The Effects of Social Media on User Interaction
Mass Communication Department, Winona State University
MCOM 308: Research in Mass Media
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The Effects of Social Media on User Interaction
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Abstract
Social Media is continuously growing with a constant circulation of information. Thus, the need
to understand user behavior is becoming increasingly more important. This research proposal
reviews relevant scholarly sources pertaining to social media users and their interactions online.
The proposal seeks to establish why more research needs to be conducted on social media
interactions. Asking the question: How does social media influence interactions between users?
While also hypothesizing that (H1) if a user consistently frequents social media daily then they
will be involved with more hostile online interactions and (H2) if user’s use social anonymity as
a mask on social media then these users are more prone to hostile interactions.
Keywords: Problematic users, social media interactions, social anonymity, social media hostility
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Introduction
Web 2.0 created an unprecedented internet growth at the beginning of the twentieth
century. This new wave of internet use fostered the creation of social media sites that dominate
this media today. Now, social media has amassed a user base over half of the world’s population.
This means that there are roughly 3.9 billion social media users today. With an estimated growth
rate of 376 million more social media users from 2019 to 2020, social media is not slowing down
(Kemp, 2020) Not only has social media’s population grown exponentially, but so has the time
spent of social media. Worldwide average for daily time spent on social media was two hours
and twenty-two minutes. However, users age 16-24 spend nearly three hours on social media a
day (Kemp, 2020) Thus, it is justified to assume social media interactions are on the rise as well.
With social media hosting an increasingly large number of users, how influential is this media?
In what ways does this platform influence social media users’ behavior and interactions between
one another?
Understanding social media interaction is important because it may be able to answer
why users are drawn to be online, why users may experience hostile interactions, and expose
factors that may contribute to hostile behaviors online. This may help businesses understand
variables that cause people to form a negative or defensive mentality around a user or topic of
interest. With the exponential growth in users and agenda-setting by social media companies
(Peck, 2020), understanding the complexities of social interaction are vital for creating a
productive online environment. The results from this study may provide an explanation of the
origins of hostility on the internet and social media. From political bias to home life this study
could identify otherwise unknown factors that contribute to conflicts on social media. Kircaburn
supports this claim from finding that home life, mental health, and belonging all influence a
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user’s behavior on social media (Kırcaburun, 2018). Additionally, if contributing factors for
online hostility are identified this may result in social media companies to generate solutions to
combat undesirable interactions between users-to-user or user-to-the business. There is a lack of
understanding from previous research to explain what influences online behaviors. Either users
themselves are the sole reason for their behavior or the platform of social media contributes to
interactions between users. This research seeks to understand the factors or variables that should
be accounted for when examining social media interactions between users. The research will
seek to understand user attitudes and beliefs around the topic of social interaction on social
media.
Literature Review
In a study published in 2018, it was discovered that “Belongingness (directly) and social
connectedness (indirectly) were both associated with cyberbullying perpetration and problematic
social media use,” (Kırcaburun, 2018). Females became an interest in the research because they
are more prone to depressive moods. Which is a contributing factor to problematic social media
use (PSMU). Kircaburun explains that user who exhibit PSMU are not able to control their
behavior (Kircaburun, 2018). The research contributes to the idea that many social media users
seek online interactions as a form of socialization and a way to feel a sense of belonging.
However, seeking connectedness is associated with cyberbullying perpetration (CBP) and
PSMU. CBP is common among 20-40% of young social media users. Previous research has
shown that the frequency of social media may be connected to the individual’s satisfaction with
socialization from their personal lives offline (Kırcaburun, 2018). Additionally, 82.4% of online
users participant on social media and in combination with the 21% increase in active social
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media users, it can be concluded that consistent social media use is becoming common. Thus,
creating more social media interactions that may result in hostile dialogue.
Similar to Kircaburun’s findings, Milosevic’s book Protecting Children Online highlights
the idea that social media use can cause cyberbullying. Milosevic explores the avenue that
cyberbullying is a direct cause of social media companies lack of cyberbullying policies.
(Milosevic, 2018). Although, Milosevic’s claim that social media use is not the problem for
cyberbullying online, it supports the proposed research in other ways. Milosevic argues that
societal norms and culture are the real problem. Additionally, another CBP cause is social media
companies having poor policies that do not hold online bullies accountable for their actions
(Milosevic, 2018). Protecting Online Children presents an interesting and compelling
perspective on cyberbullying policies from social media companies. Milosevic’s argument that
social media companies are to blame for hostility online justifies the proposed research because
it gives reason to believe that without proper policies users have the ability to attack other users
without consequence.
Along with social media companies creating avenues for users to abuse via CBP, social
media also has an algorithmic feature that personalize an individual’s feed on the network (Peck,
2020). This algorithm can reinforce social media users pre-existing worldview. In A Problem of
Amplification, Peck examines how the fast-paced nature of social media allows for amplification
of stories, events, and news that would have otherwise not been seen by social media users.
“Real events get amplified beyond their actual importance,” Peck states (Peck, 2020, pg. 331).
Consequently, the continuous circulation of information by everyday social media users gives
way for unexpecting audiences who are “unfamiliar with creator’s intention,” left to come to
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their own interpretation of the information. Likewise, in Social Media and the Movement of
Ideas, Edward Kessler suggests that “once a message is posted online, control is lost” and users
must accept the possible consequences of misinterpretation by other online users (Peck, 2020,
pg. 31). Kessler and Peck’s findings supports the research because it reinforces the idea that
undesirable social media interactions steam from the users limited exposure to different ideas.
Edward Kessler found as well that online users seek socialization through social media.
However, Kessler expressed that while social media has the potential to create dialogue, “it has
equal capacity to reinforce pack identities and mob rule,” (Kessler, 2013). In Kessler’s research,
he states that the internet is only a machine. A neutral device to distribute information across
platforms. “Thus social media in themselves have no inherent positive or negative influence on
interfaith dialogue,” (Kessler, 2013, pg. 32) Kessler’s belief does conflict the proposed research
by not suggesting that social media could be a influencing factor in user interactions. Whether
positive or negative a social media interaction is solely based on user behavior. Willingness to
interact with a post is determined by their interest in the topic. Kessler and Milosevic (author of
Protecting Children Online) provide conflicting viewpoints to the proposed research. However,
this confliction justifies more research for how or if social media influences user behavior.
Another key aspect that previous research presents is how anonymity plays a role in
social media. Kessler found that on platforms where social anonymity is easily achieved there is
more debate and increase polarization between users (Kessler, 2013). Additionally, Kessler
explains how anonymity can harm society. This is due to disinhibition. As Kessler described, a
relevant term which people are enabled to behave in ways not typical of themselves. A large
reason for this behavior is the lack of face-to face communication. “Disinhibition is also
demonstrated by all too common examples of harsh criticism, anger, hatred and threat,” (Kessler,
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2013, pg. 29). Kessler also found that when anonymity is present, rules of behavior from the real
world do not exist. This provides a key insight to the importance of the proposed research
because it presents and warrants that anonymity online causes abnormal behavior from users.
A major aspect of social media is finding groups that users self-identify with. As
previously mentioned by Kircaburun and Kessler, social media users have a “tendency to selfselect into like minded groups,” (Kessler, 2020, pg. 31). Research has shown that social media is
a means of social value and capital for many young people (Faucher, 2018). As such, users
frequent social media in search of constant communication, connectedness, and belonging.
Faucher found that social media can foster narcissism in social media users because of the social
value and large number of users on social media. The social capital of a user’s popularity online
feeds into narcissism because social media’s platform allows for a narcissist to “indulge” in selfsatisfying tendencies (Faucher, 2018). Furthermore, the competition for the “attention economy”
puts narcissist on the defensive. Thus, why aggression and narcissism are connected in the world
of social media. “The link between narcissism and incidents of aggression generally arise from
threatened egotism where there is a perception by the narcissist that there is an attempt to
undermine or devalue said person,” (Faucher, 2020, pg. 96). Similar to Kırcaburun findings that
PSMUs are more prone to be unable to control themselves, Faucher found that a narcissists
aggression could be attributed to an impulsive decision. (Faucher, 2020)
After reviewing the related literature to social media, there are more than a few
commonalities among the scholarly sources. It is clear that the related literature agrees that’s
there are factors that influence social media interactions between users and behavior online.
Kessler’s research argued that social media itself doesn’t produce negative or positive
interactions between users. In contrast Milosevic believes social media is a contributing
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influence on users’ interactions. Both authors agree there are factors pertaining to the user as an
individual that influence social media interactions. However, the previous research lacks the
ability to identify key factors that influence negative interactions between users. Thus, the
importance of the proposed research to explore what these key factors could be.
Research Question and Hypotheses
Through conducting this research on social media interactions, this research aims to
answer the following research question. How does social media influence interactions between
online users? This research will also explore whether social media or social media users have
more influence on online interactions.
There are two hypotheses to help explain possible factors that contribute to social media
interactions. Hypothesis One (H1) states if a user consistently frequents social media daily then
they will be involved with more hostile online interactions. Previous research from the literature
review suggests that hostility is present online. What this research will measure is the frequency
at which it occurs and factors that could promote this type of interaction. Hypothesis Two (H2)
states if user’s use social anonymity as a mask on social media then these users are more prone to
hostile interactions. Similar to H1, previous research allows for reasonable assumption that social
media platforms that are ideal for anonymity usually have aggressive behavior from users.
Overall, the research will identify whether users or social media platforms influence
interactions on social media. Identify key factors or variables in participants that encourage
negative or positive interactions with other social media users. Identify the general frequency at
which hostile interactions occur among users. Lastly, identify the influence that social anonymity
has a social media users’ behavior or interactions.
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Research Design & Methodology
Conducting a survey for the research methodology would help answer the research
question because the biggest advantage that surveys have is that their ability to reach a wider
population and be generalizable for that wider population. Convenience sampling will be utilized
for this study. The population that would be sampled are males and females from ages 16-30
years of age. This age segment is based on Kircaburun’s research population. Since social media
is extremely widespread across the United States and the world, conducting a survey would
allow the research study to sample a large and diverse group of people. Treadwell explains that
survey answers sometimes lack the reasoning behind the answer (Treadwell, 2020). However,
the research question could benefit from having more quantitative results because it could help
quantify people’s attitudes about social media interactions. The quantitative results could help
define what topics or questions could be asked for a future Focus Group. Treadwell also explains
that an advantage to a trend studies is its ability to “track shifts in public opinion” (Treadwell,
2020). The nature of social media and its rapidly changing topics of discussion constitute Trend
Survey for this particular research topic.
In order to target those who actually use social media and those who have interacted with
other users, the study would distribute the survey online and/or by mobile means. An advantage
for online distribution that the textbook goes over is the opportunity to present visuals, such as
videos and images (Treadwell, 2020). Such visuals would include scenarios and/or real-life
interactions between social media users (with usernames blurred). This would allow for
questions that measure attitudes. For example, question types like Likert and Semantic
Differential scales would be great to measure a participant’s attitude and perception of a
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proposed topic. The questionnaire would also include dichotomous and multiple-choice
questions.
The survey would consist of 20 questions, with an estimated completion time of 15-20
minutes. Most questions will be framed around what their feelings, attitudes, and beliefs about
interactions on social media. There will also be basic background information to collect data on
demographic factors. See Appendix for survey questionnaire.
As mentioned, questions will be framed around attitude measurement. Some survey
questions were inspired by question scales from Kircaburun’s research. The Social Media Use
Questionnaire (SMUQ) measures the negative aspects on social media use, Short DepressionHappiness Scale (SDHA), and Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE) (Kircaburun, 2020). The
inspired questions will mainly consist of the Likert and the Sematic Differential scale.
Once the survey has been conducted, an analysis of the results will take place. Before
starting the analysis, data will be prepared by checking for incomplete surveys to prevent the
data from being skewed with invalid answers. After a review for errors, participants will be
segmented into ages groups. Also, whether or not they have completed high school. The data will
be segmented by age and high school completion to separate adolescent behaviors and adult
behaviors among participants.
In order to assess and measure the variables and factors presented in the survey questions
a multivariate and univariate analysis will be conducted. Questions that pertained the overarching research question about how social media influences will be examined using the
multivariate analysis to assess the various variables and factors. Questions pertaining to
hypotheses one and two, regarding excessive social media use and anonymity, will be examined
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using the univariate analysis because of the specificity of each variable and factor in the
hypotheses.
Limitations of Research
Using a survey will allow for a large population to be sampled. However, there are a few
limitations to conducting a survey to answer the research question. A problem that the research
could encounter is lack of explanation for the answers provided by the participants. As stated
previously, Likert Scale questions will be implemented in the survey. The disadvantage to this
question type is there is no explanation for the participant’s reasoning behind their answer or
how the participants may have interpreted the questions. The lack of face-to-face communication
challenges how valid the results may be. The method chosen to distribute the survey via online
raise to question the reliability of the results. Participants taking the survey online could
misinterpret a question which could compromise the research’s goal to measure attitudes
correctly. Surveys do not allow for concrete measurement of attitudes. Another limitation is the
honesty of answers. Participants may lie about their answer due to the context of the question.
Likewise, participants may lack the ability to be objective with answers regarding personal
interactions with other social media users. If further research on how social media influences
online interactions is conducted, researchers should examine the participants’ attitudes of their
home life. Previous research from Kırcaburun suggests home life may be a contributing variable
to explain online behavior. Examining this variable may help explain or expose other factors
influencing social media users’ interactions.
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Appendix
Survey Questionnaire
1. What is you name: _____
2. What is your age:
a. Under 16
b. 16 – 18
c. 18 – 22
d. 22 – 24
e. 24 – 26
f. 26 – 30
g. Over 30
3. Gender:
a. Male
b. Female
c. Other: _____
4. What state do you live (Select from list below)
5. Have you completed high school?
Yes
No
6. What social media platforms do you use? (Check all that apply.)
a. Facebook
b. Twitter
c. Instagram
d. Snapchat
e. Pinterest
f. Other: ____
7. What social media features do you use the most? Please rank them (“1” being most used).
a. Posting
b. Liking
c. Commenting
d. Sharing
e. Story (Ex. Instagram Stories)
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8. How many days a week do you use social media?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 days
9. How many hours do you spend on social media a day?
a. Less than 1 hour
b. 1 - 2 hours
c. 2 - 3 hours
d. 4 - 5 hours
e. 5 + hours
10. How often do you experience stress?
Not Often
•
•
•
•
•
Very Often
11. What are the reasons you use social media (Check all that apply.)
a. Connect with friends and family
b. Keep up with current trends/events
c. Entertainment
d. Other:_____
12. How often do you engage with another user on social media? (i.e., Commenting.)
(Check all that apply)
a. Daily
b. Weekly
c. Monthly
d. Rarely.
e. Never.
13. How high is your self-esteem?
Low
•
•
•
•
•
High
14. How do you view other social media users you don’t know?
Un-Friendly
Mean
Uneducated
Insensitive
Opinionated
Impolite
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Friendly
Nice
Educated
Sensitive
Impartial
Polite
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15. What kinds of hostility have you encountered online from another user?
(Check all that apply)
a. Threats of violence.
b. Threats on your life.
c. Demeaning comments on your posts.
d. Verbal harassment.
e. Defamation.
f. Continued harassment from one user.
g. Getting “outed” (Having private information posted without consent.)
h. Doxing (The leaking of your personal address.)
i. Having your personal accounts hacked.
j. Other: _______
k. None of the above.
16. Why do you use social media?
a. Socializing.
b. Personal validation.
c. Exploring new ideas.
d. Meeting new people.
17. Have you ever been hostile on social media toward another user?
Yes
No
18. Do you get antsy when you are unable to check social media for a long period of time?
Never
•
•
•
•
•
Always
19. Do you see social media as a way to hind your identity?
Yes
No
20. Do you hide your identity online?
Yes
No
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