University College of Takestan

Available online at http://UCTjournals.com

Iranian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research
UCT . J. Soc. Scien. Human. Resear. (UJSSHR)
Volume 5,Issue3 123-127 (2017) ISSN 2382-9753

Social Media Usage: Positive and Negative Effects on the Life Style of
Indian Youth

Monica Munjial Singh1, Mohammad Amiri2*, Sherry Sabbarwal3

1Associate Professor, University Institute of Emerging Areas in Social Science, Centre for Social Work, Panjab University,
Chandigarh
2PhD Scholar, University Institute of Emerging Areas in Social Science, Centre for Social Work, Panjab University,
Chandigarh
3Professor, University Institute of Emerging Areas in Social Science, Centre for Social Work, Panjab University,
Chandigarh, India

Original Article:
Received 1 Aug. 2017 Accepted 30 Aug. 2017 Published 25 Nov. 2017

ABSTRACT Keywords
Utilization of social media is an integral part of Indian youth today. Over utilization of Indian Youth;
social media, has captured the attention of youth entirely. The dependency of youths on the Positive and Negative
social media has reached at such level that, without social media, every young person cannot Effects;
think about the direction of their growth. Dependency of youth on social media is now Social Media;
leading to addiction. Through the several studies, it is widely accepted that over utilization Youth’s life style.
of social media has profound negative influence on the Indian youth. Simultaneously, social
media have also some positive effects on the life of youth. This study highlights the main
purposes of utilizing social media by the youth, and attempt has been made to find out the
time spent on browsing social networking sites by the youth. This study focuses on the
major; and the positive and negative effects of utilizing social media on the life of youth.
The result of study shows that, over utilization of social media leads youth towards
addiction.

*Corresponding author:
Mohammad.amiri.qiau@gmail.com

Peer review under responsibility of Iranian Journal of

Social Sciences and Humanities Research

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3419551

 Munjial Singh et al.,
Iranian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Vol 5 Issue 3 (2017)
1. Introduction students. Authors have also constructed a profile which
Today, youths are the defining users of social media. Social focused on the students’ usage pattern of social Networking
media made available a platform for youth to build social sites. Through this study authors have explained the concept
networks or social relations among people. Nowadays, of social networking sites and social network through
lucrative electronic gadgets are attracting the attention of the sociological perspective. Authors have found that, the usage
young generation; they are the largest customer of electronic of social networking sites has effects on the interpersonal
gadgets and services, which makes them addicted in a short relationship of college students, especially with their
span of time. Effects of using social media have been found members of family, friends and teachers. Authors have also
to be far reaching and potentially dangerous in affecting the observed that, due to the availability of social networking
health and mental related behavior of youth, who are not yet sites, the communication between students and their family
mature enough to differentiate between fantasy and reality. members, between students and friends has increased. In this
Apart from this, over utilization of social media, decreases research study, usage pattern, purpose of usage of social
the amount of time available for pursuing other activities networking, time spend, preferred social networking etc.,
which are useful for their physical health and mental health have been focused keeping the scientific research base. This
and spending of time with family members. study provides an outlook for investigating the technological
The present electronic era has brought several pros and cons. implications on society in the domain of sociology.
The electronic era not only provided better, faster and [7] Valkenburg et al., (2009), have discussed on the state of
improved working ability of young people, but also an the literature on the consequences of online communication
emergence and new form of disorder in Indian youths. Since technologies for adolescents’ social connectedness and well-
last decade, the over utilization of social media is an ongoing being. Authors have observed that, adolescents are spending
activity which is increasing at an alarming rate and leading to more time for social media than adults. Through this study
addiction form among Indian young people which is a serious authors have first explain the reasons of diverge of recent
concern. Problems arriving from over utilization of social studies from past studies. Authors have discussed on a viable
media have been documented worldwide including in India, hypothesis to explain the recent findings and discussed on
where the use of the social media has increased noticeably. some contingent factors that may deserve special attention
It is observed through the studies, that the social media is for future study. In the opinion of authors, the research
more addictive among the youths, over utilization of it has studies pertaining to social media usage, internet usage is still
been referred to as behavioral addiction and one’s inability to new for scholars, sociologist and does not yet permit to draw
avoid being online to the point where it effects the users life, decisive conclusions.
relationships, emotions users’ social life etc. There are [8] Wanajak (2011), has differentiated between normal daily
various forms of social media addiction, such as forming social media/ Internet use behaviors and addictive behaviors’.
online friendship, accessing pornography, gaming, online Author has also highlights the impacts of those behaviors that
shopping etc. It is observed that, over utilization of social may signify maladaptive use. The main aims of the study are,
media, refrain from participating in real life activities, young to generate a consensus definitions and diagnostic criteria of
people lives mostly in the virtual than in real life. Through Internet Addiction from the literature. Through this study
this study an attempt has been made to highlight the negative author has also identified the prevalence of Internet addiction
and positive effects of social media on the Indian youths and among secondary school students between aged from 11 to
their opinion about social media. 19 years old, and identified the important factors that may
2. Background and Literature Review influence Internet use among secondary school students.
[1] Bhargava and Rani (2015), have opined that, the Author has also highlighted the potential intervention
influence of social websites can be good on students, if there strategies which help to minimize harm of Internet addiction.
is a closer look on the real impact of social media. Authors Through the study author has found that, the amount of time
have further opined that, several social media websites are spent on the Internet is related to gender, having Internet
now a day’s continuously distracting adolescent students access at home, using the Internet alone. It is also observed
from their educational career. Through, the study authors that, Internet addiction is directly correlated with the amount
have observed that, adolescent students are emphasizing on of time spent on the using of social media and Internet per
social media sites which is a complete wastage of time. week, with addictive spending on average 29 hours per week
Through this study authors have focused on the impacts of for social media.
social media on Indian education, students and impacts on 3. Significance of the Study
adolescents’ life. Authors have further described that, how Through the review of literature, it is observed that majority
social media networking websites are addictive and harmful of the study papers related to the impacts of social media on
for Indian youth and adolescents. Authors have concluded the young people, are conducted in western countries, which
that, addiction of social media could extinct the future of are having developed society. There is easy accessibility of
Indian youth and it had a very bad effect on education. social networking sites and the services provided by social
Authors have recommended to the parents that, parents media are large in these countries. On the contrary,
should regularly check their children’s activities on social developing countries like India there are very few studies that
media network and do not let them overuse of social network have been conducted in the Indian context and even these
websites. Authors have also recommended to government to studies are related only to the effects of social media on trade
ban all the porn sites. and business, manufacturing sector, service sector etc. No
[2] Gurusamy (2014), have examined the influence of social study has been conducted with sociological perspective that
Networking Sites on interpersonal relationships of college is the effects of social media on the different segments of the

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3419551

 University College of Takestan
people in the society. The segment of young people in the Age group Frequency Percentage
society is comparatively neglected in the studies. Therefore, 16 years to 20 years 69 55%
it is significant to understand the positive and negative
opinions of the young people about the usage of social media 21 years to 25 years 57 45%
and it is also significant to identify the age group of the
young people who are engaged in the utilization of social Total 126 100%
media for a long time; due to which they are facing several
mental and physical problems. This study may be an The above table depicts the major age group of youths who
additional knowledge in the respective area of study for the are engaged in over-utilisation of social media. The above
upcoming scholars. This study is important with a view to get mentioned age groups are selected for the study purpose
the information pertaining to the young social media users because nowadays, in India majority of the social media
from the pre and post graduating colleges of various faculties users are belonging to these age groups. As per the collected
in Chandigarh city. This study will provide information to the information, 55% of the youth are in the age group of 16
social media users about, the positive and negative effects of years to 20 years, and 45% youth are in the age group of 21
over utilization of social media on their mental and physical years to 25 years. The large numbers of youths are involved
condition and make them aware about the control of the in over-utilisation of social media.
utilization of the social media. Table 2. Purposes of using social media by selected youth
4. Objectives of the Study (multiple responses)
Purposes Frequency Percentage
1. To identify the age group of youth engaged in over- For E-mail 84 67%
utilization of social media For Site Surfing 126 100%
2. To understand the main purpose of usage of social media For Chatting 97 77%
among the Indian youth For Social Networking 106 84%
3. To find out how much time do youth spend on the social For Entertainment, downloading 116 92%
networking? movies/ music etc.
4. To understand the positive and negative opinion of For Blogging with Social 67 53%
selected youth about the usage of social media Networking Sites
5. To identify the negative effects due to over utilization of The above table indicates the main purpose of using social
social media on the physical and mental health of selected media by the selected youth. The main purpose of utilization
youth of social media for site surfing and for down loading movies,
music by 100% and 92% youths respectively. Entertainment
5. Materials and Methods and site surfing are two main common purposes of utilization
Research Methodology of social media. 53% youths are found to be engaged in
The present study is simple and exploratory in nature. For the blogging with social networking sites. 77% youths are
study purpose questionnaire survey method has been adopted utilizing the social media for chatting purpose. 84% youths
with a view to collect primary information from youth about have reported social networking as their main purpose of
age group of youth, main purpose of utilization of social usage of social media. 67% youths have reported that, they
media, their positive and negative opinion about social media utilize social media for checking e-mails. Almost all the
and the effects of social media on the physical and mental selected youth are utilizing social media for various purposes.
health of the selected youth. The following table indicates the time spent by the selected
5.1 Selection of Sample youths for social media in a day.
A purposive sample of 126 students (in the range of age 16 Table 3. Time spent by youths for social media in a day.
years to 25 years) in pre and post-graduation colleges situated Duration Frequency Percentage
in Chandigarh City was selected for eliciting the data for
Less than a 1 hour 13 10%
study. 126 students were selected from 11 pre and post-
graduation colleges of various faculties. This questionnaire 1 hours to 3 hours 18 14%
which is the main tool for collection of primary information? 3 hours to 5 hours 59 47%
It is framed with a view to fulfil the objectives of the present More than 5 hours 36 29%
study. Questionnaire was distributed in the selected colleges Total 126 100%
in order to identify the users of social media. The following
table indicates the number of youth (Students) selected from In the above table, 10% of the selected youth spend less than
pre and post-graduation colleges. an hour on social media. 47% youths are using social media
Colleges No. of Students No. Of Colleges
for 3 to 5 hours and 29% are using it for more than 5 hours in
Pre-graduation 69 6 a day. 14% youths are using social media for 1 hour to 3
colleges
hours in a day. Majority of the youth are exposed to social
Post-graduation 57 5 media for larger periods due to various attractive offers
colleges
available by Internet service provider companies like free
data for three months, availability of 3G, 4G services at very
Total 126 11
lower costs etc.
6. Results and Discussion
The following table indicates the age group wise distribution
of social media users from the selected sample.
Table1. Age group wise distribution of social media users

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 Munjial Singh et al.,
Iranian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Vol 5 Issue 3 (2017)
Table 4.1. Positive opinion of selected youth about the usage users are spending more and more time on useless activities,
of social media (multiple responses) like chatting, watching films etc. In the opinion of 71%
Opinions Frequen Percent youth, due to addiction of social media the users are not able
cy age to take their lunch or dinner, breakfast on proper time.
Social media is an effective 126 100% Spending 5 hours or more than 5 hours in a day on the social
communication tool media also leads to unhealthy snacking and hence obesity.
Social media has made available 119 94% According to 61% youth over-utilization of social media
location-based services decreases the interaction of users with their family members,
Social media has enhanced creativity 81 64% relatives, friends, etc. It is observed that, in a family where all
among youth members are staying together, users of social media do not
Social media helps youth to refine and 76 60% spend time to interact with their family members, as they
develop artistic abilities, inner become self-centered or individually engaged in their own
potential virtual world through social media. Over utilization of social
Other opinion 65 52% media, also disturbs the users’ academic career and it creates
hate towards educational activities and study, was opined by
The above table highlights positive opinion of selected youth 81% youths.
about utilization of social media. In the opinion of 100% To understand the negative effects of over-utilization of
youth social media is an effective communication tool, which social media on physical and mental health of the young
enables users to communicate with other social media users users is also one of the major objectives of the present study.
within a fraction of time. In the opinion of 94% youth, due to The following table indicates the negative effects of over
awareness about social media, they can easily get location- utilization of social media on the physical health and mental
based services like money transfer, online bill payment, health of the users:
online shopping, online booking of railway tickets, Table 5.1. Negative effects of over utilization of social
entertainment programmes tickets etc. 52% youth opined media on the physical health of the users
that, social media is very helpful for their academic purposes Effects Frequen Percenta
or learning purposes and it helps the students in attending the cy ge
virtual class rooms and it is a good way to increase contacts. Problem of high blood pressure 32 25%
In the opinion of 64% of youth social media enhances Constant headache /Back pain/Eye 68 54%
creativity among youth and 60% of youth have opined that strain/Hand corns
social media helps in refining and developing their artistic Problem related to digestion/stomach 26 21%
abilities and inner potentials. Total 126 100%
There are a lot of negative opinions regarding impact of
social media which have been expressed by the selected As per the information provided by the selected youth it is
youth and also mentioned in various other literature reviews. observed that, majority of them facing the problem like
The negative opinions about usages of social media constant headache, back pain, eye strain and hand corns. 25%
expressed by the youths have been indicated in the following youth are facing the problem of high blood pressure, due to
table: 2D and 3D monitors of the social media applications.
Table 4.2. Negative opinion of selected youths about the over Majority of young people are using these applications for a
usage of social media (multiple response) longer duration thus by watching longer time same monitor
Opinions Frequen Percent screen could cause high blood pressure and tension which
cy age could be dangerous for physical health of the users and 21%
Lure of using social media shifts away 112 89% youth are facing the problem relating to digestion or stomach,
the concentration of youth from because of lack of body movement and due to lack to
academic activities or study adequate sleep.
Users are spending more and more time 126 100% There are also some negative effects on the mental health of
on useless activities the youth which are indicated in the following table.
There is a time imbalance between 89 71%
lunch and dinner Table 5.2. Negative effects of over utilization of social media
Over utilization of social media 77 61% on the mental health of the users
decreases interactions with others Effects Frequen Percenta
Over utilization of social media 103 81% cy ge
increase hate towards education and Mental tiredness 59 47%
study Strain on Mind 37 29%
Anxiety 26 21%
In the opinion of 89% of youth lure of using social media Panic-stricken 04 3%
shifts away the concentration of youth from academic Total 126 100%
activities or study. 94% of youth opined that social media is
used to spread misinformation, rumors and responsible for
It has been found that 47% youth are effected mentally due to
increasing cybercrimes among young people, like
over utilization of social media. 29% youth are facing
blackmailing, sexual harassment with their unknown friends
problems like strain on mind which kills their inner self
through chatting. 100% of youth opined that social media

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3419551

 University College of Takestan
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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3419551