Supported By
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Approved By
National Bioethics Committee
Centre for Educational Research and Evaluation
Ministry of Education and Culture
Research Team
Name of investigator/researcher: Christodoulides Costas – Director Alexander Research Centre
- Dr Konstantina Intzieganni (Academic-research associate, member of the design team, head of data analysis)
- Dr Pavlina Antoniou (Consultant)
- Petroula Hadjifotis (Consultant)
- Costas Christodoulides (Director Research Center Alexander College, Coordinator)
- Antonis Mappourides (Member of the Design Team and Head of Data Collection)
- Assistant researchers: Natassa Tsokkou, Annie Panaseti, SannaUlabet, Anapel Panayi, Yuliana Karagianni, Charis Orphanides, Kyriakos Christofi, Raphael Stylianou
Announcements
Gallery
Theoretical Background
- No in depth investigation of the impact of SM to well being of the youth. Some effects include negative feelings of agony, regret, anxiety or fear.
- Mental health and social interconnection are important parameters for quality of life and individual wellbeing (OECD, 2013).
- What is mental health? the positive and negative assessments that people make for their lives and the emotional reactions to the experiences.
- Verduyn et al. (2017) showed a:
(a) negative relationship between passive use of social networks and subjective well-being of users
(b) positive relationship between active use of the SM and the subjective well-being with the first relationship being more indisputable than the second.
Passive use of SM causes social comparisons and jealousy, which in turn cause adverse effects on subjective-individual wellbeing of users. On the contrary, informing that the active use of interactive use of SM can lead to positive effects on individual wellbeing can help the well-being of young people more than any prohibitions.
Aims and Methodology
- Aim-To study the relationship and possible impact of Social Media (SM) on young people
- More specifically, the aim of this research is to measure (sample n = 1000 of which students n = 500, students n = 500) the effect and especially possible addiction of young people in the Social Media.
- Also, to study the relationship of the preference for online social interactions instead of face to face contact with the problematic use and addiction to SM.
- Methodology- using two scales, one for measuring addiction in the SM (BSNAS) and one for Internet Addiction (GPIUS- 2).
The problem and Hypotheses (assumptions)
- Model & Hypothesis or Research Questions
- H1 Extensive Use of SM may lead to problems/addiction which in turn causes some consequences similar to substance related addictions
- H2 people who prefer online interactions instead of face-to-face interaction are more likely to use electronic communication to regulate their mood
Methodology and Sampling
- Visits to schools, universities and colleges for data collection on the basis of the questionnaires (in class, 15m duration and in the presence of a teacher)
- After completing the anonymous questionnaires, the participants place them in a ballot box along with the remaining completed samples to ensure anonymity.
- They will be analyzed in a statistical programme (SPSS).
- The sample (n = 1000 ) will consist of a population with a connection to at least one (1) Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, QQ, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
- Lyceums/schools that have orally accepted are Agios Georgios Larnaka, regional Lyceum of Livadia, Pancyprian Lyceum of Larnaka, Makarios Lyceum, Vergina Lyceum.
- Universities: Alexander College, European University, University of Nicosia, University of Cyprus
Scales to Measure our Aims (addictions and preference to SM instead to face to face interaction)
- BSNAS Its a measurement scale of Social Media Bergen (The Bergen Social Networking Addiction Scale), it is a widely used evaluation tool for SM addiction. It includes six categories of subjects (Andreassen et al. 2012) which correspond to the six basic components of addiction as suggested by Griffiths (2005): Persistence, mood swings, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, collision, relapse. The respondent is evaluated with a benchmark in the last 12 months in the six categories in the Likert scale from 1 (very rare) to 5 (very often). The higher scores reflecting greater addiction to the SM. OfGPIUS2
- GPIUS-2/Internet Addiction (IAD – Internet Addiction Disorder) pathological or problematic use of the Internet (PIU – Problematic Internet Use), is a disorder in the form of addiction. The Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) scale can predict those groups that are more prone to electronic communication to regulate their mood. The GPIUS2 includes 15 themes in the Likert measurement scale style and respondents evaluate on a scale of 8 degrees (from “definitely disagree” at one end to “definitely agree” at the other end of the scale).
Ethical issues
- Written Consent by parents/guardians for minors (pupils)
- Informed consent by all participants
- All participants must have at least one SM Connection
- Access and license to enter Schools and Universities safeguarded
- Protocol approved by the National Bioethics Committee
- Anonymity will be protected for all participants and data collected in all phases
Questionnaires
