BUSINESS STATISTICS

ASSIGNMENT: IMPACT OF SOCIAL

MEDIA ON STUDENTS

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Kulwinder Singh Ankit Kumar
UBS, PU MBA (Section-B)
1st Semester

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

S.NO CONTENTS PAGE

NO.
1. ABSTRACT 3

2. INTRODUCTION 4

3. LITERATURE REVIEW 6

4. PROBLEM STATEMENT 8

5. RESEARCH 8
METHODOLOGY
6. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 8

7. STATISTICAL TOOLS 8

8. DATA ANALYSIS AND 9

INTERPRETATION
9. RESULTS AND 17
DISCUSSIONS
10. CONCLUSION 18

11. LIMITATIONS 19

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Abstract
Social networks are one of the most used communication methods of today's world. Their use
in different fields has been examined in several research studies. This study aims to examine
the effects of social media on student's behaviors which will mainly focus on Facebook.
Whether there is a positive relationship between confidence, social media participation and
social media related behaviors will also be assed with regard to using Facebook. In order to
collect the primary data, a general scanning model was used to observe attitudes of high school
students. The participants chosen were 362 high school students from level 9 to 12. The
findings highlight that Facebook is used for communication entertainment and sharing news,
pictures and songs. In addition, their Facebook profile picture is alone and students were aware
that swearing is considered a form of misconduct, which is a good sign. The study also indicates
that students were aware of protecting their social identity as their Facebook shares are not
public. Furthermore, they respect privacy as they do not use their friend's Facebook account.

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Introduction
Social networking sites are websites that allow users to connect to one another based on shared
interests, activities, or characteristics. Users can post their personal information and pictures
on a profile page, which displays a list of the user’s connections, also known as “friends”.
These sites allow various forms of communication between users, such as wall posts,
comments, pictures, and private messages as well as ways to tag photos in order to identify
those in the picture (Junco & Cole-Avent, 2008; Junco & Mastrodicasa, 2007). Even as far
back as 2007, 94% of firstyear students reported spending time on online social networking
websites during a typical week.

Beyond the social networking sites themselves, the popularity of mobile technology with cell
phones has provided another layer of impact on college students. Having near-constant mobile
access provides opportunities for access to the Internet from any location, anonymous
communication, instant sharing of information, and quick ways to take and share photos.
Students are not using social media sites only at home on a computer; they are also using these
sites via their cell phones.

Facebook is the most popular social networking site as of 2012, with 90% of college students
using it. The most recent data showed that of the 90% of students who use social networking
websites, 97% said they used Facebook daily. In one recent study of 5,414 college students, It
is found that students checked Facebook a mean of 5.75 times per day. Students spent about 1
hour and 40 minutes per day on Facebook according to two recent studies.

A list of various activities on Facebook were compiled and distilled them to a 14-item list, and
then used a large sample of college students to determine activities in which they participated.
This list represents the best summary of activities on Facebook for college students at this time.
For the college administrator, understanding the amount of time and the type of activities for
which college students use them is what makes the difference with social media sites. It was
shown that time spent on Facebook commenting about, creating, or RSVP’ing to events is
positively predictive of time spent in cocurricular activities, while playing games on Facebook
is negatively predictive. Similarly, other studies have shown that using Facebook in certain
ways leads to better psychosocial outcomes, and that using Twitter in certain ways leads to
better academic outcomes.

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Twitter is more commonly used in the classroom because it is a microblogging and social
networking platform that allows users to post 140-character updates to provide for more
discussion. The youngest age demographic (18–29 years) is most represented on Twitter at
29% of their user base. By following others who offer value and controlling the list by
eliminating those who do not, a user can participate in the modern version of “water cooler
chat,” which “offers clues to those around us, leading us to know, trust, and help one another”.
There is a vast volume of users for these primary social media sites of Facebook and Twitter,
and nearly a quarter of the time Internet users spend online (22.5%) is in social networking. As
of September 2012, Facebook had 950 million active users and more than 2 billion registered
users, compared to Twitter’s more than 500 million registered users, but only 140 million active
users. Other popular social media sites that are available include LinkedIn, which provides for
career networking, and Instagram, which connects users who post photos.

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Literature Review
Study conducted by Sunitha Kuppuswamy and P. B. Shankar Narayan in 2010 clarified that
the using social media networking takes most of the time of students and redirects it towards
non-constructive, often non-ethical, deceptive and improper activities, for example, texting and
chatting with friends for most of the time of the day, time killing by searching for peoples’
private life and avoiding their real jobs and studies. Youth especially students for the most part
utilize social media for time killing and purpose of happiness however it has been found out
that web use for academic reasons and assignments including online instructional exercises,
online classes and training material downloading is a positive step. However, utilization of web
especially social media for just informal communication is just a wastage of time and futile.
Another study (Shahzad Khan, 2010), examined and investigated the effect of social media
websites on students. For this purpose, a survey method was chosen to be questionnaire. It was
intended to understand and analyze effects using social media on the subjects under the study;
students using social media sites. Variables that were analyzed were age, gender, specialization
and grades. This study verifies that a large portion of students use social media networking
because of the peer pressure and due to the fact that their friends have bene using it. The results
indicated that 67.3% of the subjects have been using social networking websites. Those
students who achieved 3.0 to 3.5 GPA (Grade Point Average), for the most part utilize person
to person communication sites for excitement. This is a strong indication to the point that usage
of social networks has not affected students’ academic results.

In another sudy (Fezile Isik, 2013), the author has analyzed the utilization of social media
networks in education of two private schools in North and South of Cyprus. The main focus of
the study was given to comparison of the students activities of the two schools regarding usage
of social media. In the study, the utilization of social systems in education was examined as
new basic necessity. The use of social networks outside classrooms was very limited. The study
indicated that it is due to parents’ negative impression about social media. One of the interesting
findings was that the computer technology teachers of both schools were not promoting
utilization of social networks because of lack of trust on such networks. Also the study
indicated that he instructors of both schools appreciated usage of social media only along-with
face to face lectures and communication. The reason behind this is that the students belonging
to both schools lacked confidence in face-to-face communication. This is a great setback of
using social networks. The study showed that often teachers are required to communicate with

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their students in order to ensure better understanding with provision of visual examples over
social media and to wish them for their examinations and studies. Also, in the south school,
daily updates regarding course, tests and homework were being published on social media. The
study also revealed the privacy concerns of the teachers belonging to both schools. The
conclusion of the study was that teachers should have training on safe and secure utilization of
social media in order to have competency and comfort in using social networks. The study
(Akubugwo, Ijeoma and Maria Burke, 2013) inspected the significance with respect to studies,
possible consequences and practical progress of inspected the scholarly significance,
conceivable consequences for social conduct and scholastic advancement of social media. The
study utilized both subjective and quantitative strategies for information gathering including
questionnaires and interviews. Discoveries of this study propose that social media could
contrarily effect on the students' social conduct, scholastic advancement. The study indicated
that automatic software program that will shut down after a certain time, should be used to
control its utilization by students. This showed that the respondents stressed that consistent
association in social media can make the understudy turn into a possible social media addict.
This can lead the subjects under study to disappointment and in the end affect the grades.
Additionally the respondents said that the inappropriate and unfiltered content seen online can
without much of a stretch lead the students to get bad impact from them. With frequent use of
unattended social media, students may indulge in utilization of terrible slangs, disregard to
folks, educators, and the law in the general public. In another research, (Kristen Tarantino,
Jessica McDonough, Ma Hua, 2013), the authors reviewed various studies. The research has
discussed the relation between students’ involvement in social media and their learning. They
also discussed how it can affect peer connections, collaborations and information creation.
Instructors who need to utilize social media in their courses to enhance students learning ability
ought to be arranged to encourage students and be dynamic members in the communitarian
learning group.

The notion that students definitely know how to utilize social media might act as an obstacle
for those students who might require closer supervision and direction. The authors claimed that
since females utilize social media more than males, gender might has a great influence to the
extent to which students are occupied with academic efforts through social media, in this way
influencing their overall learning process.

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Problem Statement
This study aims to examine students' behaviours on Facebook. Whether there is a positive
relationship between confidence and social media participation will also be assed. The
drawbacks of using Facebook will also be discussed in the research. It is expected that this
study will be useful to highlight student behaviours on social media, as today's students are
“digital natives” who were born with new technology and display excessive social network
use. Since the 2000s, there has been worldwide Internet penetration and technological advances
such as smartphones with free communication methods (Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber etc.). It
is argued that shift in student habits will also cause shifts in their behaviours.

Research Methodology
The research is aimed to study the Impact of Social Media on Students. It is a research based
on primary data and the questionnaire designed aimed at collecting data about the usage of
social media on daily basis. The response was collected from 50 Students of Panjab University,
Chandigarh.

Research Objectives
The objectives of this research are as follows:
1) Analysis of how many and for how long social media is being utilized by students.
2) Analysis of the students’ perspective regarding social media that includes the following:
a. Reason of using social media
b. Positive/negative impacts of social media in:
i. Academics
ii. Social behavior

iii. Physical health

iv. Privacy

Statistical Tools
The data collected is analyzed using Microsoft excel. Different statistical tools are implemented
to satisfy the research objectives and test the hypothesis. The data is also presented through
graphical presentation such as Bar chart and histogram. Evaluation of mean, percentages etc.
was form of descriptive analysis.

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Data Analysis and Interpretations
The following Tables and figures are based on the data collected from 50 students studying at
Panjab University, Chandigarh:

1. Age of Respondents
Cumulative
Frequency
Age Frequency(F) F/N (CF) %CF
15-20 10 0.2 10 20
20-25 15 0.3 25 50
25-30 16 0.32 41 82
30-35 9 0.18 50 100
Total 50

Age

18% 20%

32% 30%

15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35

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2. Gender of Respondents
Gender No. of respondents
Male 32
Female 18

Gender

36%
Male
Female
64%

3. Do you use any Social Networks?

Response No. of respondents
Yes 45
No 5

Do you use any Social Networks

50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes No

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 4. How many hours do you spend on Social Media in a day?
Cumulative
Frequency
No. of hours Frequency(F) F/N (CF) %CF
Less than 2 24 0.48 24 48
2-4 10 0.2 34 68
4-6 8 0.16 42 84
6-8 5 0.1 47 94
More than 8 3 0.06 50 100
Total

No. of hours

More than 8
6 to 8
6%
10%

4 to 6 Less than 2
16% 48%

2 to 4
20%

Less than 2 2 to 4 4 to 6 6 to 8 More than 8

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 5. Why do you use Social Networks?
Cumulative
Use of Social Frequency
Network Frequency(F) F/N (CF) %CF
Socialize and make
new friends 26 0.52 26 52
Remain updated
about what is
trending 10 0.2 36 72
Collaborate with
fellow students and
study 5 0.1 41 82
As a source of
recreation and
relaxation 6 0.12 47 94
None of the above 3 0.06 50 100
Total 50

Use of Social Networks

None of the above

As a source of recreation and relaxation

Collaborate with fellow students and study

Remain updated about what is trending

Socialize and make new friends

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

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 6. Do you think using social networks helps you in your studies by any
means?

Use of Social Cumulative

Network Frequency(F) F/N Frequency(CF) %CF
Strongly
Disagree 15 0.3 15 30
Disagree 14 0.28 29 58
Neutral 10 0.2 39 78
Agree 6 0.12 45 90
Strongly Agree 5 0.1 50 100

Total 50

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 7. Do you think using social networks are posing negative effects on your
studies by any means?
Cumulative
Response Frequency(F) Frequency
F/N (CF) %CF
Strongly
5
Disagree 0.1 5 10
Disagree 4 0.08 9 18
Neutral 10 0.2 19 38
Agree 15 0.3 34 68
Strongly Agree 16 0.32 50 100
Total 50 1

Negative effects of Social Media

10%
8% Strongly Disagree
32%
Disagree
Neutral
20%
Agree
Strongly Agree

30%

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 8. Do you evaluate the content you publish on social networks?
Response No. of Respondents
Yes 15
No 25
Sometimes 10

Do you evaluate the content you publish on

social networks?

30

25

20

15

10

0
Yes No Sometimes

9. Have you ever regretted any information that you shared/posted over
social media?
Response No. of Respondents
Yes 18
No 32

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 Have you ever regretted any information that
you shared/posted over social media?

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Yes No

10. Do you think the friends made through social media are trustworthy?
Cumulative
Response Frequency(F)
F/N Frequency(CF) %CF
Strongly
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Disagree 0.26 13 26
Disagree 14 0.28 27 54
Neutral 5 0.1 32 64
Agree 8 0.16 40 80
Strongly Agree 10 0.2 50 100
Total 50 1

Do you think the friends made through

social media are trustworthy?

20% 26% Strongly Disagree

16% Disagree

28% Neutral
10%
Agree
Strongly Agree

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Results and Discussions
1. Majority of people under survey use Social Media.
2. Most of the people under study spend less than 2 hrs on Social Media on a daily basis.
3. People use social media to socialize and make new friends.
4. People often post content on Social media without evaluating it and end up regretting
the same later.
5. People under study have mixed opinions about trusting the people they met online.
6. Majority of the people agree on the fact that Social media has negative effects on their
studies.

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Conclusion
Previously, the conveying and free sharing of information among individuals were confined by
long distances and lack of facilities. In any case, now, even these obstructions are unable to
stop the flow of data and information. The new universe of social media networking permits
free sharing of thoughts, pictures, videos, news, business, brands and other updates. In the
present study, when subject students were asked if they think there is any privacy issue
identified with utilizing social networking websites, more than half of them agree to this.
Specially, according to male students this issue was found to be the biggest disadvantage of
using social media. On the other hand, according to the female students, the biggest
disadvantage of using social media is that it has a negative impact on their grades and studies.
Hence, it can be concluded that male students are aware of the problems related to privacy of
their personal data with the usage of social media. The female students are more concerned
about their grades than male students. The usage of social media does not significantly impact
on the students’ real social life and grades as well. As a matter of fact, this study showed that
social media can prove to be a helpful research tool for students and can help them in their
studies. However, the results of the current study, majority of the students spend at least 2 to 5
hours on social media daily. When students were asked about whether using some kind of
social networking is essential for today’s life or not, more than 80% of the students agreed.
Social media addiction can be an issue that needs to be addressed somehow. In order to solve
this problem, conclusion drawn by Akubugwo, Ijeoma and Maria Burke in their study can be
helpful. The study indicated that automatic software program that will shut down after a certain
time, should be used to control its utilization by students.

Also, teachers who need to use social media in their courses to upgrade students learning
capacity should be organized to empower students and make them active individuals in the
learning process. The thought that students know how to use social media appropriately may
act as a hindrance for those students who may require closer supervision. An e-learning system
can play a very important role for students in order to cooperate and work together through the
social media channel. Overall, it can be concluded that, if appropriately used, the use of social
media can prove to be a very useful source of learning, sharing and healthy activities.

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Limitations
A few limitations can be identified for this research project. The study was led with a small
group of subjects under study selected from only four courses and this may restrict the
generalizability of the discoveries to the entire educational institutions. Bigger studies
including students over all schools and year levels can lead to empower speculation. The focus
of the current research work is, however, not generalization but rather an activity research and
analyses of the impacts of social media on this particular group of students.

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