Category
Three-Minute Thesis
Description
As technology continues to advance, there are rising concerns around young adults’ usage patterns and developing methods to encourage healthy engagement. However, the current literature includes mixed results on the impact of smartphone and social media use on wellbeing making it difficult to determine what healthy usage looks like. This is thought to be due in part to variations in the operationalization of usage and a lack of understanding of their unique mechanisms of change. To address this gap, this study examines more closely the differentiating effects of social media use compared to smartphone use. The study utilized a randomized delayed intervention factorial experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to restrict either social media or smartphone use for two weeks and use their devices as normal for the other two weeks of the study. Data on self-report usage, phone logs of usage, wellbeing, flourishing, phubbing, loneliness, mindfulness, and offline activities were collected at three points across the four weeks of participation. Analysis will examine how manipulation of digital usage impacted wellbeing and flourishing while investigating how that change occurred. These results will provide clarity on what type of usage may be most harmful to young adults as well as the specific effect it is having that is leading to this decline in wellbeing. As young adults continue to seek clarity on what healthy usage looks like, this research can optimize these efforts through an increased understanding of the utility of restricting usage and what aspects to be most weary of.
Experimental Investigation of How Smartphone and Social Media Use Change Wellbeing
Three-Minute Thesis
As technology continues to advance, there are rising concerns around young adults’ usage patterns and developing methods to encourage healthy engagement. However, the current literature includes mixed results on the impact of smartphone and social media use on wellbeing making it difficult to determine what healthy usage looks like. This is thought to be due in part to variations in the operationalization of usage and a lack of understanding of their unique mechanisms of change. To address this gap, this study examines more closely the differentiating effects of social media use compared to smartphone use. The study utilized a randomized delayed intervention factorial experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to restrict either social media or smartphone use for two weeks and use their devices as normal for the other two weeks of the study. Data on self-report usage, phone logs of usage, wellbeing, flourishing, phubbing, loneliness, mindfulness, and offline activities were collected at three points across the four weeks of participation. Analysis will examine how manipulation of digital usage impacted wellbeing and flourishing while investigating how that change occurred. These results will provide clarity on what type of usage may be most harmful to young adults as well as the specific effect it is having that is leading to this decline in wellbeing. As young adults continue to seek clarity on what healthy usage looks like, this research can optimize these efforts through an increased understanding of the utility of restricting usage and what aspects to be most weary of.
