Facebook Usage: Is Age A Factor?

There is no denying the profound effect technology has had on our society. Social media has significantly increased throughout the years in particular. Sites, such as Facebook, allow for people all around the world to constantly be in contact. Although there are many benefits to technology, social media does add a whole new dimension to communication. In addition, there has been speculation of the psychological effect social media has on younger generations.

         For my first literature review, I found a study that was determining the relationship between Facebook usage and age. In particular, if social anxiety, self-esteem and extraversion increased or decreased based on age. The two age groups tests were 18-24 years old and over 24 and older. The test was done through a questionnaire on Survey Monkey. One of the results from the survey showed that levels of self-esteem were affected by the amount of time spent on Facebook on average, along with the number of Facebook friends someone had. Furthermore, it is no surprise that the younger age group spends more time on Facebook compared to the 24 and older group. In earlier studies, such as one done in 1999, it was concluded that there were beneficial effects of decreased loneliness of Internet use for adults living in retirement homes (White 1999).

         Although I was able to learn a lot from this study, I want to see if I can find more research on bullying from Facebook. There have been numerous PSA’s recently about the prevention of this kind of behavior. I’ve added a video below as an example!