UAMG 2004 COMMUNICATION RESEARCH METHODS

FACULTY ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (FAS)

COURSE OF STUDY: PUBLIC RELATIONS

TITLE: TECHNOLOGY ESCAPISM - SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AMONG

MALAYSIAN TEENAGERS.
GROUP MEMBERS:
NAME
Lee Kher Chern
Anders Kang Jenhern
Lim Wei Ying
Chua Chia Yee

LECTURER: MS. RAFIDAH BINTI ABDUL RAZAK

1.0 History

ID
1405250
1403413
1204759
1305921

Escapism is the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities,
especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy. Technology continues to advance;
many peoples will be living in their virtual life and also get away in the actual life. Besides
that, those current rate are happen on the young adults and adults and the population rate are
increase rapidly and this is a dangerous situation are happen in this current society.
With the growth of technologies as the internet and computers, not only teenagers and
young people, we all are becoming more dislocated from society (Griswold, 2012). Our
social life becomes inextricably linked to social networking. They would rather say that this
is the easiest way to communicate with each other, learning new things and having fun.
People who tend to spent most of their time through online also known as virtual
reality. Virtual reality is a concept that was first formally proposed in the early Seventies by
Ted Nelson Computer Dreams, though this work appears to be in part a summary of the
current thinking at that time. The basic idea is that human beings should design machines that
can be operated in a manner that is as natural as possible, for the human beings, not the
computers. Virtual reality means that people tend to believe and live in the online world
rather than the reality world. They are addicted with technology and cant differentiate which
is the real world and which is the online world. The importance of communication is being
neglected by people nowadays.
With the advancement of technology gadgets, smart phones have become a part and parcel of
Malaysian society. A recent study by TNS Malaysia Connected Consumer Study revealed that
one in every two Malaysian adults is a smart phone user and Malaysia is one of the nations
worldwide countries in Asia with users who use their smart phones more than their computers
as the primary device for Internet access (R. J. Lee of Business Circle on Malaysia leads the
world in smartphone usage, 2014). Individuals engrossed in their Smartphone use to the
extent that they neglect other areas of life. The most commonly used terms to describe this
kind of addiction are the term Smartphone addiction when the society tries to escape reality
by dwelling themselves deeply into using smartphones.
In this article we will be researching on the methods by aiming to address the society mainly
the teenagers of Malaysia on the issue of over dependency on smartphones; however it does
not mean that one have to completely desolate himself or herself from the smartphones.
Instead, it means the acceptance of the increasingly growing importance of smartphones and
utilizing it wisely for the purpose of convenience and productivity. In other words, it is the

habit of avoiding unnecessary usage and dependency on smartphones and using it with a
limit. (Casey, 2012)

2.0 Problem Statement

In a recent study and research by Teensafe in 2012, 66% of teens admit o feeling panicked
when they were without their phones. Scientist have nick named this phenomenon as
nomophobia. According to the American Psychiatric Association, these addictions are
majorly fuelled by Internet Use Disorder. It is a condition where a person is preoccupied
with the internet and may suffer withdrawal symptoms.
According to the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, the over-usage of smartphones may alter the
way teenagers interact or communicate with each other. This is he because communication or
interaction through smartphone will never permit a teenager to observe a persons true
emotional reaction and differentiate between what is good action and what is bad action.
Staring at the screen of the smartphone also prevents the brain from functioning well and as a
result may prevent our bodies and brain from releasing a certain chemical known as
melatonin which may result in sleep deprived.
In a research by Dr. Ke Guek Nee said in an article by Bernama which appeared in The
Malaysian Times that the habit of spending most of their time online had also adversely
affected other aspects of their lives. He mentioned that this addiction has reached a serious
stage where youngsters or teenagers are suffering mental health problems due to the time they
spend on their smartphones.

2.1 Significance of The Study

The findings of this study will redound to the benefit of knowledge of the society considering
that smartphone addiction is plague that may cause alot of negative effects to us today. The
amount of smartphone addicts and the decrease in face to face communications justifies the
need to reduce the over-dependency of smartphone usages. Thus, teenagers that follows and
apply the steps of reducing the usages of smartphone to only using it when necessary.

2.2 Research Objective

The main objectives of the research that we are doing regarding Technology Escapism:
Smartphone Addiction;

To know the Effects of Smartphone Addiction

To understand and know how Smartphone Addiction affects Malaysian teenagers

3.0 Research Question

4.0 Literature Review

What is Technology? It is a body of knowledge used for creating tools, processing actions
and extracting of materials. Technology is widely used nowadays to accomplish various tasks
in our daily lives. Technology could be described as products, processes, or organizations. We
use technology to extend our abilities and that makes people as the most important part of any
technology system.
Technology is applied to solve problems in our everyday lives, no matter at work, or at
home. Technology had indeed created large dependency of human towards technology.
However, if technology is well applied, it benefits humans, but if it is misapplied, it could
definitely cause much harm towards us. In this study on smartphone addiction, it is without a
doubt that smartphones has provided us with enormous convinces in our daily life. With
more and more technological advancements in computing capabilities and connectivity than
the average basic features of phones (Rashvand HF, Hsiao KF (2015) Smartphone intelligent
applications: a brief review. Multimedia Systems 21 (1): pg. 103- 119).
In a recent data from Malaysia showed that the penetration of smartphones towards teenagers
has increased from 47% in 2012 to 63% in 2013. In 2014, 10.13 million Malaysians were
active smartphone users, compared to the year 2012 with 7.7 million users (Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission, 2012, Osman, 2012). Internet usage among

youths or teenagers and adults has become excessive worldwide as well as Malaysia
(Weinstein A, Lejoyeux, 2010). Usage of the Internet that caused smartphone addictions has
led to psychiatric disorders, low self-esteem, depression and impaired academics and
occupational performances (Jenaro C, Flores N, Gmez-Vela M, Gonzlez-Gil F, Caballo C,
2007, Niemz K, Griffiths M, Banyard P, 2005, Young KS, Rogers RC, 1998, Ko CH, Yen JY,
Yen CF, Chen CS, Chen CC, 2012). Studies also reports that over-dependency or over-usage
of smartphone may also cause and associated with stress, sleep disturbance and symptoms of
depression (Thomee S, Harenstam A, Hagberg M, 2011, Ezoe S, Toda M, Yoshimura K,
Naritomi A, Den R, Morimoto K, 2009, Toda M, Monden K, Kubo K, Morimoto K, 2006)
The effects that smartphone addicted teens may experience is the chemical changes in the
brain functions. With the advance technology, researches has successfully measured the
physical and chemical changes in an addict's brain. Studies have discovered the physical
changes also occurred in the dopamine system. Dopamine is a chemical that is created within
our body that allows us to feel pleasure and reward. Smaller amounts of dopamine receptors
in the brain are noticed in those who are smartphone addicted. This means that in order for
the teenager to feel satisfied or happy, he or she needs to recieve new notifications from their
social media. Likewise, this may also result in a reverse where depression may hit on them if
they do not receive any notifications or lost access to their smartphones (Teensafe, How does
smartphone addiction effect teen health, June 16, 2015).
According to Medical Daily, brain cancer risk may increase if usage of smartphone exceeds
15 hours a month due to the exposure of radiation that was emitted from the smartphones
according to Teensafe. The fact that most of the teenagers who are glued to their smartphones
tend to spend more time exposed to these radiations known as radio frequency energy emitted
by the smartphone. Emma Henderson of the Independent wrote an article regarding Phantom
Vibration Syndrome on January 10, 206 stated that up to 90% of the people suffer from this
phenomenon while the mobile phone is in the pocket. It is said that this syndrome is caused
by 'learned bodily habits' and anxiety caused by daily technologies. "People are just so
anxious these days, because of all of our different technologies" stated by Dr Robert
Rosenberger, a philosopher and assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology."People
then perceive other sensations such as movement of clothing of muscle spasms as vibrations
from their mobile, but it's just a hallucination", said the professor.

5.0 Methodology
Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem (Kothari,
2005). Research methodology has many kinds of dimensions for creating the research process
with suitable research methods. The researcher bring in some logical reasons in the context of
research by formulates a methodology such as what research methods to use in the study and
why, what type of data is to be collected and from whom, and how the data to be collected is
analyzed (Ravichandran, 2009). The researcher also supports the applicability, reliability and
validity of the research process wherever needed (Kothari, 2005). Quantitative research
methods are characterized by the collection of information which can be analyzed
numerically, the results of which are typically presented using statistics, tables and graphs
(Brief, 2012).
5.1 Data Collection
The study was done using quantitative research methods and the method that we used
is survey. Survey is the most collaborative tool to be used by researchers when conducting a
research. Survey research is used: to answer questions that have been raised, to solve
problems that have been posed or observed, to assess needs and set goals, to determine
whether or not specific objectives have been met, to establish baselines against which future
comparisons can be made, to analyze trends across time, and generally, to describe what
exists, in what amount, and in what context (Isaac & Michael, 1997).
We choose the survey research method because surveys are able to acquiring
information from large samples of the population. They are also well suited to gathering
demographic data that describe the composition of the sample (McIntyre, 1999, p. 74).
Surveys are inclusive in the types and number of variables that can be studied, require
minimal investment to develop and administer, and are relatively easy for making
generalizations (Bell, 1996). Surveys can also lead to the information about attitudes that are
otherwise hard to measure using observational techniques (McIntyre, 1999, p. 75). However,
that surveys only provide predict for the correct population, not appropriate measurements
(Salant & Dillman, 1994).

A survey questionnaire was designed for ask our target audiences among teenagers.
Types of survey that we provide are closed-ended question. However, requiring for the
respondent to inspect each possible response by own self of the other choices is using with
the closed-ended questions with ordered choices require (Glasow, 2005). The choices form a
continuum of 2-7 responses, such as those provided by Likert scales and numerical ranges
(Glasow, 2005). These types of questions are making the convenient for respondents to
answer and for researchers to analyze the data. The researcher must ensure that the
respondent is given with comprehensive selection of responses (Glasow, 2005). Closed-ended
questions with unordered choices are useful for ranking items in order of preference. Every
question contained an option for the participant to answer (Glasow, 2005). At the first part of
the questionnaire, we will like to ask about demographic questions like the audiences age
and gender. Besides that, we will also ask about the attitude questions like do they feel
unsecure when face about smartphone is low battery problems with the data of strongest
agree to strongest disagreed.
According to Polit and Hungler (1999:267) define data as information obtained in a
course of a study (Polit & Hungler, 1999). In this study data was collected by using structured
interview schedules (Polit & Hungler, 1999). A studys objectives and research questions are
using by structured interview schedule that used in order to capture data relevant. The
purpose of the study was to identify and describe the smartphone addiction among the
teenagers age between 13-19 years old.
5.2 Population and Sampling
The population we would have to ask to among 150 of teenagers among 13-19 years
old. Therefore, we will only targeting on the Pei Yuan Private Secondary School. Due to
necessary employ many people to make the interviews so we need spend a lot of time and
money (Barreiro & Albandoz, 2001). Moreover, there are some hard issues to make the
interviews like some students have exam, students have in the hospital (Barreiro & Albandoz,
2001). In this situation, it will be convenient to interview a certain part of the population
when chosen the sample as correct way so that we can obtain later conclusions for the whole
population (Barreiro & Albandoz, 2001). Sampling is the process of choosing the phenomena
or population for study (Lewis & Jane Ritchie, 2003).

This is the process of determining research participants and applying this process in
qualitative studies often involves criteria for participation and sourcing willing participants,
in other words and recruitment (Lewis & Jane Ritchie, 2003). There have probability
sampling which is using the mathematics guideline and non-probability sampling which is
not follows the guidelines of mathematics. The term "non-probability sampling' is an
umbrella term to capture all forms of sampling that are not conducted according to the
principles of probability sampling. It is not surprising, therefore, that the term covers a wide
range of different types of sampling strategy which are convenience sample, snowball sample
and quota sample. The technique we had chosen is convenience sampling. A convenience
sample is the sampling method that simply available to the researcher by the researcher's
convenient. (Bryman, 2016). The reason of using convenience sampling is it is convenient to
the researcher because participants are randomly chosen from sample by the researcher.

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