Social Media, Social Responsibility and Psychology

Question 1

What is a key difference between dialogic and monologic communication models in the context of social media?

Answer 1

• Dialogic models involve many sources and many receivers.
• monologic models involve one source and many receivers.

Question 2

Why is studying social media important according to Ofcom and Dixon (2023)?

Answer 2

• Because social media is used by billions globally
• 82% of UK internet users in 2021, rising to an estimated 6 billion users by 2027.

Question 3

What basic human needs does social media help fulfil according to Clark et al. (2018)?

Answer 3

• belonging
• relatedness
• avoidance of loneliness.

Question 4

Why might psychologists feel a sense of “social responsibility” to study social media?

Answer 4

Due to its widespread psychological impact and societal influence, especially on youth wellbeing and digital behaviour.

Question 5

What ideological concern often surrounds social media use?

Answer 5

• That it may reduce meaningful human interaction
• a fear echoed historically with every new communication technology (Katz et al., 2001).

Question 6

What did Primack et al. (2017) find regarding the number of social media platforms used and mental health?

Answer 6

Using more platforms is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety.

Question 7

What mental health outcomes did Twenge et al. (2017) associate with adolescent social media use?

Answer 7

Increased depressive symptoms and other mental health concerns.

Question 8

Why is social media use not currently classified as an addiction in the DSM-5 or ICD-11?

Answer 8

There’s ongoing debate and insufficient clinical consensus on defining and diagnosing social media addiction (Zendle & Bowden-Jones, 2019).

Question 9

What behavioural addiction symptoms do users report regarding social media use (Griffiths et al., 2014)

Answer 9

Inability to reduce usage and withdrawal symptoms when offline.

Question 10

How does Burn-Murdoch (2023) describe social media’s impact in popular media?

Answer 10

As a contributing factor to declining mental health among children and adolescents.

Question 11

What correlation did Twenge et al. (2021) find between in-person social interaction, social media use, and loneliness?

Answer 11

Adolescents with low in-person interaction and high social media use reported the highest loneliness

Question 12

What methodological issue weakens the conclusions drawn by Twenge et al. (2021)?

Answer 12

Reliance on retrospective self-report instead of time-diary studies.

Question 13

Why is publication bias a concern in social media research?

Answer 13

Significant findings are more likely to be published, skewing perceptions of social media’s impact.

Question 14

What did Orben & Przybylski (2019) conclude about digital technology’s effect on adolescent wellbeing?

Answer 14

The negative association exists but is very small—explaining at most 0.4% of variance in wellbeing.

Question 15

What does große et al. (2013) suggest about the relationship between Facebook use and loneliness?

Answer 15

• Status updates may actually reduce loneliness
• promote connection

Question 16

What did Shaw et al. (2022) aim to understand through their mock social media platform experiment?

Answer 16

The psychological effects of different usage styles: passive, reactive, and interactive.

Question 17

Which social media usage style was linked to greater social connectedness in Shaw et al. (2022)?

Answer 17

Interactive use (e.g., sharing and commenting).
- Allowed researchers to see HOW pl used social media
- Measured wellbeing PRE and POST usage

Question 18

What was one methodological strength of the Shaw et al. (2022) study?

Answer 18

• It used a behavioural experimental design rather than self-reports.
• is more objective/valid measure
• It’s contextual and realistic

Question 19

How did Facebook friend count and time spent affect outcomes in Shaw et al. (2022)?

Answer 19

They accounted for variations in psychosocial outcomes across usage styles.

Question 20

What core criticism does this study highlight regarding typical “time spent on social media” metrics?

Answer 20

It oversimplifies complex behaviours and doesn’t differentiate between types of use.

Question 21

What challenge does rapid technological change pose for psychological research?

Answer 21

Research lags behind fast-moving social media trends, making findings quickly outdated.

Question 22

How does BeReal differ from platforms like Instagram or TikTok?

Answer 22

It emphasises authenticity by requiring spontaneous, real-time posts.

Question 23

Why do different platforms (e.g., Instagram vs. Twitter) matter in research design?

Answer 23

• Each promotes different types of interaction
• visual intimacy vs. emotional reaction
• which likely affect wellbeing differently.

Question 24

What is one proposal to improve future research on social media use?

Answer 24

Focus on how people use social media, not just how much time they spend on it.

Question 25

Why might nuanced research into social media usage be more socially responsible?

Answer 25

- It informs better policy, supports healthier engagement - avoids simplistic conclusions that stigmatise young users.

Question 26

How do we go about researching responsibly?

Answer 26

- Definition - Accuracy - Context/Usage - Dissemination (how info is distributed to intended audience)

Question 27

What % of adolescents use social media for atleast 5 hours everyday?

Answer 27

- 20% of adolescents (Scott et al, 2019)

Question 28

What are some methodological problems of social media research?

Answer 28

- Often uses correlational research, makes causual claims that the data can't support - heavy reliance on self-report data - lack of consideration for other variables - publication bias