A Review of the Effects of Social Media on Sleep in High-School-Aged Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between the social media use and the sleep habits of teenagers. After conducting a literature review, the researcher found that there were very few studies conducted observing the relationship between social media use and its effects on sleep, and additionally, the few studies done were conducted among adults. This led to the identification of the gap, which was the lack of research done in teenagers. The researcher decided to use a survey to collect data and fill this gap, and said survey collected both quantitative data, through Likert scale questions and information about the teenagers’ daily habits, and qualitative data, through free responses which were analyzed for popular themes. From the responses in the survey and the correlational analyses conducted, the researcher found that there was little to no correlation between social media use and worse sleep schedules among teenagers. The researcher determined that there was no significant statistical relationship among the two variables, however, it was identified that students were staying up too late and not getting enough sleep, as well as spending too much time on social media. The limitations of the survey were that the research process was inflexible, human trials are usually inconclusive, and there is respondent bias. The implications of this survey are that it can be researched in other spheres or with other methods, and that how teenagers interact with social media should be examined.