Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Social media has become increasingly popular and widely used over the years with user numbers projected to continue to increase in the future. Social media users spend an average of three hours a day across eight different platforms on average, making its effects on our mental health and social life important to study. This study used an online survey to analyze a group of 163 participants' social media use habits. The survey collected data on participants' perceived functionality of social media, self-presentation online, social capital, psychological well-being, social and emotional support, user type, frequency of use, and number of platforms used. Results found that perceived functionality of social media directly correlated with how well users selfpresented online and how much social capital they experienced. The study found no significant correlation between receiving social support online and better mental health. Compared to passive use, active social media use was a better predictor of mental health outcomes and social capital. Higher frequency of social media use was positively correlated with worse mental health, but higher number of platforms used showed no correlation with psychological well-being. Reasons for these findings and future research directions are discussed.

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