Masters Thesis

Social Network Site Use and Quality of Life in Young Adults aged 18-32

Purpose: The purpose of the research study is to explore the relationship between social networking site use and quality of life among young adults aged 18-32. Research Question: The research question examined by the study is as follows: is there a relationship between the use of social networking sites and quality of life among young adults aged 18-32? Methods: To fulfill the aims of this study an anonymous online survey is employed. The survey is comprised of two item blocks totaling 17 items. The first block incorporates demographic questions regarding age and use of social networking sites. The second block contains the Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (herein after BBQ), which is comprised of 12 scaling questions with five choices ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The corresponding BBQ score and responses regarding use of social networking site items are used in the construction of an XY Scatterplot in order illustrate and identify correlations between use of social networking sites and quality of life among young adults aged 18-32. Results: There was a weak, non-significant, positive correlation between the two variables, use of social networking sites (daily) and quality of life (as measured by the Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale) [r = .083, n=48, p= .575]. Discussion: The results suggest that as SNS use is increased quality of life increases. These results are in alignment with previous research suggesting that use of social networking sites can have a positive effect on the user, (Quinn et al., 2016), and use of SNS was positively associated with life satisfaction and social trust (Valenzuela et al., 2009). Keywords: Social Networking Site Use, Quality of Life, Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale, Young Adults Aged 18-32

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