Research Symposium

BIO

Mackenzie Scully is a second-year student at Florida State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Originally from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, her research interests focus on the effects of social media use on adolescent development, and she is currently conducting research on this topic under the mentorship of Dr. Vanessa Dennen. Mackenzie is involved in the Pre-Physician Assistant Club and FSU Remote Area Medical (RAM) and shadows a dermatologist at Goodless Dermatology. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to attend Physician Assistant school and hopes to work in dermatology.

Self-Regulation Strategies and Social Media Use Intensity Among College Students

Abstract

SSocial media has become a central part of young people’s lives as over 90% of young adults in the United States use social media. As social media has become more popular, user intensity has also increased. However, people have found that increased social media use makes balancing their academic obligations and social life challenging. Social media seems to affect mood and wellbeing, so it's important to know what factors shape social media experiences. In this study, we focus on self-regulation, which refers to strategies people use to guide, monitor, or limit their social media use in order to maximize positive experiences. In our study we created an online survey through the Qualtrics platform. This survey was distributed in a research participation pool and advertised through flyers around campus. The survey asks students questions about their demographics and their social media usage and self-regulation strategies. Survey items include 10-point agreement scales and open-ended responses.. While data collection is still in progress, we expect to find that people with more self-regulation strategies have positive experiences using social media. Additionally, we expect that people with fewer self-regulation strategies may have more negative feelings about their social media use. We plan to explore the relationship between intensity of social media use, the number and types of self-regulation strategies used, and emotional experiences related to social media. This is important as social media becomes more prevalent in our society. This will help us understand our communities better and form more genuine connections with peers

Keywords: Social Media, Self-regulation, Intensity