Social Media Effects: The College Students' Perspective

By Lydia Crow

Credits:

Interviewees:

Dr. Nirvana Ramtahal, Psy.D. Dale Blasingame, M.A.

Dr. Tom Grimes, Ph.D. Kriste Nguyễn, Digital Media Innovation

Zoie Bishop, Journalism Lauren Martinez, MBA

Pidge Cheatham, Anthropology and Geography Zainab Adele, Psychology

Cordney Abraham, Mass Communication Osmara Valles, Electronic Media

Jose Gonzalez, Pre-Law Political Science Kevin Martinez, Computer Science

Jennifer Mendoza, Bilingual Education

Music:

Background Ambient Music-Yurii Semchyshyn (Coma-Media)

My Phone is Trying to Kill Me by The Aces

Introduction

This professional project allows listeners to hear various segments that are interconnected via research and interview discussion to provide a complete audio piece that focuses on how social comparison on social media affects college students’ mental wellness.

Finding 1

During the process of producing and editing this podcast, various notable findings arose. For instance, social media usage per day for the interviewed students averaged about 3-4 hours a day, with some using it for 5 hours.

Eighty percent of students stated they accessed social media via mobile devices.

Instagram and TikTok were found to be the most popular platforms during this process.

Additionally, the connection between social media and its effects on college students was found to be present in the interviewees. The presented effects were positive and negative. Positive effects demonstrated instances of motivation, connection, and support, as well as the ability to alter one’s mood to offer distraction or entertainment. However, negative effects were presented a majority of the time.

Negative effects range from increased social anxiety and depression, decreased self-esteem, and lack of proper sleep hygiene. Substantial negative effects were cited by two specific users, ultimately forcing them to take a break from social media or enact a social media cleanse.

Finding 2

The second notable finding was how addiction to social media in college students is common among the ages 18-24. Social media addiction was exacerbated by the pandemic and its ramifications. Students felt that with classes being moved online paired with required quarantine, social media was an outlet to feel connected to the world. However, they felt that social media became addicting due to the lack of activity and/or engagement with the physical world. Moreover, the global and national conflicts that were happening during the pandemic also added negative impacts to students when consuming social media.

Finding 3

The third notable finding was the common occurrence of social comparison behaviors in the interviewees. When asked if they had ever experienced social comparison behaviors, 100% of students stated they had. Students expressed gratitude of my focus on this topic specifically with college students. When gauging whether students had ever participated in upward comparison behaviors, about 80% stated they had. Positive effects of upward comparison were found to be motivation and

drive to achieve what others have.

Negative effects of upward comparison were found to be decreased self-esteem and decreased outlook on their current lifestyle. About 90% of students stated they had participated in lateral comparison behaviors. This type of comparison was found to have a greater impact on mental wellness of college students. Facets in this type of comparison are the fear of missing out and imposter syndrome. These two psychological experiences were very common among the interviewed college students and presented with heavy negative effects on mental wellness. About 30% of students stated they engage in downward comparison behaviors. Interviewees did not disclose much information regarding this type of comparison.

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Conclusion

All in all, this project allowed me to look into the lives of diverse college students with a variety of experiences on social media. Seeing as the age ranged from 18 to 24, this group of students were all involved with social media. The experiences discussed in the podcast in congruence with the expert interviews provided me the ability to portray a glimpse into the college student’s perspective and how social comparison on social media affects them.

Takeaways

• College students typically use more than one platform.

• The average time on social media per day by college students is 3-4 hours.

• College students access social media by mobile devices most often.

• Instagram and TikTok are the most important platforms for college students.

• Social media has positive and negative effects on college students' mental wellness; negative effects are more prevalent in college students.

• The pandemic increased college students' social media usage drastically.

• Social comparison behaviors on social media are prevalent in college students.

• Most students exhibited lateral and upward comparison behaviors with lateral being the most common.

• Lateral comparison behaviors had a greater impact on mental wellness than any other type of comparison.