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Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence

Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--Univeristy of Pretoria, 2023.

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Other Authors: Le Roux, M.P. (Liana)
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Le Roux, M.P. (Liana)
author_browse Le Roux, M.P. (Liana)
author_facet Le Roux, M.P. (Liana)
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--Univeristy of Pretoria, 2023.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:30.912Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/91613 Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence Le Roux, M.P. (Liana) thabzozoo@gmail.com Madikgetla, Malehlohonolo Lorraine UCTD Social media Social network sites Internet Adolescence Young adult Humanities theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Mini Dissertation (MSW (Play-based Intervention))--Univeristy of Pretoria, 2023. Social media is an Internet-based application that enable people to communicate and interact with others online, form relationships, access information, and create and share content with people known or not known to them, even those in distant locations. Through popular social media platforms such as Facebook, people can upload information in the form of text, images, and videos and share it with others. As such, social media use has changed traditional ways of interaction and communication and has obtained increased population. Social media use is popular among adolescents and for many has become part of their daily lives. Although social media have many benefits, as indicated above, it also has numerous potential risks for adolescents’ emotional, social, physical and academic functioning. The goal of this study, which formed part of a group research project on the topic, was to gain a better understanding of adolescent’s experiences of social media use as described by a sample of young adults. Following an interpretivist research paradigm, a qualitative research approach, applied research and a case study design, data were collected from a sample of 11 participants who were recruited by means of purposive and snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews with the use of an interview schedule were used for data collection and data were analysed by means of thematic analysis. Relevant research ethical principles were upheld during the study. The research findings indicated that social media use formed an important part of the participants’ lives during adolescence. They were between the ages of 10 and 16 when they started using social media and accessed and spent considerable time on various social media platforms daily. Negative effects of social media use included emotional distress, cyberbullying, creating a ‘false online life’ to live up to certain standards, poor academic performance, negative body image and strained family relationships. The positive effects were less obvious, and included better mental well-being and academic performance for some, and the benefits of sharing information online. Two important risks that could affect adolescents’ personal safety were highlighted, namely engaging with strangers with harmful intent, and exposure to content such as pornography. The participants made several suggestions for parents, schools and teachers, social workers, and adolescents that could prevent risks of social media use. It is recommended that, since social media has become part of the modern lifestyle, interventions should focus on educating adolescents, parents, teachers, and social workers on responsible social media use. Further research, for example on legislation relevant to social media use, parental knowledge, and the role of schools in curbing social media use can provide more insight into the topic of adolescent social media use. Social Work and Criminology MSW (Play-based Intervention) Unrestricted 2023-07-25T08:52:11Z 2023-07-25T08:52:11Z 2023-09 2023 Mini Dissertation * S2023 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/91613 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.23731446.v1 10.25403/UPresearchdata.23731446 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Social media
Social network sites
Internet
Adolescence
Young adult
Humanities theses SDG-09
SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
title Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
title_full Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
title_fullStr Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
title_full_unstemmed Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
title_short Young adult’s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
title_sort young adult s reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence
topic UCTD
Social media
Social network sites
Internet
Adolescence
Young adult
Humanities theses SDG-09
SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/91613