PROJECT ON SOCIOLOGY

Dr. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL

LAW UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW.

SOCIOLOGY

TOPIC: SURVEY
(TEENAGERS: SOCIAL MEDIA, SOCIAL LIFE)

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. SANJAY SINGH, APARNA TIWARI,
PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, ROLL NO. 41,
Dr. RMLNLU, LUCKNOW SECTION A/ SEM II.

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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................. 3

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................ 4

KEY FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................... 5

TEENS ARE AVID, DAILY USERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: ....................................................... 5

TEENS ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO REPORT THAT USING SOCIAL MEDIA HAS A
POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LIVES THAN A NEGATIVE
ONE: ............................................................................................................................................... 5

MOST TEENS PREFER FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION, AND MANY OF THEM

THINK USING SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INTERFERE WITH THAT: ......................................... 6

SOME TEENS WISH THEY COULD DISCONNECT MORE OFTENAND THAT THE
PEOPLE AROUND THEM WOULD, TOO: ................................................................................ 7

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 8

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
During the preparation of this project, I was helped immensely by my friends at the University as
they played a vital role being a part of this project. The corporation which I received from them
must be acknowledged.

I would also like to thank Dr. Sanjay Singh, our Sociology Professor, his charismatic personality
and his great knowledge in Sociology and interesting lectures were the driving force for the
completion of this project.

I would also extend a sincere thanks to Vice Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Gurdip Singh and Dean
(Academics), Prof. C.M.Jariwala for their encouragement and enthusiasm. My seniors for sharing
their valuable tips and constant support.

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INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is a time of life that is both exhilarating and daunting. It can be fraught with
excitement and disappointment, self-confidence and insecurity, camaraderie and loneliness.

Communications media whether pen and paper, phone calls, Facebook, or Twitter can exacerbate
or alleviate the perils of teenage life, or even do both at the same time. But todays social media
have the potential to amplify age-old anxieties and rites of passage in ways that yesterdays
communications media did not, by opening once-private exchanges for an entire school to see,
adding photos and videos to words, allowing an entire community the chance to comment on what
is seen or heard or said online, and by maintaining a permanent record of all those interactions.

This project is a set of survey research helps document and quantify teenagers use of social
network sites and looks at the tone of their online communications. And a growing body of in-
depth qualitative research helps capture the complexities and nuances of the way social media use
plays out in teens lives.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

How often are teenagers texting and using Facebook and Instagram?

What are teenagers favorite ways to communicate with their friends and family?

How do teens think these new communications tools are affecting their friendships and
family relations, if at all?

How does social networking make most teens feel about themselves and their relationships
with their peers? Does it make them feel more connected or more isolated? Better about
themselves, or more depressed and lonely?

How do the heaviest social media users compare to other teens in terms of their social and
emotional well-being?

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KEY FINDINGS

TEENS ARE AVID, DAILY USERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA:

Almost all teenagers today have used social media. Nine out of 10 (90%) 17 to 19-year-olds have
used some form of social media. Three out of four (75%) teenagers currently have a profile on a
social networking site, and one in five (22%) has a current Twitter account (27% have ever used
Twitter). Facebook utterly dominates social networking use among teens: 68% of all teens say
Facebook is their main social networking site, compared to 6% for Twitter and 1% for Google Plus
(25% dont have a social networking site).

For the vast majority of teens, social and other digital communications media are a daily part of
life. Two-thirds (68%) of teens text every day, half (51%) visit social networking sites daily, and
11% send or receive tweets at least once every day. In fact, more than a third (34%) of teens visit
their main social networking site several times a day. Three in four (75%) teens is a heavy social
media user, meaning they use at least two different types of social media each and every day.

TEENS ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO REPORT THAT USING SOCIAL

MEDIA HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR SOCIAL AND
EMOTIONAL LIVES THAN A NEGATIVE ONE:

Many more teens report a positive impact of social media use on their emotional well-being
than a negative one. Most teens dont think their use of social media affects their social and
emotional well-being one way or the other. But there are some teens who think that using social
media does affect how they feel about themselves and their social situation.

More than one in four teens say that using their social networking site makes them feel less shy
and more outgoing ; one in five says it makes them feel more confident, more popular, and more
sympathetic to others; and some say it makes them feel better about themselves. By comparison,

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only 5% say social networking makes them feel less outgoing; 4% feel worse about themselves,
less confident, and less popular after using their social networking site; and 3% feel shyer.

Very few teens think that using their social network site makes them more depressed. Among all
teen social network users, only 5% say using their social networking site makes them feel more
depressed, compared to 10% who say it makes them feel less depressed. Even among the least
happy teens in this study (the 10% of all teens who say they are often sad or depressed and arent
very happy with their lives), some say using their social networking site makes them feel more
depressed, while others say it lessens their depression.

MOST TEENS PREFER FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION, AND

MANY OF THEM THINK USING SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INTERFERE
WITH THAT:

Despite being avid social media users, talking to each other in person is still teens favorite way to
communicate. About half of all teens say their favorite way to communicate with their friends is
in person. Texting is the next favorite, with social networking, talking on the phone, and Twitter
far behind.

The main reasons kids prefer face-to-face conversations are that theyre more fun and that they
can understand what people really mean better in person. The main reasons some kids prefer
texting is that its quick and easy; others say it gives them more time to think about how to respond
or is more private (11%).

Some teens think there is a trade-off between social media use and face-to-face communication.
A third of teens (34%) agree either strongly or somewhat that using social media takes away from
time they could be spending with people face-to-face, and 44% agree at least somewhat that
using social media often distracts them from the people theyre with when they do get together in
person.

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SOME TEENS WISH THEY COULD DISCONNECT MORE OFTEN

AND THAT THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM WOULD, TOO:
Many teens recognize that they and their friends and family are increasingly tethered to their
electronic gadgets, and a substantial number express a desire to disconnect sometimes. Among
teens who own cell phones, some answered yes when asked whether they would describe
themselves as addicted to their phones (no definition of addiction was offered, and this certainly
doesnt imply a clinical condition). Forty-three percent of teens agree strongly or somewhat that
they sometimes wish they could unplug, and more than a third agree at least somewhat that
they sometimes wish they could go back to a time when there was no Facebook. As one teen
commented, Sometimes its nice to just sit back and relax with no way possible to communicate
with anyone.

The teens who are most interested in unplugging or going back to a time before Facebook are
the ones who either arent using social networking themselves or have had bad experiences online.
For example, 25% of teens who arent currently using a social networking site strongly agree that
they sometimes wish they could go back to a time when there was no Facebook, and a total of 54%
agree at least somewhat with that statement. By comparison, among teens who are currently using
a social networking site, just 8% strongly agree, and a total of 31% agree at least somewhat. In
addition, a third of teens who most want to unplug or go back to a time when there was no Facebook
say they often encounter racist (32%), sexist (32%), or homophobic (31%) content in social
media (compared to 8-13% among other social media users). These negative experiences may be
fueling the desire to unplug.

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CONCLUSION
Despite their love of new technology and their seemingly constant text messaging, teens favorite
way to communicate with their friends is still to talk with them face to face. As one teen girl
noted, Its the only REAL way to be with each other. Moments only happen in person. About
half (49%) of all 17 to 19-year-olds say they prefer to communicate with their friends in person,
and half choose some other method. Texting is next highest, with a third of youth preferring that
method (33%). Only 7% say their favorite way to communicate with friends is through a social
networking site, and just 1% say Twitter. Only 4% of teens prefer talking on the phone as their
favored way to communicate with friends.

Many teens who prefer face-to-face communication say the main reason they prefer it is simply
because its more fun (38%), but others emphasize the personal nature of their dialogue, saying
the main reason they prefer it is because they can understand what people really mean better in
person (29%), feel more comfortable talking about personal things face to face (9%), or can talk
more seriously in person (6%). Several teens mentioned the pleasures of laughing together in
person; one said he preferred face-to-face communication because its easier to share a laugh.