Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 1

Communication and Social Media Use: Impact on Social Skills and Well-being in

Adolescents

Melissa Abshire

James Madison University

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 2

Abstract

This research proposal looks at mainly the negative aspects of social media use and how

it impacts adolescent’s mental well-being and their social skills. In today’s society, many

adolescents struggle with suicidal thoughts and actions, depression and anxiety, and even have

trouble communicating face-to-face with people around them. Research on this topic provides

studies that have proven how social media has effected adolescents in a negative way. Research

on this topic can also help kids, parents, teachers, and even specialized nurses and doctors

analyze and help provide a solution for moments when this happens to their child. There will be

a survey sent out to 400 adolescents ages 14-19, simply asking about their regular social media

use, their current well-being, and also how effective they believe their interpersonal

communication is. Data can then show if there is either a negative or positive coorelation

between adolescent’s well-being and social skills with the way they use social media.
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 3

Introduction

Social media use is a major part of people’s daily lives. In today’s American society,

there are multiple social media platforms that adolescents use from the moment they wake up to

the second they fall asleep. In fact, 45% of teens say they are online using some form of social

media almost constantly throughout the day (Ennis-O’Connor, 2019). However, social media

provides a negative aspect through a lack of privacy through their platforms. According to Keller

and Booth (2013), interpersonal communication is changing, which results in finding ourselves

quicker to share on social media the sort of information we would have shared face-to-face.

Nowadays, access to personal information is easily searchable. Not only has it affected

adolescents’ social skills, social media has also strongly affected their well-being.

Specifically, Twenge and Campbell (2018) publicized that the use of social media has

affected adolescents in psychological aspects such as depression and anxiety. Twenge and

Campbell compared the mental health of 14-17-year-olds who used social media for over seven

hours a day versus using social media for about an hour a day. As a result, Twenge and Campbell

found that the adolescents that used it more frequently were more likely to be diagnosed with

depression. Cyberbullying and suicide rates have also excelled. As an example, according to

Hinduja and Patchin (2009), there are more than 30,000 suicide deaths in the United States every

year, and the role of social media is a big topic of growing interest and debate. Meier (2020) also

said suicide attempts have doubled in adolescents since the rise of social media back in 2008. It

is now the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10-34 years old (Meier,

2020).

Social media does affect not only adolescents’ psychological well-being, but also their

social skills. There has indeed been a shift in the way people communicate; more specifically,
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 4

people prefer mediated communication rather than face-to-face communication (Keller & Booth,

2013).

For this research paper, I will investigate how adolescent’s use of social media affects

their interpersonal skills and their psychological well-being, which includes the topics of

depression, cyberbullying, and suicide thoughts. In this proposal, literature related to social

media use and social skills will be reviewed, along with psychological well-being. Then the

research methodology will be discussed in regards to adolescent’s well-being. The proposal

concludes with research reducing the harsh reality of social media use among adolescents and

encouraging people to reduce their intake.

Literature Review

It is significant to know current and past research that surrounds communication and

social media use when attempting to study further into depression, suicide, and one’s social

skills. The following literature review is arranged by covering past literature on the frameworks

used to understand social media and adolescent depression, social media and suicide, and social

media and interpersonal skills.

Social Media & Adolescent Depression: The Two Go Hand in Hand

Recent studies have found that the use of social media by adolescents has greatly

increased the likelihood development of depression and anxiety. For example, by 2015, 92% of

teens owned a smartphone, and by 2017, there was a 33% increase of depressive symptoms

between the ages of 13 and 17 (Miller, 2020). Ever since the use of cell-phones and the internet

has risen, so has to spike in depression. Miller (2020) states that the reason being that adolescents

become depressed and increased anxiety is the fact that everything is now online. Kids sit and

wait for a text, and when they do not receive one, the silence becomes deafening. They
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 5

automatically think they are being ignored leading them to anxiety. Miller says, “in the old days

when a boy was going to break up with you, he had to have an actual conversation with you, or

at least call” (p. XXX). Nowadays, it is through a text wondering what the other person did,

again leading to anxiety and eventually depression.

Underwood (2013) conducted a CNN study of 13-year-olds and their correlation with

social media use and how it relates to their psychological adjustment. Underwood found that the

participants who checked Facebook or any other platform between 50-100 times a day were

subject to be more distressed and depression than those who only checked in a few times a day.

Hunt et al. (2018) also studied the link between the use of social media and the negative effects

on well-being, primarily depression and loneliness. According to Hunt et al., the group that used

less social media had better mental health and outcomes. If one uses less social media, they are

less depressed and less lonely, increasing their positive well-being. One of the findings in a study

reported is that the less people are connected with humans in deep, sympathetic ways, the less

likely it is going to cause them to feel connected, which is something everyone needs. The

biggest issue is that the lives of adolescents in today’s generation (compared to earlier

generations) is that they spend way more time connecting electronically than connecting face-to-

face.

Social Media Use & Suicide

In the same way as depression, suicide comes hand in hand with adolescent social media

use as well. According to Hinduja and Patchin (2010), there have been found a strong correlation

between cellphone use and suicidal thoughts among adolescents. Cyberbullying can happen to

anyone and often cause psychological problems such as suicide. Later, Hindjua and Patchin

(2019) also surveyed adolescents ages 12-17-years-old. As a result, Hinduja and Patchin found
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 6

that 15.5% of these students experienced online bullying and were more likely to report suicidal

thought. Not only are there thoughts of suicide, but also attempts. In addition, Nikolaou (2017)

found that cyberbullying increases thoughts of suicide by 14.5% and attempted suicide by 8.7%.

Earlier, Hinduja and Patchin (2009) also found out victims of cyberbullying were two times

more likely to attempt suicide than those who were not. With that being said, suicidal thoughts

and actions should be taken into consideration with adolescents while they are on social media

because it happens more than people realize.

Similarly, Sampasa-Kanyinga and Hamilton (2015) examined the link between the use of

social media and the psychological effects of suicidal thoughts and attempts. The study consisted

of a group of adolescents between the ages of 11 and 20 who completed a mental health portion

of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. After completion, they found that

cyberbullying mediates the relationships between the use of social media with psychological

distress, suicide thoughts, and attempts. In addition, Plemmons et al., (2018) reported that suicide

ideation and attempts among adolescents have nearly doubled since 2008. CDC (2017) stated

that suicide is now the second leading cause of death among adolescents. Although

cyberbullying cannot be identified as the reason for suicide, it is still an increase in the suicide

deaths among adolescents.

Social Media and Interpersonal Skills

Negative Influence. Adolescent social media use does not only affect their psychological

well-being, but also their social skills. Social media has changed the way they interact. Hanson

(2007) said the use of the internet has impacted the way we communicate with others. When

people engage in face-to-face communication, social information is conveyed by visual cues and

non-verbal communication such as eye-contact, tone of voice, and posture. Non-verbal

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 7

communication and the ability to process emotional cues is an important part of communication

(Knapp & Hall, 2010). It is shown that adolescents who understand emotional cues in

interpersonal settings can develop superior social skills and more positive relationships

(Blakemore, 2003). However, when adolescents communicate via cell phones significantly, it

can restrict the face-to-face experiences and prevent them from developing the important social

skills that are necessary in one’s life (Giedd, 2012).

Uhls (2014) conducted a recent study of a group of children that spent five days in a

camp with no access to electronics and only limited to interacting face-to-face. Another group

stayed at home with access to all electronic devices. Uhls founded that the group of kids at the

camp engaged more interpersonally with other children and adults, which made an important

difference in their social skills. The children’s in-person interaction improved significantly in

terms of non-verbal communication. The other group’s skills remained the same.

Apart from this, social media is putting a dent in social penetration theory. According to

Taylor and Altman (1987), social penetration theory is an idea that relationships become more

intimate over time when partners disclose more and more information about themselves. This is

known through the process of depth and breadth. Network communication has sped up the

intimacy process. People are more likely to disclose personal information on social media than

they would face-to-face because the level of control is higher (Ledbetter et al., 2011). However,

intimacy is exactly what is missing nowadays. While something one posts, whether it be a status

update or a tweet, it might provide the opportunity for self-disclosure, however; what is being

disclosed is being disclosed to many people at one time, defeating the whole purpose of the

intimacy one grows as they disclose to people close to them (Tang & Wang, 2012). Sharing

through social media limits one’s abilities to develop closer relationships. Tang and Wang also
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 8

said that the more someone discloses to other people online, the less there is to disclose to those

who are physically in their lives, resulting in less in-person communication.

Positive Influences. The negativity that surrounds social media use is, of course,

countered by positive influences as well. Many scholars believe that the main function of social

networking is to enhance face-to-face relationships rather than replace them. Ling (2010) said

that Facebook along with other social media platforms of online interaction adds co-present and

telephonic contact. There was a study reported that the main purpose of social networking was

for users to keep in touch with their friends and family. The study consisted of only minor

communication that were exchanged through certain sites and found that social networking acted

as a replacement for in-person communication and voice calls (Coyle et al. 2008). An aspect of

social networking that has become popular in today’s society is its ability to connect with people

who physically cannot have face-to-face interactions. Coyle (2008) says that it allows people to

stay linked with people whom they used to be more closely involved.

Having social media also allows adolescents to be able to engage in their communities

such as, raising money for certain charities, develop their creativity through sharing their

abilities, and even get to know others from diverse backgrounds (Boyd, 2008). Social media also

offers enhanced learning opportunities. Borja (2005) says that some schools use blogs as

teaching schools with different benefits such as, English and writing skills. For example, during

the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers are using a social media site, such as, Zoom, to interact and

teach their students while being at home. Through different social media platforms, adolescents

are also able to gather outside of school and exchange ideas about certain assignments or

collaborate on projects (Borja, 2005). For this reason, specifically, it should that there are

indeed positive influences to having social media by your side.

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 9

It is shown that adolescents who use social media too significantly, it increases their

chances of depression, which can later lead to suicidal thoughts and/or actions. All in all,

adolescent social media use all depends on how one uses it. If adolescents did not spend as much

time on social media, they could be more connected to the real world outside of their homes and

have more positive well-being and enhanced social skills. Although there are positive influences

with the use of social media through adolescents, the negative influences over dominate the

positive aspects.

Research Questions

Based on the literature review, I posit the research questions here:

RQ1: Does the amount of social media use consumed by adolescents have a direct

correlation to their psychological well-being?

RQ2: Is there a direct correlation between the level of depression and suicide one

experiences within their adolescent years and the amount of social media they use?

RQ3: What does the future hold for social media and its potential effect on interpersonal

communication within society?

Methodology

As previously mentioned, the purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of

social media use consumed by adolescents and the impact it has on their well-being and

interpersonal communication. I will conduct a questionnaire survey.

Sample and Data Sources

Participants will be found using the purposive sampling method. Data will be collected

from 400 participants (200 girls and 200 boys) ages 14 to 19 from all across the United States.

The sample will be an online survey sent out through their schools and will contribute only with
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 10

permission from their parents or legal guardian. The information below will include an overview

of the study and an appendix at the end.

Procedures

A 21-question survey will be sent out via email to not only the participants, but their

parents as well (see Appendices). The survey will include nine questions about their social

media use, seven questions about their mental health, and five questions about how effective

their social skills are. The survey will be measured via the 5-point Likert type scale (1 – Strongly

disagree, 5 – Strongly agree). The answers to the amount of social media they use per day and

the effectiveness of adolescent’s social skills will consist of the 5-point Likert type scale. The

answers to their well-being will be provide answer choices for each question. Each survey will

ask for age and gender to organize each categorization, but will be anonymous.

A pilot test will be conducted before sent out in order to warrant all questions are

translated accurately. This test will conduct around 30 adolescents all between the same ages and

will also be used to determine if any questions should be taken out or reworded in order to ensure

reliability. After the pilot test, the study’s validity will be warranted by analyzing all the data

collected by each adolescent. You also need to measure internal consistency of your

measurements.

Variables

Independent Variable. For this study, the independent variable will be the amount of

social media consumed by individuals. In this section, I will measure how many hours a day, on

average, the participants spend on social media through a 5-point ordinal scale using the ordinal

level of measurement. The questions possible answers will be 1) 0-3 hours, 2) 4-6 hours, 3)7-9
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 11

hours, 4) 10-13 hours, 5) 14+ hours. Additional questions will have the participants answer

questions based on a 5-point Likert scale which can be seen on Appendix 1.

Dependent Variables. The dependent variable for this survey will be their overall well-

being, which includes their level of depression and level of suicide of the adolescent and the

effectiveness of their social skills, which includes their level of interpersonal communication. In

order to collect the data needed of the participants well-being, I will provide seven 5-point Likert

type scale questions along with space if they answered “yes.”

Analysis

The data will be analyzed by looking at each of the respondent’s answers on the survey.

First, the researchers collecting the data should do so on the independent variable to ensure the

amount of time each participant spends on social media per day. Next, the data should be

collected on the dependent variables which included the participants well-being, such as,

depression/anxiety and any suicidal thoughts and also the effectiveness of their overall social

skills. Each of the variables data should be lined up and able to see patterns of each behavior and

the connections on the way social media effects the well-being and social skills of the

participants. If a consistent repetition is found that social media does indeed worsen the

participants well-being and social skills, then each research question can be confirmed

affirmative.

Permissions/Limitations/Ethics

All participants who agree to be involved in this study must sign a consent form from

their parents or legal guardian to manage the experiment. There are certain limitations to take

into thought when conducting this study. First, I might not be able to get as much of a variety, for

example, there may be limitation on who is able to participate if the legal guardian does not
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 12

consent to the experiment. A second limitation may be whether or not the schools allow their

students to participate. A third limitation may be that the adolescents could easily lie and not tell

the truth with some of the questions. However, even though I could of some misused data

possibilities, the reliability and validity measures should work to rebound the certain amount of

error within each finding.

In order to conduct this research, ethical considerations need to be taken place. First,

there will be an IRB application sent out to make sure I am able to conduct the research. After I

obtain the IRB approval, I will follow up with the experiment. Next, permission will be granted

from the students asking about their personal issues and information; personal information being

their state of well-being. I will make sure that key informants present oral informed consent. This

is important because talking about certain material like mental health could possibly trigger some

participants. Prior to answering the questions provided, all participants will be informed that

completion is not necessary if they begin to feel sparked in any way due to the experience.

Conclusion

Parents, doctors, and teachers should apply research on this topic because every day it

gets worse and worse with social media use. The effects of social media use within adolescents

can be negative, and research will be helpful when trying to help or cure an adolescent who may

be suffering. Counselors should be present when/if you are ever planning to ask your child about

their well-being because some topics may be triggering to the child. An adolescent is more likely

to open up with a professional present.

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 13

References

Borja RR. “Blogs” catching on as tool for instruction: teachers use interactive Web pages to hone

writing skills. Educ Week. December14, 2005.

Boyd D. Taken out of context: American teen sociality in networked publics. Berkeley, CA:

University of California; 2008.

CDC (2018). Preventing suicide, violence prevention, injury center. Retrieved July 11, 2020,

from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/fastfact.html

Coyle, C. L., & Vaughn, H. (2008). Social networking: Communication revolution or evolution?

Bell labs technical journal, 13-17.

Ennis-O'Connor, M. (2019, August 8). How much time do people spend on social media in

2019? [Infographic]. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@JBBC/how-much-time-do-

people-spend-on-social-media-in-2019-infographic-cc02c63bede8

Giedd, J. N. (2012). The digital revolution and adolescent brain evolution. Journal of adolescent

health, 51, 101–105.

Hanson, Jarice (2007). 24/7. New York: Praeger.

Hinduja, S, & Patchin, J.W. (2009). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding

to cyberbullying. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 

Hinduja S, & Patchin, J. W. (2010). Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Arch Suicide Res.

14(3):206–221. 

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2019). Connecting adolescent suicide to the severity of bullying

and cyberbullying. Journal of school violence, 18(3), 333-346.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2018.1492417
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 14

Hunt, M. G., Young, J., Marx, R., & Lipson, C. (n.d.). (PDF) No more FOMO: Limiting social

media decreases loneliness and depression. Retrieved July 08, 2020, from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328838624_No_More_FOMO_Limiting_Social

_Media_Decreases_Loneliness_and_Depression

Keller, M., & Booth, P. (2013). Social media and interpersonal communication. Retrieved June

18, 2020, from https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051313p10.shtml

Knapp, M. L, & Hall, J. A (2010). Nonverbal communication in human interaction (Seventh.).

Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 

Ledbetter, J., Andrew M. (1970, January 01). Attitudes Toward Online Social Connection and

Self-Disclosure as Predictors of Facebook Communication and Relational Closeness -

Andrew M. Ledbetter, Joseph P. Mazer, Jocelyn M. DeGroot, Kevin R. Meyer, Yuping

Mao, Brian Swafford, 2011. Retrieved July 08, 2020, from

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650210365537

Ling, R., (2010). New Tech, New Ties. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Meier, M. (2020). Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide statistics. Retrieved from

https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics

Miller, C. (2020, June 11). Does social media cause depression? Retrieved June 18, 2020, from

https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/

Nikolaou, D. (2017). Does cyberbullying impact youth suicidal behaviors? Journal of health

economics, 56, 30-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.09.009

Plemmons G, et al. Pediatrics. May 16, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-2426

Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., & Hamilton, H. A. (2015). Social networking sites and mental health

problems in adolescents: The mediating role of cyberbullying victimization. European

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 15

psychiatry: the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 30(8), 1021–1027.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2015.09.011

Tang, J., & Wang, C. (2012). Self-disclosure among bloggers: re-examination of social

penetration theory. Cyberpsychology, behavior & social networking, 15(5), 245-250.

Taylor, D., & Altman, I. (1987). Communication in interpersonal relationships: Social

penetration processes. In M. Roloff & G. Miller (Eds.), Interpersonal processes: New

directions in communication research (pp. 257-277). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower

psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-

based study. Preventive medicine reports, 12, 271–283.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003

Uhls, Y.T., Michikyan, M., Morris, J., Garcia, D., Small, G.W., Zgourou, E., & Greenfield, P.M.

(2014). Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with

nonverbal emotion cues. Computers in human behavior, 39, 387-392.

Underwood, M.K. (2003). Social aggression among girls. NY. Guilford Press.
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 16

Appendix 1
SURVEY
Social Media Usage

Gender:
Age:

1. Approximately how many hours per day do you spend on social media?
0-3 4-6 6-9 10-13 14+

Next, you will be answering questions about your honest feelings towards social media. Below is
a scale provided to indicate the scale 1-5
1 – Strongly disagree
2 – Moderately disagree
3 – Neither
4 – Moderately agree
5 – Strongly agree

I can go a day without looking at social media

12345
I would be lost without social media
12345
Social media is a part of my daily routine
12345
Fear of missing out (FOMO) becomes present when not using social media
12345
I am not ashamed to be on social media
12345
I believe I am addicted to social media
12345
I have to check social media first thing in the morning
12345
I have replaced activities and/or hobbies with social media use
12345
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 17

Appendix 2
Survey
Overall Well-Being and Social Skills

Gender:
Age:

Well-being questions:
1. Have you ever been cyberbullied?
Yes No
2. Have you ever had any suicidal thoughts because of social media?
Yes No
3. Have you suffered from a mental illness because of social media?
Yes No
If yes, please provide an illness ____________
4. Have you ever been depressed because of posts you see on social media?
Yes No
5. Is there a social media platform that has made you feel self-conscious about yourself?
Yes No
If yes, please provide the platform ____________
6. Do you compare yourself to other people on social media?
Yes No
7. Do you feel like your well-being is affected because of an overuse of social media?
Yes No

Social skills questions:

Here, you will be answering questions about your honest feelings towards your social skills.
Below is a scale provided to indicate the scale 1-5
1 – Strongly disagree
2 – Moderately disagree
3 – Neither
4 – Moderately agree
5 – Strongly agree
Interpersonal (face-to-face) communication is hard for me
12345
I would rather text or email someone than talk on the phone or in person
12345
Interaction with strangers makes me nervous
12345
I begin to freeze when speaking to someone in person
12345
Interaction with an important person is the last thing I would want to do
12345
SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SKILLS AND WELL-BEING 18