Date
5-25-2023
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Jackie T. Craft
Keywords
social media, faith, influence, emerging adults
Disciplines
Counseling | Educational Psychology
Recommended Citation
Beckham, Connie L., "Rethinking Connection: Spirituality, Social Media, and Crisis of Faith in Young Adult" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4482.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4482
Abstract
This phenomenological study aims to understand the impact of social media and spiritual formation or faith development in young adults in the United States. The theory guiding this study is provided by theorists of identity and development, including Erik Erikson, James Marcia, and James Fowler (Verschueren, 2017). Specifically, Fowler identified a direct correlation between identity and faith development to more modern identity considerations and historical data relating to existentialism and other crises (Lamont, 2020). The data was collected from interviews with young adults to explore the impact of social media and faith among young adults. The interviews included thirteen questions that provided insight into the participants' lived experiences. Themes were developed utilizing the transcripts from audio recordings from the participant's interviews. The interviewees and expert reviewers accessed the transcripts and analysis for accuracy.
