Date

4-7-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Jichan Jay Kim

Keywords

moral development, social media, young adults, self-image, technology, faith

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

With technology usage growing among adolescents and much research conducted around the impact social media has on their development and mental wellbeing, there is little research that has been conducted to explore the lived experiences of social media on Christian young adult’s self-image and moral development and what role their faith plays in it. Through a qualitative study via a phenomenological approach and using semi structured interviews, this study sought to understand how Christian young adults ages 18-25 years old experience and describe a shared phenomenon and how they create common meaning on how they believe social media has impacted their self-image, moral development, and how they understand their faith informs the effect of social media. A total of fourteen young adults participated in this study. Consistent with existing literature, this study presents results that young adults believe social media can be both good and bad as well as young adult’s self-image is not solely affected by their social media usage. It was found that that their self-image and moral development is influenced by their faith and their upbringing. However, results found conflicting feelings between time spent on social media and not enough time on religious practices and how maturity plays a significant role in shaping perceptions.

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