​USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG YOUTHS

Aleena S. George
BEd student ,Physical Science
Mount Carmel College Of Teacher Education For Women, Kottayam

ABSTRACT
The present research work entitled “Use of Social Media Among Youths” was
carried out with the objective to study the usage of different social media among the new
generation and to study whether they are aware of the privacy measures to be adopted
while using social media. A sample of 50 students of Kuttoor Panchayath, were selected
for the study via random sampling technique. The data was collected using a
questionnaire prepared by the investigator. The findings of the study indicated that most of
the students are members of any of the social networking sites and most of them use
social media for mere entertainment. Also, the study shows that most of them were not
aware about the privacy measures to be adopted while using these and also unaware
about the cyber laws. With the widespread of social media, the habits of reading, travelling
family get togethers etc. were almost annihilated.
INTRODUCTION
In this most modern era of science and technology the popularity and
development of social networking sites has revolutionized the way of communication.
Communication is the foundation for interpersonal relationships. The concept of sociability
has gained a renewed interest with communication has been getting replaced by these
social networking sites. Exchange of information, communication and providing a platform
to articulate their ideas on relevant issues made social media popular among people.
Although these Social Networking Sites has contributed much in keeping people
connected, but at the same time the risk factors associated with the use of social
networking sites cannot be denied. The increasing popularity of web-based social
networking services is a striking feature of modern human society especially among
adolescents. They have become heavy users of this technologies specially the web based
social networking services like Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, Myspace, Twitter and
gaming sites etc. According to PEW research center, US (2016), Aided by the
convenience and constant access provided by mobile devices, especially smartphones,
92% of teens report going online daily — including 24% who say they go online “almost
constantly”. More than half (56%) of teens — defined in this report as those ages 13 to 17
— go online several times a day, and 12% report once-a-day use. Just 6% of teens report
going online weekly, and 2% go online less often.
WORLD SCENARIO
As of August 2015, the most popular social networking platform was Facebook followed
by WhatsApp, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. It is also proved that an average a global
internet user spends 120 minutes per day on social networking sites. The number of social
network users in the world was 1.79 billion during 2014 and it is expected to reach 2.44
billion by 2018. An estimated global social network penetration is 29 percent. That the
emergence of smart phones has eased the social networking sites accessibility. As per the
reports of Smart Phone Users around the World (2016), world’s smart phone penetration
among emerging adults was 54 percent.
INDIAN SCENARIO
India is a leading country in terms of internet users in the world, with a high social and
mobile audience. About 168 million of wired Indian teens and Students now use social
media websites constantly. The most popular social networks in India were YouTube and
Facebook, followed by social app WhatsApp. Facebook is projected to reach close to 319
million users in in India by 2021.
KERALA SCENARIO
In the case of Kerala, social media sites have got a huge fan base here, with Facebook
enjoying the first place. There are 48 lakh active users in Kerala with 71% being male
users and the rest being female users (Statista 2017). These 9 crore active users are
spending about 15 minutes for checking Facebook every day. Data shows that 8 out of
every 10 individuals in Cochin have Facebook accounts of their own (liked social media
agency).
OBJECTIVES
• To know whether the youths are making use of social media for their academic
purposes.
• To check whether the use of social media affects their social relationships.
• To check whether the social media affects the reading habits of students.
• To know whether the students are using social media to work for a social issue
• To check whether the youths are aware about cybercrimes and cyber laws. 7.
METHODOLOGY
Survey method was adopted to study the use of social media among youths. A sample of
50 college students of Kuttoor panchayath in Thiruvalla were selected for the survey. The
tool used was a survey questionnaire of 20 yes/no questions prepared by the investigator.
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
The survey was conducted among 50 students of Kuttoor Panchayath and it was
interesting to find that all the students under study were members of at least one social
networking site. Among the popular social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp,
twitter and Instagram majority of the students are WhatsApp members.

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES USERS

FACEBOOK 42

WHATSAPP 45

INSTAGRAM 10

TWITTER 0
The time spend on social networking sites by youths are given in figure 1.

Figure 1: time spend on social networking sites by youths

About 70% of students are aware about the privacy measures to be adopted while
using social media. About 48% students agree that their reading skills were decreased
due to the usage of social media but 68% students read socially relevant articles in social
media. Only 30% youths are active in groups working for social cause and 46% students
express their opinions on social issues. Only 30%students are active members of scientific
communities or groups in social media.68% argues that social media has improved their
studies and 52% says that it has improved their social relationships.
 Their preference to indulge in various activities during spare time is given in figure 2

​ Figure 2: Preference to indulge in various activities during spare time.

96% of students are aware of the cybercrimes in country but none is aware
of any NGO’s working against cybercrimes. But 60% is aware of immediate actions to be
taken if they became victim of any cybercrimes.

​FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

In this research, the investigator has studied about the usage of social
media among youths. Social media provides a great platform for communication, social
interaction, sharing of views and exchange of knowledge. Effective use of social media will
improvise studies, knowledge and social commitment. But in the survey, it was studied
that majority of the youths are using it for personal enjoyments like chatting, sharing
photos etc. So our youths should make use of social media in every aspects of social
commitments, knowledge boosting, active participation in social issues so that it will be
beneficial to both the person and individuals. Even though many institutions are working in
our country against cybercrimes most of the people are unaware about it. It must be
changed. Government and local institutions must conduct awareness programmes against
cybercrime since it is of great importance today. Social media users must also adopt all
privacy measures while using social media so that cybercrimes can be reduced to a
greater extend.
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