To What Extent Does Social Media Have a Negative Influence on The

Psychological Well Being of Individuals in Langley, BC?

Alessandra Lechuga
Word Count: 2418

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 Table of Contents

Introduction………………………pg 3-5

Methodology……………………....pg 6

Presentation and Analysis………… pg 7-14

Evaluation………………………. pg 14

Conclusion………………………....pg 15

Bibliography………………………...pg 16-20

Appendices………………………...pg 21-26

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 Introduction

To what extent does social media have a negative influence on the psychological well being of

individuals in Langley, BC?

Social media negatively impacts the psychological well being of everyone that uses it,

however, it is the specific age of one that determines just how prone they are to the damaging

effects of interacting with social networks. This is mainly because these negative impacts will

affect someone who is younger and still at developmental stages differently than an older person

who has already developed.

Social media has increasingly become a large and rather significant part of the personal

lives of many people around the world. Through social networks, it is now easier to not only

keep in touch with people who live in different places, but also to express yourself in a way that

has never been done before. This can be seen as a positive effect of social media, however, as

time progresses along with the popularity of social media, its negative effects have started to

arise. This is mainly because now more than ever before, anyone, no matter where they are from,

how old they are or who they are, has access to social media. It can be said that social networks

can ​negatively impact the communication skills of many, specifically those in their younger

years as they are still in a significant development stage. This is because it is not the same to text

than to have a face to face conversation (reading someone's facial expressions or certain tones is

completely different online than in person)1. Along with this there have been many more

negative psychological effects to the use of social media.

1
​Gordon, Sherri. “How Social Media Negatively Affects the Teen Brain.” ​Verywell Family​, Verywell Family, 20
Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/ways-social-media-affects-teen-mental-health-4144769.

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 There are many ties between social media use and general symptoms of depression as

well as anxiety, such as a low self esteem, low motivation, bad body image and low levels of

sleep depression. There are many reasons for this, one of which is that individuals tend to only

share their positive and celebratory moments on social media, making it appear as if everyone is

in relationships, traveling the world and simply living the dream life2. This causes one to

constantly compare their life to the picture perfect lives that people portray on their social media

and create the feelings of envy, as well as a negative body image3. People also tend to use their

phones before going to bed and even check up on it during the night which is known to lower

one’s immunity system as well as create bad mental health4. One major harmful effect of social

media is that people develop heavy emotional value not only to their relationships online, but

also to how they are perceived by others online5.

Langley, BC, is located in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada (Map 1).

Langley is a fast growing community with a population of more than 121,000 residents that is

expected to double by the year 20406. Approximately 1,275 of these people are in between the

ages of 15-19 while the average age of the population is 42.57.

2
​“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News.” ​The Huffington Post,​ TheHuffingtonPost.com,
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-medias-impact-on-self-esteem_us_58ade038e4b0d818c4f0a4e4).
3
​Gordon, Sherri. “How Social Media Negatively Affects the Teen Brain.” ​Verywell Family,​ Verywell Family, 20
Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/ways-social-media-affects-teen-mental-health-4144769.
4
​Gordon, Sherri. “How Social Media Negatively Affects the Teen Brain.” ​Verywell Family​, Verywell Family, 20
Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/ways-social-media-affects-teen-mental-health-4144769.
5
​Gordon, Sherri. “How Social Media Negatively Affects the Teen Brain.” ​Verywell Family​, Verywell Family, 20
Oct. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/ways-social-media-affects-teen-mental-health-4144769.
6
​“DISCOVER.” ​Invest in the Township of Langley,​ http://invest.tol.ca/discover/profile-statistics/.
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​ tatistics Canada. “Census Profile, 2016 Census Langley, City [Census Subdivision], British Columbia
S
and British Columbia [Province].” ​Census Profile, 2016 Census - Langley, City [Census Subdivision],
British Columbia and British Columbia [Province]​, 9 Aug. 2019,
www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code
1=5915002&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&SearchText=Langley&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All
&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=5915002&TABID=1&type=0.

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Map 1: Map of Langley, B.C. Canada

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 Methodology

The method of data collection used for this paper was convenience sampling.

Convenience sampling is a way of data collection that relies on population participants being

used because they were conveniently available8. This method was used because it reduces the

amount of time and cost used for data collection9. This method was also used because it allowed

for a larger amount of people to participate, made up of people who were easy to reach, and

therefore get statistical responses10. For the purposes of this research paper, a survey was carried

out throughout Langley BC to investigate the impacts of social media locally. This was done by

brainstorming possible questions that would help answer the inquiry questions and therefore

illustrate how one’s mental health is influenced by social networks. These questions were then

narrowed down to 18 of the most relevant questions considering the research question.

The survey contained questions that allowed one to see how social media impacts the

daily lives of people. The questions specifically asked about how much time is spent on social

networks. The survey also included questions regarding possible signs of depression or anxiety,

such as with self steem or daily motivation as well as amount of sleep per night. This was done

in order to study any possible correlations between high amounts of time spent on social media

with lower levels of self esteem and motivation. Other questions such as what social networks

one is a part of and uses the most were also asked in order to see if any certain type of social

media, such as facebook or instagram, create more negative impacts than others. The survey was

8
​“Convenience Sampling - Research Methodology.” ​Research,​
research-methodology.net/sampling-in-primary-data-collection/convenience-sampling/.
9
​“Convenience Sampling - Research Methodology.” ​Research,​
research-methodology.net/sampling-in-primary-data-collection/convenience-sampling/.
10
​“Stat Trek.” ​Convenience Sample: Definition​,
https://stattrek.com/statistics/dictionary.aspx?definition=convenience sample.

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given to people of all ages in order to compare if there is a difference of negative effects of social

media with people of different age groups.

Presentation and Analysis

Graph #1

Figure 1, shows one of the multiple choice survey questions as well as a pie chart

showing which option had the most responses. This question was asked in order to study if one

would agree that using technology takes up more of their time than what they ideally would

want. This chart demonstrates how more than 50% of participants would agree that they often

spend more time on their electronic devices than what they originally intended. It can also be

seen that only 10.8% would say that rarely do they spend more time online than what they

intended. This shows the great extent to which networks or apps on technology, such as social

media, can negatively impact self discipline or time management skills to the point where one is

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unable to control the amount of time they spend on their electronic devices and could potentially

be addicted.

Graph #2

Graph 2, shown above, illustrates the daily amount times individuals of different ages

spend on social media. This was done in order to investigate how the amount of times one

interacts with social networks can impact their motivation (graph 3). A general pattern seen in

this graph is that teens in general ranging in ages 14-17 spend the most time on social media

daily than any other ages. However, more specifically, it can be seen that teens who are 16-17

years old spend the most time on social media as they are the only age group that spends more

than 4 hours on it daily. It can also be seen from this graph that the age group that spends the

least amount of time on social networks daily are those in their 40s and 50s. This could

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potentially be due to social media being more popular amongst younger people or also because

adults were introduced to social networks at an age where grasping new concepts is harder than it

is for younger people. Although there is the major pattern that as age increases, the amount of

time spent on electronic devices daily decreases it can be seen that those who are 14 or 15 spend

less time than those who are 16 and 17, being the abnormality in this graph.

Graph #3

Figure 3, shown above, shows the overall trends of motivation at school/work of

individuals of different genders and age groups in Langley, BC. This was done in order to

investigate any potential correlation between the amount of times spent on social networks and

motivation. It can be seen that overall, individuals ages 16 and 17 have the lowest motivation

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while individuals in their 40s and 50s have the highest. This shows how teens, specifically in the

age range of 16 and 17 are more prone to depression, as lack of motivation is a major symptom,

which is potentially due to their exposure to social media during such an important

developmental stage. This can be figure 2 previous to this one which shows how all teens who

are 16 and 17 years old tend to spend a higher amount of time on social networks than older

individuals. This is because it can be seen that there is a potential link between higher amounts of

time spent on social media and lower motivation as it is 16 and 17 year olds who have lower

motivation and spend the most time on electronic devices. This could also be due to 16 and 17

years olds being highly influenced by social networks at such a significant and large

developmental stage.

Graph #4

Social Media Networks Mostly Used

Graph #4 above, shows which social networks are most popular amongst individuals in

Langley, B.C. This was done in order to investigate which social networks are most popular as

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well as how this might affect one’s mental health. A major pattern that can be seen in this pie

chart is that Instagram is the most used social media app while Twitter is the least used. This

shows the potential for higher depression levels of individuals in Langley due to Instagram being

said to be the worst social network for mental health as it is linked to high levels of anxiety,

depression and bullying associated with the fear of missing out. Social media networks tend to

create unrealistic expectations as well as feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem which is

something that mainly occurs through networks such as Instagram.11 This is because Instagram is

where personal photos take center stage and create body image as well as anxiety.

11
​MacMillan, Amanda. “Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health.” ​Time​, Time, 25 May 2017,
time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/.

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 Graph #5

Graph #5 shown above demonstrates the difference of time that males and females spend

on their social media daily. It can be seen that males generally spend more time on social media

daily than females. This is because as seen in graph #5, 22% of male participants agreed that

they spend more than 4 hours per day on their social media while 0% of female participants

agreed to this. It is also because 5.12% of female participants agreed that they never spend any

time on social media while 0% of male participants did, meaning that unlike the female

participants in this investigation, all male participants are active on social media everyday.

However, the majority of females spend 3-4 hours on their social media daily while the majority

of males spend 30 minutes to an hour on their social media daily. This can be seen as an example

of how there is no clear difference in time spent on social media networks between genders.

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Considering graph #2 along with the one above, it can be said that the amount of time that one

spends interacting with social networks depends more on age than gender.

Graph #6

The graph above, being praph #6, illustrates the difference of self esteem levels between

genders. It can be seen that females on average have a greater self esteem level than males by

0.4. Considering graph #5 where it was seen that males tend to spend longer periods of time

active on their social media daily than females, there is the potential that it is due to this that the

self esteem levels of males is lower than females. However, since the difference in self esteem

levels between males and females is very low and therefore insignificant, it can be said that there

is no true correlation between high amounts spent on social media and lower levels of self

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esteem within different genders. Considering graphs #2,#3 along with #5 and #6 it is shown that

the negative influences of social media have a greater and more significant impact on different

age groups than on genders.

Evaluation

Some strengths of having used convenience sampling to collect data for this paper is that

it simplified the sampling of this research as well as reduced cost and time used.Another strength

of the research method used is that the survey was anonymous, causing participants to feel more

comfortable, give more honest answers and therefore create more credible research. However, a

strong weakness of having used this sampling method is that it caused assumptions to be made

about participants from their survey responses. Another possible method or an extension that

could have been used for more accurate results could have been interviews where people would

specifically be asked how their mental health is impacted by social media. This would have

allowed for the amount of inaccurate assumptions of this research to be reduced as well create

more specific and personal answers. Another weakness of this study is that it was carried out in

Langley, B.C. which is a smaller community than many. If this study had been done in a bigger

and more urbanized area, the results would potentially have more variety due to there being a

more diverse sample in terms of income, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

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 Conclusion

As can be seen in the illustrated graphs above, that generally everyone who uses social

media experiences bad side effects. However, the weight of the negative psychological

influences that one can experience from social media is determined by the factors of age as well

as how much one uses social media. Looking at graph 1, one can see how the majority of

participants often or sometimes spend more time on their electronic devices than what they

originally intended. This shows how online apps, such as social media, can create possible

addictions and therefore make it harder for people to reduce the amount of time they spend

online. Graphs 5 and 6 showed how the negative influences of using social networks does not

have as great of an impact on different genders as it does on different age groups. It can be seen

in graph 3 that individuals who are in their teen years have lower levels of self esteem and

motivation and therefore have greater proneness to bad mental health. This is because teens are

more vulnerable to social media as their brains are still developing which is also what makes

them so attracted to it. This is also due to how teens are generally exposed more to issues such as

peer pressure and cyberbullying than any other age group. It can also be seen in graph 2 that it is

those in their teen years who also tend to spend the most amount of time on social networks.

Overall, this shows the possibility that the negative side effects of social media are for the most

part determined by age as well as by how much one uses it.

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 Annotated Bibliography

“Convenience Sampling - Research Methodology.” ​Research​,

research-methodology.net/sampling-in-primary-data-collection/convenience-sampling/.

This article looks into what convenience sampling is as well as its advantages and

disadvantages. This was used to investigate what method of data collection was to be

used for the purposes of this paper.

Dahl, Dick. “Experts Explore How Social Networks Can Influence Behavior and

Decision-Making (Video).” ​Harvard Law Today​, 25 Mar. 2020,

today.law.harvard.edu/experts-explore-how-social-networks-can-influence-behavior-and-d

ecision-making-video/.

This article talks about the ways in which social media affects the thinking and

decision making as well as behaviour of individuals. This was used for general research

and inspiration for the topic of this paper.

DiStaso, Marcia W., and Tina McCorkindale. “The Science of Influence: How Social Media

Affects Decision Making in the Healthcare, Travel, Retail and Financial Industries.”

Institute for Public Relations,​ 5 Mar. 2020,

instituteforpr.org/science-influence-social-media-affects-decision-making-healthcare-trave

l-retail-financial-industries/.

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 This online article looks into how different aspects of social media influence

different aspects of one’s life. This article was looked at for general research and

inspiration for a possible capstone project topic.

Goldhar, Thomas. “The Negative Impacts That Social Media Have On Our Self-Esteem.”

Medium,​ RTA902 (Social Media), 15 Mar. 2018,

medium.com/rta902/the-negative-impacts-that-social-media-have-on-our-self-esteem-563

47f7a00ae.

This article explains how social media can be a negative influence on the mental

health of individuals with things such as self esteem, anxiety, depression, etc. This was

used for general research for the purpose of this paper.

Gordon, Sherri. “How Social Media Negatively Affects the Teen Brain.” ​Verywell Family​,

Verywell Family, 20 Oct. 2019,

www.verywellfamily.com/ways-social-media-affects-teen-mental-health-4144769.

This article explains 5 specific ways in which the mental health of teens is

affected by social media networks. This was used for general research as well as to

connect back to analysis made through graphs in this paper.

“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News.” ​The Huffington Post,​

TheHuffingtonPost.com,

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 www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/social-medias-impact-on-self-esteem_us_58ade038e4b0d8

18c4f0a4e4).

This article investigates and explains the different links between social media

usage and poor mental health looking specifically at loneliness, anxiety and depression.

This was used for general research, inspiration for possible topics to research for this

paper as well as to generate potential survey questions.

Hurley, Katie. “Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health?”

Psycom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986​,

www.psycom.net/social-media-teen-mental-health.

This article looks specifically into how social media influences teenagers out of

any other age group. This was used to brainstorm possible survey questions as well as to

investigate more specific topics to talk about in this paper.

Klass, Perri. “When Social Media Is Really Problematic for Adolescents.” ​The New York

Times,​ The New York Times, 3 June 2019,

www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/well/family/teenagers-social-media.html.

This online article by the New York Times explains that social media can be more

problematic to teenagers than any other age. This was used to gain more specific research

in order to create a more specific hypothesis for this paper.

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MacMillan, Amanda. “Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health.” ​Time​,

Time, 25 May 2017, time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/.

This online article explains the reasons why Instagram has more of a negative

impact on one’s mental health than any other social network.

“Stat Trek.” ​Convenience Sample.: Definition,​

stattrek.com/statistics/dictionary.aspx?definition=convenience sample.

This site gives a specific definition of convenience sampling which was used to

understand and explain this method in this research paper.

Statistics Canada. “Census Profile, 2016 Census Langley, City [Census Subdivision], British

Columbia and British Columbia [Province].” ​Census Profile, 2016 Census - Langley, City

[Census Subdivision], British Columbia and British Columbia [Province],​ 9 Aug. 2019,

www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Ge

o1=CSD&Code1=5915002&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&SearchText=Langley&SearchType=

Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=5915002&TABID=1&type=0

This site gives many statistics and graphs about several geographical features of

Langley, such as infrastructure or population. This was used to study the population of

Langley, specifically how much of the population is young, old, middle aged, etc.

Tamang, Abinash. “The Impact of Social Media on Our Mental Wellbeing.” ​Thrive Global​, 5

Apr. 2019, thriveglobal.com/stories/the-impact-of-social-media-on-our-mental-wellbeing/.

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 This article looks into ways in which social media negatively impacts the

psychological well being of individuals. This was used for general research and inspiration

for a possible topic for this capstone project.

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Appendix 1: survey

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