Summary of the purpose of the experiment
This experiment focused on determining the impact of the use of Facebook on attitudes, self-esteem, social adjustments, and performance of the undergraduate college students. The researchers were interested in investigating the relevance of Facebook to college students. The research sampled students in various levels of college (Kalpidou, Costin & Morris, 2011).
Hypotheses used in the experiment
The researchers used a number of hypotheses based on their review of literatures. The following are the hypotheses that were used in this study.
- H1a: There is a negative relationship between Facebook variables, self-esteem, and emotional adjustment to college.
- H1b: There is a positive relationship between Facebook variables and social adjustment to college.
- H1c: Facebook variables will predict different types of adjustment in each group.
- H2: First-year and upper class students differ in Facebook use and attitudes.
Operational definitions
In this study, social adjustment is defined as the ability to understand and be tolerant of the diversity within the social environment. On the other hand, self-esteem is defined as the perception that one has towards self.
Independent and the dependent variables
In this research, the independent variable was the use of Facebook. The dependent variables in this experiment were students’ self-esteem, their attitude, social adjustments, and their academic performance.
Summary of the results
This research determined that Facebook had a positive impact on the social adjustment on the senior students. First year students benefited more from Facebook in terms of building self-esteem and changing their attitudes on various social issues. However, it was observed that it had negative impacts on the performance of the students irrespective of their year of study.
Proposal of a variation of the experiment
If this experiment were to be done today, I would propose a change in the approach of data analysis. I would propose that the research should use mix method of data analysis.
Reference
Kalpidou, M., Costin, D. & Morris, J. (2011). The relationship between Facebook and the well-being of undergraduate college students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and and Social Networking, 14(4), 183-189.