Teens and Twitter: The Primary Purpose, Research Proposal Example

Table of Contents

Abstract 3

Introduction. 4

Literature Review.. 6

Research Methodology and Findings. 11

Conclusion. 11

References. 12

Abstract

Social media has rapidly become a staple in today’s society as a major communication medium. Since the rise of the Internet, social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter have garnered a massive share of the communications market, with millions of users interacting on the sites daily. Among these users are teenagers who have embraced the concept of social media and use it for a number of reasons. Popular social networking sites among teens are Facebook and Twitter, and Twitter use among teens is increasingly becoming even more popular. The purpose of this research is to explore the use of Twitter by teens and their purpose for using the site. Research methodology on this subject includes sampling from interviews. Findings and conclusions are based on interview analysis and information from the literature review included in this report.

Introduction

Social media is a product of the phenomenon that is the Internet. Millions of people use social media for networking and interacting with peers and people on all levels and walks of life. It is interesting to note that the millions of people who frequent social media sites are not just people in America, but they are people from all over the world. For example, a recent study examined social media use in the United Arab Emirates and found that Twitter is the most subscribed to micro-blogging site among people in this country, with 80 percent of survey respondents indicating they have a Twitter account (Al-Jenaibi, 2011).

No matter what country social networking is popular, it is no doubt that the millions of worldwide users include teens. Many wonder what the primary purpose is for using sites like Twitter, for teens. As stated, teens use social media for various reasons and one reason is a site’s popularity. Twitter is quickly becoming one of the most popular sites for teenagers, merely because it is popular. Teens like to do what is popular or cool and they also like to share with each other in like manner, and Twitter gives them an opportunity to do so.

According to O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson (2011), sites like Twitter offer teenagers a portal for entertainment as well as communication, on their terms. They can connect with friends and other people they have never met with but have common interests with. A recent poll reports that 22 percent of teenagers are logging onto social networking sites 10 times a day or more, and they are not only logging on from their computers. It is also reported that 75 percent of teenagers have mobile phones and 25 percent of these teenagers use their mobile phones for interacting on social networking sites (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011).

Other research suggests that technology is directly related to how teens socialize, how they express themselves, and how they perceive social issues such as privacy, gender identity, bullying, self-esteem and relationships (Marwick, 2012). Teens use their phones a lot to communicate. They are avid users of texting, and using social media sites such as Twitter fits right in with their habit of texting. Text messages are even more popular than voice messages among teens, because they can chat on the go, from anywhere they are, at any time of day or night. Additionally, many teens view phone calls as interruptions. “According to the Pew Internet and American Life project, 63% of teenagers exchange text messages every day with people in their lives. Compare that with the 39% of teens who make voice calls, or the 35% who engage face-to-face outside of school” (Marwick, 2012).

Teenagers feel connected when they use the Internet, and there are numerous activities teens can participate in online. They can socialize, meet new friends, get the scoop on the latest gossip, share ideas, help each other with homework, give accolades to friends, celebrate relationships, share pictures or give each other encouragement, among other things.

According to Alpizar (2010), young people use social media in their daily lives religiously. They often conform to assumed and accepted social rules and norms for specific uses of social media, because they like the convenience of staying connected with peers via the Internet. It is also noted that this form of interaction among the youth has displaced many traditional forms of media and it has also taken the place of time spent with their families.

This research explores the use of Twitter by teens and seeks to find out why Twitter is becoming more popular among teens in lieu of other social media choices. The following literature review contains valid information on why teenagers are embracing Twitter as a preferred social networking medium.

Literature Review

O’Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011, April 1). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.

This literature examines how social media affects children and teens. It explains how social media sites have become a common activity for children and teens in today’s society. Today’s generation of teens is largely influenced by virtual social interaction and this sometimes raises questions about whether or not this is healthy for them.

This literature recognizes the importance of parental guidance for children and teens as it relates to their use of social media. Potential issues such as cyber bullying, sexting and inappropriate content on social networking sites call for parental monitoring. Some teens are more impressionable and more susceptible to peer pressure than others and may be unable to self-regulate themselves and their own behavior in safe ways. These teens are at risk when using social media as they may become victims of cyber bullying or being lured by predators. Awareness is important.

As it relates to socialization and communication, this literature also discusses many positive reasons why teens use social media. Teens sometimes raise money for various causes or they share information about volunteer opportunities. In addition, teens use social media to share art, music and ideas through their blogs and videos. They also use social media sites to expand online connections by connecting with others who share their interests which helps them explore their uniqueness and identify with themselves and others. Additionally, this literature reports that teens use social media to connect on group homework projects and even activities such as accessing health information.

McMillan, S. J., & Morrison, M. (2006). Coming of age with the Interet: A qualitative exploration of how the Internet has become an integral part of young people’s lives. New Media Society, 8.

This literature examines how young people relate to the Internet and new technologies that correspond with it. The literature gives insight into how young people deal with how the Internet is woven into their everyday lives and how they admit to being dependent upon it to manage a large part of their lives.

Research study methdology used for this purpose included qualitative techniques and consisted of gathering personal essays from participants. The essays were centered around participants’ interactive social media usage and prevalence factors. It is noted in the research data that many young people viewed learning to use the Internet as a ritual befitting of coming of age as a teenager. Additionally, the Internet is viewed by them as a platform where they can either be themselves or cater to alternate personas, and this gives them a feeling of freedom.

Findings show that young people use the Internet because they want to belong to something and they want to participate in something and have social interaction. In addition, study findings reported that young people feel like the Internet fills a void in their lives. According to McMillan & Morrison (2006), “Many informants reported that they depended on the Internet and related technologies to help them de?ne themselves and their communities. They needed it to be able to maintain social interactions” (p. 87). Many study participants admitted that the Internet was something they used “all the time” and that they were constantly interacting in some way online.

These findings give way to why social media sites are so important to the teenagers in this day and age and why they choose where they interact online.

Irvine, M. (2012, January 29). Teens move to Twitter for more privacy. Retrieved from Journal Sentinel Online.

This literature examines the notion that teens feel that there are too many adults using Facebook, and that is why they are not too interested in using Facebook anymore. This literature reports it appears that teens became turned off from using Facebook because they began receiving friend requests from the various adults in their lives such as aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, neighbors and the friends of all of these people. Teens began to feel like their space was envaded too much on Facebook so they began to explore Twitter. One teenager, who was interviewed for the study, said they Twitter is the only thing she has to herself because her parents do not have Twitter accounts.

Although teens still have active Facebook accounts, they seldom use them and are more active on Twitter. The literature reports:

Teens tout the ease of use and the ability to send the equivalent of a text message to a circle of friends, often a smaller one than they have on crowded Facebook accounts. They can have multiple accounts and don’t have to use their real names. They also can follow their favorite celebrities and, for those interested in doing so, use Twitter as a soapbox (Irvine, 2012).

According to a study done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 have been slowly migrating to Twitter over the last two years and their usage has doubled since then from 8 percent to 16 percent.

Twitter offers teens a way to interact with people their own age or with people they specifically choose without having to feel pressured into friending everyone who asks for a friend request, like on Facebook.

Van der Velden, M., & El Emam, K. (2012, July 6). Not all my friends need to know: a qualitative of study of teenage patients, privacy and social media. Journal of American Medical Information Association, 20, 16-24.

This literature examines how teens use social media but are concerned about privacy as it relates to revealing protected health information through social networking. The study found that this is something that they do not use social media for. They use social media to keep in touch with friends and to stay up-to-date with what’s going on in their peer world.

This research used a qualitative study approach that used interviews with 20 hospitalized teens between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Results showed that teens view social media as a way to escape the reality of their illness for a while and remain protected behind the anonymity of their social media profiles, even if they reveal who they are in them. There is a level of security for them, knowing that they have privacy and have the option of sharing information about their illness or not. The study also found that teens do not use social media to find out information about their illness or to connect with similar teens who may have the same illness. They just want to be perceived as normal, everyday teenagers when they are on social media sites.

Of the social media sites mention by the teens in the study, Twitter is one the teens frequent to follow their favorite celebrities or connect with friends, since they were unable to spend time with their friends and it made them feel better by spending time on the Internet to socialize.

Al-Jenaibi, B. (2011). The Use of Social Media in the United Arab Emirates – An Initial Study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23(1).

This literature examines social media and its use in the United Arab Emirates and covers what types of social media is used, what are considered benefits from using social media by the residents and what challenges social media poses for them. The research used both qualitative and quantitative methods to reach findings.

The quantitative component of the research method included survey distribution to social media users in the country to evaluate the extent of social media usage in the United Arab Emirates. The participants consisted of employees, teachers, managers and teenagers, both male and female. The qualitative component of the research was done with focus group participation.

Among the social media sites mentioned, Facebook and YouTube were two favorites; however, Twitter was rated the highest used micro-blogging site by the residents in this country, and was ranked at 80 percent of total micro-blogging site users. Additionally, it is noted in the study that Twitter was used mainly to share ideas.

Research findings for this literature concluded that social media has a strong presence in the country and that social media usage is on the rise with resident teenagers. In addition, the majority of the users perceive that social media has definite benefits including convenience. It is noted, however, that there is a potential danger for United Arab Emirates teenagers on social media because they are too trusting with whom they chat with online. One solution to this problem suggested was to pass a law not to allow children under 18 to have access to social media. However, further research is needed.

Research Methodology

Answering the Proposal Question

Sampling by interview is used to answer the proposal question of “What is the primary purpose for teenagers to use Twitter?” The reason for choosing this sampling method is the fact that getting information directly from a source is one of the most reliable methods of data collection. Teenagers know why they use social media sites such as Twitter.

To get the data, random sampling of groups of teens will be interviewed either face-to-face or by survey questionnaire from both public and private schools. Moreover, two public and two private schools will be approached from each city. Five female teenagers and five male teenagers from ages 14 to 18 will be randomly selected and interviewed in relation to their social media use, particularly Twitter. Randomized sampling selection will be used to eliminate the possibility of selectivity bias in the selection process.

The type of sampling used in this research is quantitative because the findings can be communicated numerically and can be mathematically calculated, which gives opportunity for future estimates (Quantitative Research). Interview questioning will consist of closed-ended questions such as:

• “Do you use social media?”
• “How many times per week do you log on to social media sites?”
• “Do you have a Twitter account?”
• “How many times a week do you use Twitter?”
• “Do you prefer Twitter over other social media sites? If so, why”

This line of questioning will facilitate the necessary findings to answer the research question and to draw relevant conclusions.

Conclusion

The purpose of this research was to explore the use of Twitter by teens and their purpose for using the site. Based on the findings in this report, it is noted that teens use Twitter mainly for socializing, but the main purpose for them migrating to the site is privacy. Teens view Twitter as a place where they can get away from their parent’s prying eyes and have a place to socialize online without the pressure of having to live up to any expectations from adults. Twitter offers them anonymity, if they want it, and it also offers them a more private and intimate platform to share their ideas, feelings and musings.

References

Al-Jenaibi, B. (2011). The Use of Social Media in the United Arab Emirates – An Initial Study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23(1).

Alpizar, K. S. (2010). New Media Use Among High Achieving Adolescents. Thesis, San Jose State University, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, San Jose.

Irvine, M. (2012, January 29). Teens move to Twitter for more privacy. Retrieved from Journal Sentinel Online: http://www.jsonline.com/news/teens-move-to-twitter-for-more-privacy-784015r-138305094.html

Marwick, A. (2012, May 20). Teens Text More Than Adults, But They’re Still Just Teens. (Newsweek) Retrieved from The Daily Beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/20/teens-text-more-than-adults-but-they-re-still-just-teens.html

McMillan, S. J., & Morrison, M. (2006). Coming of age with the Interet: A qualitative exploration of how the Internet has become an integral part of young people’s lives. New Media Society, 8.

O’Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011, April 1). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.

Quantitative Research. (n.d.). Retrieved from Business Dictionary online:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quantitative-research.html

Van der Velden, M., & El Emam, K. (2012, July 6). Not all my friends need to know: a qualitative of study of teenage patients, privacy and social media. Journal of American Medical Information Association, 20, 16-24.