Comprehensive Analysis: Social Media Effects on UK Teenagers

This report investigates the multifaceted effects of social media on teenagers in the UK, employing both secondary and primary qualitative research methodologies. The study examines the positive aspects, such as enhanced communication and information sharing, alongside the negative impacts, including potential effects on academic performance, mental health, relationships, and the risks of cyberbullying and addiction. A literature review provides a comprehensive overview of existing research, and a survey using a questionnaire is designed to collect primary data. The research schedule outlines the project's timeline, and a Gantt chart visually represents the tasks. Data analysis involves comparing qualitative survey responses with secondary data to determine the influence of social media on teenagers' self-esteem, relationships, and academic achievements. The findings aim to highlight strategies for maximizing positive impacts and mitigating negative consequences, concluding with recommendations for future research.

Running head: EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENAGERS IN THE UK
Effects of Social Media on Teenagers in the UK
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENAGERS IN THE UK
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify the effects of social media on the teenagers in the UK.
This research study adopts secondary and primary qualitative methodology to achieve its main
objectives. A secondary research is carried out to determine the positive and negative impacts of
social media on the academic grades, relationships and self-esteem of the teenagers. A
questionnaire is developed for conducting survey and collecting primary data for carrying out the
analysis of data. This research study also gives recommendation regarding future research study
on how social media affects the lives of the teenagers in the UK.

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENAGERS IN THE UK
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................3
1.1 Project Background...............................................................................................................3
1.2 Aim of the Project..................................................................................................................3
1.3 Objectives of the Project........................................................................................................3
Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................................4
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................4
2.2 Positive Effects of Social Media on the Teenagers of UK and across the world..................4
2.3 Negative Effects of Social Media on the Teenagers of UK and across the world.................5
Chapter 3: Research Methodology..................................................................................................6
3.1 Research Schedule.................................................................................................................6
3.2 Gantt chart.............................................................................................................................7
Chapter 4: Data Analysis.................................................................................................................8
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................9
5.1 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................9
5.2 Recommendations for Future Research...............................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
Appendix........................................................................................................................................14
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................14

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENAGERS IN THE UK
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Project Background
Social network sites and social media are playing a significant role in the lives of the
teenagers and the youngsters (Strasburger et al 2013). Most of the users of the social media as
well as social networking websites are the youths and teenagers. SNS or social network sites are
acting as the communication channels and tools for the youngsters (Bolton et al. 2013). Wall
posts, activity feeds, status updates and messages over social media are some of the ways by
which the teenagers communicate with each other (Brandtzæg 2012). Most of the online youths
use SNS for the purpose of communication.
SNS are considered to be a part of a web application suite called social media. SNS rely
on the mass group participation of several online users. Social networking has positive as well as
negative impacts on the teenagers. Most of the parents remain concerned about the negative
impacts of social media. SNS have also helped the teenagers across the world to acquire
knowledge and develop. This report focuses on the impacts and effects of social media and
networking on the teenagers of UK.
1.2 Aim of the Project
The main aim of this research study or report is to study and understand the positive and
negative effects of social media on the teenagers of UK.
1.3 Objectives of the Project
The objectives of this research report are:
 To identify the positive impacts of social media on the teenagers of UK

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 To critically analyze the negative effects of social media on the teenagers of UK
 To determine the influence of SNS or social media on the development of
psychological well-being and self-esteem of the teenagers
 To find out the influence and effects of SNS on relationship development
 To analyze the effects of active use of SNS on the academic performance of the
teenagers
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This section of the research report reviews the journal articles that are written by other
researchers on the impact of social media on teenagers. This part of the research report is carried
out by thoroughly reviewing the literatures that are available. The positive impacts of social
media on the teenagers of UK and other parts of the world are analyzed by reviewing the
available literatures. This section also discusses about the negative impacts of social media and
SNS on the teenagers by carrying out a detailed literature review of other research studies.
2.2 Positive Effects of Social Media on the Teenagers of UK and across the world
Social media provides a platform for communication that helps the youngsters and the
teenagers to stay connected all the time (Best, Manktelow and Taylor 2014). It plays a significant
role in spreading knowledge. Teenagers are able to exchange valuable information over SNS.
Social media has been able to enhance the way in which information sharing is done. It has
enhanced the way people disclose about themselves (Gentile et al. 2012). This has helped the
teenagers to improve their relationships with friends and distant family members. Positive
interactions have been able to improve the psychological well-being as well as self-esteem of the

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teenagers (Best, Manktelow and Taylor 2014). Research findings have shown that most of the
teenagers utilize SNS to maintain their relationships with their known friends. Strong privacy
settings have allowed the teenagers to block strangers and maintain a certain level of privacy by
customizing their settings. Teenagers can seek advice for career development and psychological
development via social networking chat rooms (Shapiro and Margolin 2014). Social media has
helped the teenagers of UK to come across various people and interact with various types of
personalities. The teenagers of UK have been able to get answers regarding career development
and objectives by using social media and SNS (Tess 2013). Many teenagers of UK, who are not
interested in class room lectures, have been able to gain knowledge by taking the help of social
media by exchanging valuable information and details (Paul, Baker and Cochran 2012).
Educators have been able to take the help of social media to spread awareness about several
important facts among the teenagers.
2.3 Negative Effects of Social Media on the Teenagers of UK and across the world
Security is the main concern of any social media site. Teenagers across the world share
their personal details over SNS that can be misused by others (Chen and Kim 2013). Posting of
wrong information will misguide the teenagers to take wrong actions and decisions. Teenagers
across UK are losing their ability to interact in person. Relationships with friends and family
members are getting hampered because of the excessive use of SNS (Boyd 2014). Teenagers are
getting addicted to the social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (Andreassen et al. 2012).
This has hampered their academic grades. Research findings have shown that teenagers that use
Facebook have lower grades than those who do not use Facebook. Teenagers who are addicted to
SNS are prone to get into depression and become lonely (Andreassen et al. 2017). Cyber
bullying is a major risk that affects the mental health, social relationships and education of the

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teenagers (Andreassen et al 2016). Social media or SNS has been able to increase the social
anxiety among the teenagers (Yen et al. 2012). Teenagers waste most of their time in SNS which
affects their personal as well as professional lives (Kittinger, Correia and Irons 2012). Internet
addiction has affected the mental health of the teenagers as well (Kuss et al. 2014). Restricted
use of social media will help the teenagers to overcome its negative effects.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
The research study will be mainly based on secondary source of data that has been
created from the primary source of data. Secondary sources contain interpreted data that has
been analyzed from a primary source. In this research study, secondary sources such as text
books, journal articles, peer reviews, criticisms and online resources will be used for
understanding the effects and impacts of social media on the teenagers of UK. A critical analysis
of the available journal articles will be carried out for the purpose of understanding what positive
impacts do the SNS have on the teenagers across the world and across UK. The academic
journals will be studied for determining the negative effects of social media and SNS on the
teenagers. This research study will be based on qualitative research methods (Irwin 2013). This
research study will also be based on primary source of data by using a questionnaire (See
Appendix). This questionnaire will contain ten questions that will be distributed among a group
of 30 to 40 people. The responses of the people will be examined to obtain the objectives of the
research study.
3.1 Research Schedule
Task Name Duration Start Finish
Research Study 79 days Fri 12/8/17 Wed 3/28/18
Research Proposal 18 days Tue 12/12/17 Thu 1/4/18

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENAGERS IN THE UK
Selection of the research area and topic 3 days Fri 12/8/17 Tue 12/12/17
Background of the research 8 days Wed 12/13/17 Fri 12/22/17
Deciding and developing the research questions 3 days Mon 12/25/17 Wed 12/27/17
Designing the conceptual framework 3 days Thu 12/28/17 Mon 1/1/18
Developing the plan of the project 3 days Tue 1/2/18 Thu 1/4/18
Research proposal submission 0 days Thu 1/4/18 Thu 1/4/18
Literature Review and Data Collection 45 days Fri 1/5/18 Thu 3/8/18
Literature Review 10 days Fri 1/5/18 Thu 1/18/18
Selection of the sample data and population for
research 3 days Fri 1/19/18 Tue 1/23/18
Collection of data 15 days Wed 1/24/18 Tue 2/13/18
Data analysis of the collected data 17 days Wed 2/14/18 Thu 3/8/18
Submission of the research draft 0 days Thu 3/8/18 Thu 3/8/18
Final Project Submission 14 days Fri 3/9/18 Wed 3/28/18
Detailed data analysis of the results and findings 8 days Fri 3/9/18 Tue 3/20/18
Conclusion 3 days Wed 3/21/18 Fri 3/23/18
Suggestions and recommendations 3 days Mon 3/26/18 Wed 3/28/18
Submission of the final project report 0 days Wed 3/28/18 Wed 3/28/18
3.2 Gantt chart
Figure 1: Representing the Gantt chart of the Research Study
(Source: Created by author using MS Project)

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EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TEENAGERS IN THE UK
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
Primary data will be collected by conducting a survey. A questionnaire will be developed
for carrying out this research study. This needs to be concise so that the results are represented in
an effective manner. The questionnaire will contain ten questions to find out an accurate result of
this research study. The information from the questionnaire will be collected and treated as
qualitative data. These gathered data will be analyzed by utilizing critical thinking process.
These data will also be compared with the secondary data that has been gathered from the critical
analysis of the literature reviews of several researchers. The literature review of the research
study will help to understand how the teenagers of UK will benefit by utilizing SNS and social
media. It will also help to understand the ways in which social media will harm the teenagers of
UK. The data that will be collected through questionnaire will help to develop charts and graphs
for further analysis. The outcome of the data analysis will help to meet the objectives of the
research study. It will determine the influence of SNS on the self-esteem of the teenagers. Data
analysis will find out till what extent does social media harm or develop relationships. The
findings of this research study will also include the effect of social media on the education of the
teenagers of UK. The expected result of this research study will highlight the positive as well as
negative effects of social media on the teenagers of UK. The outcome of this research study will
help to determine the ways in which the positive impacts of social media can be maximized and
the negative impacts can be minimized.

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Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded from the above discussion that social media has negative
as well as positive impacts on the teenagers of UK. The qualitative research methods will help to
achieve the objectives of the research study. Secondary research methodology will use several
literature reviews and research studies to understand the effects of social media. The research
methodology of conducting a survey will help to collect primary data for the purpose of data
analysis. Data analysis result will help to understand the effects of social media and also will
help to formulate strategies for maximizing the positive impacts and minimizing the negative
impacts.
Linking with Objectives
1. To determine the influence of SNS or social media on the development of
psychological well-being and self-esteem of the teenagers
Social media helps the teenagers of UK to get an exposure to the world and improve the
way they disclose about themselves to the world. This helps them a teenager in personality
development and in the development of self-esteem. On the other hand, it has been seen that
addiction to SNS can cause mental depression.
2. To find out the influence and effects of SNS on relationship development
Social media and SNS also help the teenagers of UK to stay connected with others and
develop and maintain strong relationships with their friends and family members. It has also

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been seen that teenagers who waste most of their time in SNS tend to harm their personal
relationships.
3. To analyze the effects of active use of SNS on the academic performance of the
teenagers
Teenagers of UK can gain knowledge and improve their academic grades by sharing and
exchanging valuable information over the social media. Excessive use of social media can also
affect the grades of the teenagers.
It can be clearly seen from the above discussion that social media has several positive and
negative impacts on the teenagers of UK.
5.2 Recommendations for Future Research
The recommendations for future research study are listed below:
1. In future, the research study can be done at an advanced level, as the role of social
media is increasing with time.
2. The future research study can be focused on finding the ways of maximizing the
benefits and positive effects of using social media.
3. The research study in the future can try to find out ways of minimizing the negative
effects of using social media.

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References
Andreassen, C.S., Billieux, J., Griffiths, M.D., Kuss, D.J., Demetrovics, Z., Mazzoni, E. and
Pallesen, S., 2016. The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and
symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive
Behaviors, 30(2), p.252.
Andreassen, C.S., Pallesen, S. and Griffiths, M.D., 2017. The relationship between addictive use
of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: Findings from a large national survey. Addictive
Behaviors, 64, pp.287-293.
Andreassen, C.S., Torsheim, T., Brunborg, G.S. and Pallesen, S., 2012. Development of a
Facebook addiction scale. Psychological reports, 110(2), pp.501-517.
Best, P., Manktelow, R. and Taylor, B., 2014. Online communication, social media and
adolescent wellbeing: A systematic narrative review. Children and Youth Services Review, 41,
pp.27-36.
Bolton, R.N., Parasuraman, A., Hoefnagels, A., Migchels, N., Kabadayi, S., Gruber, T.,
Komarova Loureiro, Y. and Solnet, D., 2013. Understanding Generation Y and their use of social
media: a review and research agenda. Journal of Service Management, 24(3), pp.245-267.
Boyd, D., 2014. It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.
Brandtzæg, P.B., 2012. Social networking sites: Their users and social implications—A
longitudinal study. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 17(4), pp.467-488.