yes   ___ No       ___ It depends

12. Do you think social media is useful for expressing your opinion?  ___ Yes   ___ No      ___ It depends

13. Do you feel satisfied when you get “like” from your friends for what you post online?

___ Yes    ___ No     ___ Not sure   ___ N/A, Never use social media

14. When reading posts on social media, I would rather use simple “likes” and facial expressions to give posters feedback instead of detailed feelings and comments.

___ Yes    ___ No   ___ It depends    N/A, Never use social media

15. When socializing online, I find memories are easier to recall when social media posts previous photos and events to me.        ___ Agree    ___ Neutral    ___ Disagree    N/A, Never use social media

16. Do you think posting violent scenarios in social media sites should be allowed?

___ Yes     ____ No      _____ Not sure/N/A

17. What is your opinion about using social media during the class? (choose the best)

___ always do    ___ do & think it’s ok     ___ do but it’s bad           ___ try to avoid it

18. Do you think social media can be helpful for better studies?    ___ Yes     ____ No

If yes, how does it help?

Survey Questions on Parental Leave

1. Should males get equal number of days of leave as a female gets in case of expecting a baby?        ___ Yes  ____ No      ___ don’t know

2. Should a Parental leave policy be made and mandated by the government?                                             ___ Yes    ___ No     ____ don’t know

3. If you are working at a company offering paid parental leave, will you take parental leave if your boss and peers do not take it?       ___Yes  ___No   ___Maybe

4. Do you prefer companies with parental leave over companies without parental leave when you look for a job, given that other conditions of the companies are similar?      ___Yes  ___No   ___Maybe

5. Will you support a presidential nominee more than before if he or she announced a proposal of paid parental leave?         ___Yes  ___No  ___Don't care

6. Do you think the presidential nominee will be able to actually make a policy of paid parental leave after he or she becomes a president?               ___Yes ___No ___Depends

7. To what extent do you agree with the below statement?

“Maternity and paternal leave favors the economy and leads to investment return, as satisfied employees work better and feel more responsible”

1-Totally agree   2-Somehow agree   3-Neutral    4-Somewhat disagree    5-Totally disagree

8. What do you think the right proportion of the paternal leave is to maternity leave? (Assume maternal leave is 12 weeks and paternal leave 1-2 weeks)

1-Paternal leave is not necessary    2-The existing proportion is sufficient

3-Paternal leave should be extended      4-Paternal leave should be equal to maternity leave

9. Do you think that unmarried men would vote for paid parental leave?

___ Yes    ___ No

10. Extend the length of paid parental leave for pregnant women, and broaden the coverage of people to paid parental leave. Which is more important?

___ Extend the length    ___ Broaden the coverage    ____ Both equally important   ___ neither

Survey Questions for Black Lives Matter:

1. Do you think police stereotype African-Americans with crime more than any other race?

___ Yes     ___ No     ___ don’t know/not sure

2. How familiar are you with the motives of the #BlackLivesMatter movement?

___ very    ___ a little        ___ not much   ___ not at all

3. Do people of color need to be treated and approached more fairly by police in the USA?

___ Yes      ___ No       _____ don’t know/not sure

4. Do you think that #BlackLivesMatter movement is moving in the right direction?

___ Yes    ___ No       if not explain why?

5. Do you think racism is a big problem in the U.S.?    ___ Yes    ___ No        ___ not sure/don’t know

6. Do you support Colin Kaepernick’s Anthem Protest?   Do you agree or not with him?

___ Agree & support   ___ believe in BLM but not Anthem protest    ____  No    

7. Do you think #BlackLives Matter movement will encourage violence against the police?

              ___ Yes   ___ No   ___ not sure

8. Some people argue that the Black Lives matter movement is overly exaggerated by media and thus not necessary. Do you think this movement by black activists is not necessary and that it should stop    [ a] Agree  [b] Strongly agree   [c] Disagree  [d] Strongly disagree  [e] Not sure

9. Several media have reported loss of many black lives that have occurred in due confrontation with Police. To what extent do you think this is accidental?  (5-purely accidental)

  [ a ] 1    [b]  2       [c] 3      [d] 4     [e] 5

10. List any ways you think this vice can be alleviated, by the Chief of Police or by society.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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