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Dissertation
Social Media Usage and its Relationship to Self-Esteem among Female Adolescents: A Qualitative Study
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000115
Abstract
Adolescents, much like the adult population in the 21st century, use and perhaps overuse technology. Beyond required access for classwork and homework, adolescents spend an average of nine hours a day online (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2018; Common Sense Media, 2015; Rosen et al., 2014). In conjunction with digital advancements and time spent engaging with technology, an expanding body of research on the mental health of adolescents in the United States continues to emerge. Creating a firm sense of identity is a crucial component of adolescent development. This research sought to explore the relationship between social media usage and high school students' positive and negative feelings of self-worth to gain an understanding about how students' online participation with social media drove their self-esteem. Through the conceptual framework of pragmatism, this study explored the experiences of female high school adolescents at two high schools to understand the relationship between their social media usage and perceptions of their self-esteem. This study focused on the following research questions: 1. How do high school female adolescents describe their use of social media (frequency, content, communication, etc.)? 2. How do high school female adolescents connect what they see and hear on social media to their feelings of self-worth? As a qualitative study, this researcher utilized a descriptive survey, semi-structured student interviews, and focus group interviews. Data were analyzed and triangulated for emergent themes and findings. The study's results identified three findings: (a) user participation depended on the social relevance of the social media platform; (b) female adolescents shared what they wanted others to see about them; (c) peer response and peers' posts on social media affected self-esteem.
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Details
- Title
- Social Media Usage and its Relationship to Self-Esteem among Female Adolescents
- Creators
- Ann Berrios
- Contributors
- Kareem Edouard (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xii, 187 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014695540804721