SOCIAL MEDIA USE, MEDIA LITERACY, and ANXIETY in FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS Thesis Submitted to the School of Education and He

SOCIAL MEDIA USE, MEDIA LITERACY, AND ANXIETY IN FIRST-YEAR

COLLEGE STUDENTS

Thesis

Submitted to

The School of Education and Health Sciences of the

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

The Degree of

Educational Specialist in School Psychology

Anthony Dalpiaz, MS. Ed

Dayton, OH

August, 2020

SOCIAL MEDIA USE, MEDIA LITERACY, AND ANXIETY IN FIRST-YEAR

COLLEGE STUDENTS

Name: Dalpiaz, Anthony

APPROVED BY:

Elana Bernstein, Ph.D. Committee Chair Assistant Professor Department of Counselor Education & Human Services

Sawyer Hunley, Ph.D. Committee Member Associate Professor Department of Counselor Education & Human Services

Ronda Scantlin, Ph.D. Committee Member Associate Professor Department of Communication

Anthony Dalpiaz

2020

iii

ABSTRACT

SOCIAL MEDIA USE, MEDIA LITERACY, AND ANXIETY IN FIRST-YEAR

COLLEGE STUDENTS

Name: Dalpiaz, Anthony A. University of Dayton

Advisor: Dr. Elana Bernstein

Anxiety is on the rise in the world today. The American College Health

Association (2018) surveyed 31,463 college students and found that 60.9% of the respondents had experienced overwhelming anxiety at some point within the last 12 months. Social media use has become more and more rampant, with research suggesting that the majority of people in the United States use social media in some form. Media literacy, which incorporates the ability to critically assess and interpret digital content, is a topic are that is increasingly becoming of interest with the pervasiveness of technology.

The present study examined the relationship between social media use, media literacy, and anxiety in first-year college students. A sample of (n = 82) first-year college students was surveyed to investigate these variables. Results indicated a significant relationship between social media use and anxiety as well as between social media use and media literacy. No significant relationship was found between media literacy and anxiety.

Implications for how educational professionals can serve students based on these results are discussed in this paper.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First off, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Ronda Scantlin. Her lessons were the genesis of this study. I am also deeply grateful to Dr. Elana Bernstein for her constant support and to Dr. Sawyer Hunley for her assistance in narrowing my research scope. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Professors Heather Parsons and Laura Toomb for assisting me in my research. Lastly, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Doctors Mathea Simons, Will Meeus, and Jan T’Sas. Thank you for developing a media literacy scale and for granting me permission to use it in this study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v

LIST OF FIGURES ix

LIST OF TABLES x

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 3

Social Media 3

List of Relevant Terms 3

Impact of Social Media Use 6

The role of parents 11

The addictive nature of social media 11

Media Literacy 14

Assessing media literacy 15

Media education 16

The Present Study 17

CHAPTER III: METHODS 19

Research Questions and Hypotheses 19

Research Design 20

Participants and Setting 20

Materials 21

Media Literacy Scale 22

Social Media Use 23

Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale 23

Procedures 24

IRB approval 24

Recruitment 24

Data collection 24

Inter-rater reliability 25

Timeline 25

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS 26

Data Analyses 26

Descriptive Statistics 27

Media Literacy 27

Anxiety 28

Social Media Use 29

Research Question 1 30

Research Question 2 30

CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION 31

Interpretation of Findings Relative to Hypothesis 31

Limitations 32

Implications for Practice 34

Future Research 35

Conclusion 37

REFERENCES 38

vii

APPENDIX A: Invitation to Participate in Research 46

APPENDIX B: Anxiety, Media Literacy, Social Media Use Survey 47

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Distribution of Media Literacy Questionnaire Total Scores 28

Figure 2 Distribution of Total Anxiety Scores 29

Figure 3 Distribution of Social Media Use Scores 29

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Student Scores on the Media Literacy Scale, AMAS, and Social Media Habits Scale 27 Table 2 Correlations Between Media Literacy Scale, AMAS, and Social Media

Habits Scale 30

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Technology is ever-present in the world today. Social media has grown rapidly; checking social media sites has become a part of most individual’s daily routine. Despite this integration into human lives, the flow of research literature on the subject matter is not consistent with the pace of its expansion. Given the pervasiveness in which social media has penetrated humans’ lives, it is important to examine how it might influence their well-being.

People who have social media accounts maintain an online persona. The world of social media is one that is manufactured, or at the very least, not a completely accurate representation of individuals’ lives. The responsibility of maintaining an online persona might impact young people’s wellbeing. Since adolescence is known to be a time fraught with self-discovery, confusion, anxiety, and stress, it is important to investigate the effects of social media to see if young people are adequately educated about the realities and nuances of the online world.

Anxiety, in particular, is a focus that is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world. In the United States, in particular individuals are reporting higher and higher instances of anxiety. For example, in an opinion poll of 1,000 adult Americans, 39% of respondents stated they were more anxious at the time of filling out the survey than they were a year ago (The American Psychiatric Association, 2018). Furthermore, the

American College Health Association (2018) surveyed 31,463 college students and found that 60.9% of the respondents had experienced overwhelming anxiety at some point within the last 12 months. A national study of 141,000 first-year college students in 230

schools in the United States found evidence to suggest that college students today experience more stress and depression than students in previous generations (Eagan et al.,

2015).

Previous studies have found a relationship between anxiety and social media use.

For example, Vannuccci, Flannery, and Ohannessian (2017) found that increased social media use was correlated with increased anxiety through a web-based survey of 563 young adults aged 18 to 22 in the United States. Media literacy is a concept which incorporates accessing, communicating, interpreting, and evaluating messages across a variety of digitally-mediated forms (Goessling & Vadeboncoeur, 2019). It is becoming an increasingly important area of research and may be related to social media use in that social media platforms are digitally mediated. No known study up until this point has examined media literacy in conjunction with social media use or media literacy and its relationship to anxiety.

Thus, the aim of this study was threefold. First, the study examined the relationship between social media use and anxiety to see if it corroborated previous research. Second, the study looked to see if there was a relationship between media literacy and social media use. Third, the study investigated to see if there was a relationship between media literacy and anxiety. In order to explore these areas, the researcher employed a quantitative survey design using first-year college students as the sample population.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

The following literature review explores the origins of social media, and types of social media use. Research on the impacts of social media use is also presented. Finally, the notion of media literacy is discussed.

Social Media

Social media is a phenomenon that is intricately tied to technology, and it has now become incorporated into many individual’s daily routines. Social media originated in

1997, when the Six Degrees website launched. The site allowed individuals to create a profile and connect with other users based on similar professional or social interests.

During this early stage, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, only 7% of adult

Americans used social media. By 2006, that number rose to 65% (Perrin et al, 2015). The social media site Facebook may be partially responsible for this rise as the site was first launched in 2004 (Facebook, 2019). According to Edison Research (2017), the total proportion of social media users across all age ranges in the United States in the year

2017 was 81%.

List of Relevant Terms

Many of the concepts explored in this research have a variety of differing definitions depending on the source. To explore the research questions, the investigator has included a list of these relevant terms, each with one definition in order to provide context:

• Anxiety: an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often

marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by

doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about

one's capacity to cope with it (Miriam-Webster, 2018).

• Fear of missing out (FOMO): fear of not being included in something (such as an

interesting or enjoyable activity) that others are experiencing (Miriam-Wester,

2018).

• Media literacy: the ability to access, communicate, interpret, and evaluate

messages or texts across a range of digitally mediated forms (Goessling &

Vadeboncoeur, 2019).

• Problematic social media use: a continuum that ranges from mundane self-control

failures to extremely problematic or pathological forms of social media use

(Koningsbruggen & Kerkhof, 2018).

• Social media: forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social

networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to

share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos;

Miriam-Webster, 2018). This term will be used interchangeably with “social

networking” in this paper.

• Social media addiction: persistent compulsive use of social media sites (Miriam-

Webster, 2018).

• Self-regulation: control or supervision from within instead of by an external

authority (Miriam-Webster, 2018)

• Social media literacy: critical thinking about social media which includes being

empowered with the knowledge and skills to analyze, evaluate, produce, and

participate in social media (Tamplin, McLean, & Paxton, 2018).

• Social media self-control failure: a dilemma that social media users face between

the temptation to use social media and the pursuit of other goals that volitional

efforts (Koningsbruggen & Kerkhof, 2018).

• Wellbeing: the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous (Miriam-Webster,

2018).

Technology is now a core component of humans’ everyday lives. Phones now have the same capabilities as computers do. Pew Research Center (2019) published a survey sent to citizens in the United States of America. They found that 96% of

Americans own a cellphone, with 81% owning a smartphone (Pew Research Center,

2019). Pew Research Center (2019) reported that this data represents a 46% increase in smartphone ownership since 2011, when the percentage of Americans who owned smartphones was 35%. Additionally, Pew Research Center (2019) discovered almost three-quarters of American adults own laptop or desktop computers and nearly half of

U.S. adults own e-reader devices or tablet computers. Furthermore, Pew Research Center

(2019) found through another survey that 81% of adults go online at least daily. Within this number, 45% reported they go online several times a day and 28% reported that they are online almost constantly.

One study points to positive facets of social media. Social media sites were first designed to connect individuals. Cohen and Lancaster (2014) explored this connecting impact by looking at the phenomenon of adults engaging in co-viewing television

programs. They compared individuals who watched programs in the same room as others with those who were in different physical locations, but interacted with each other through social media. Their results suggested that co-viewing over social media could provide opportunities for social connection among those who watched television in physical solitude (Cohen & Lancaster, 2014).

Another study, found that the act of going online to communicate with friends appeared to play a positive role in adolescents’ sense of identity (Davis, 2013). Davis

(2013) administered questionnaires to a sample of 2,079 students aged 11 to 19 years in

Bermuda. The questionnaire examined identity concepts such as friendship quality and self-concept clarity. It is important to note that social media use was just one method of online communication analyzed in this study. Others included email, playing videogames, and instant messaging (i.e., Skype, AOL Instant Messenger). Ninety percent of the participants maintained a Facebook profile and 96% accessed YouTube (Davis,

2013).

Impact of Social Media Use

With the rise in technology use, an increasing number of studies have examined how different screen technologies can impact a variety of factors. For example, one study demonstrated that nighttime use of a computer, phone, and television can lead to poor sleep (Woods & Scott, 2016). Woods and Scott (2016) posited that these effects are due to the screens emitting a blue light that damage the sleep-inducing chemical called melatonin. Another study found that nine-year-old Irish children who were high users

(denoted as more than three hours per day) of screen technology such as phones,

computers, and televisions, were at increased risk of being overweight and obese (Lane &

Murphy, 2014).

Even though social media use is pervasive in society, there is a surprising lack of research concerning how it may impact people’s well-being. In fact, Vannuccci,

Flannery, and Ohannessian (2017) reported no known study examining the relationship between anxiety and an array of social media applications during the time in which they conducted their own research. In their study, the researchers focused on social media use and young adults. Specifically, they investigated the presence and severity of anxiety symptoms among this population based on their social media use. Vannucci, Flannery, and Ohannessian (2017) found that individuals who spent more time on social media sites demonstrated greater symptoms of dispositional anxiety (identified as a risk factor for the development of anxiety and other emotional disorders; Stout, Shackman, Johnson, &

Larson, 2014). Furthermore, they found that individuals with the highest daily social media use were at greater risk for having a diagnosable anxiety disorder (Vannucci et al.,

2017).

Social media has its roots as a means for staying in contact with friends and acquaintances, but in recent years, it has grown to become a means for public performance. Some commonly-used social media sites for such purposes are Facebook,

Twitter, and Instagram. However, there are professional social networking sites, such as

LinkedIn, that also warrant examination. Colditz et al (2016) looked at LinkedIn use and depression and anxiety prevalence in 1,780 young adults between the ages of 19-32 in the

United States. The researchers found that individuals who used LinkedIn at least once per

week were significantly more likely to have depressive and anxiety-related symptoms than participants who did not use LinkedIn at least once per week.

Some studies have narrowed the scope to specifically examine social media use and well-being of young adults. Woods and Scott (2016) surveyed 467 Scottish students between the ages of 11 and 17. Ninety-seven percent of their participants used some form of social media (Woods & Scott, 2016). Additionally, Woods and Scott (2016) discovered that 47% of their participants reported anxiety, 37% were poor sleepers, and

21% reported symptoms of depression. They found an association between poorer sleep quality and increased anxiety and depression levels. Furthermore, Woods and Scott

(2016) found that those who engaged in regular, nighttime-specific social media use reported poorer sleep quality than those who did not engage in such social media use.

They noted that individuals with an emotional investment in social media were more likely than those without such emotional investment to have depression and lowered self- esteem (Woods & Scott, 2016).

Peer perceptions, or what individuals believe about their same-age compatriots, is another factor that researchers have explored regarding social media use. This area may be beneficial to explore for college students in particular, given that research suggests that key changes in identity tend to take place during emerging adulthood, when individuals are 18 to 25 years of age (Arnett, 2015; Kroger, 2015). Identity exploration is one key feature of this phase in development (career path, lifestyle, etc.; Santrock, 2015).

Individuals in the emerging adulthood stage also tend to place high importance on forming close positive relationships with friends (Santrock, 2015). This may influence

how they utilize social media. For instance, they may interpret “likes” from others as evidence that a friendship is strong.

Following this, Steers et al (2016) looked at extraversion, need for approval, and amount of time spent on Facebook. Their goal was to examine if those factors were predictors for undergraduate students’ levels of anxiety. Steers et al (2016) discovered that increased anxiety and increased time on Facebook were highly associated with greater need for approval. However, Steers et al (2016) found that extraversion served as a protective factor against anxiety among social media users. Gil de Zúñiga et al (2017) found similar results examining introverted and extroverted personality traits and their relation to social media use for participants in 20 different countries. They found that extraverted individuals tended to use social media more often than their introverted peers in order to view news and interact socially with others (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2017).

Well-being is another component that researchers have examined. Kross et al

(2013) hypothesized and explored two specific facets they considered to be connected to subjective wellbeing. The first was moment-to-moment feelings- how people felt from one moment to the next. The second was general life satisfaction- how satisfied individuals were with their lives in general. Ultimately, Kross et al (2013) found that participants with increased Facebook use had lower scores in both their moment-to- moment feelings and their general life satisfaction was lower (Kross et al., 2013).

Barry et al (2017) investigated adolescents’ number of social media accounts and its relationship to their psychological well-being. The researchers had both the adolescents and their parents report on their number of social media accounts as well as their wellbeing through use of a questionnaire. They found that adolescents with the

highest anxiety and depressive symptoms had a relatively large number of parent- reported social media accounts. These individuals also reported higher levels of fear of missing out (FOMO) compared to their peers in the study (Barry et al., 2017).

Online personas are ones that are manufactured; they are not necessarily representative of reality. In terms of perception and social media use, Chou and Edge

(2012) used a survey to examine 425 Utah undergraduate students’ Facebook use and how it related to their perceptions of others. They found that, in general, individuals who used Facebook for a greater number of years held a belief that others were happier than they were. Additionally, Chou and Edge found that these same people were inclined to disagree with the statement that life was fair. The number of hours per day individuals spent on the social media platform influenced perceptions of well-being as well. For instance, Chou and Edge (2012) uncovered that the more hours per day participants spent on Facebook, the more likely they were to agree with the viewpoint that others were happier than themselves. However, there was a protective factor related to Facebook use.

Individuals with more Facebook friends were generally less likely to agree that others were happier and were more likely to agree with the sentiment that life was fair. Frequent face-to-face interactions with friends was another protective factor against feeling that others were happier. Participants who reported going out frequently with friends tended to disagree more strongly with the statement that others were happier than themselves

(Chou & Edge, 2012).

The dispositions or mindsets of individuals who use social media sites could also have an impact on their socio-emotional feelings. Kim, LaRose, and Peng (2009) surveyed undergraduate students at two different universities. They found that individuals

who were lonely, along with those who did not have strong social skills, were susceptible to developing compulsive internet use habits. While psychological baggage is important to look at when investigating how social media impacts individuals, it is also important to examine how the platforms themselves are used.

The role of parents. Fardouly et al (2018) explored how social media users viewed others and if there was a relationship between increased parental control over technology and socioemotional functioning. They examined the relationships between parental control over the time their preadolescent child spent on social media, along with the child’s social media browsing time, preadolescents' appearance comparisons on social media, and preadolescents' appearance satisfaction, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms (Fardouly et al., 2018). They found that preadolescent social media users reported better mental health if their parents reported greater control over their social media time. In these cases, the preadolescents reported greater life satisfaction and less depressive symptoms than preadolescents whose parents did not report as much control on their social media time (Fardouly et al., 2018). Additionally, the preadolescents in their sample reported spending less time browsing social media and making fewer personal comparisons to others’ appearances while on social media if their parents reported greater control over their social media time (Fardouly et al., 2018).

The addictive nature of social media. One facet of social media that could make it addicting is the ease of access. As stated previously, phones are essentially miniature computers. Individuals can check Twitter within seconds. They even scroll between social applications seamlessly. Koningsbruggen and Kerkhof (2018) examined social media self-control. They hypothesized that individuals often fail to control their social

media use even when their use conflicted with their other objectives or responsibilities.

The researchers developed a brief social media self-control failure (SMSCF) scale to measure how often individuals with social media accounts gave in to the temptation to use such sites (Koningsbruggen & Kerkhof, 2018). Koningsbruggen and Kerkhof (2018) found that individuals were more likely to have social media self-control failure than social media addiction or problematic social media use. The researchers also found that their participants’ social media most often conflicted with completing the following activities: housework, educational achievements, and professional achievements

(Koningsbruggen & Kerkhof, 2018).

Due to the ease of access, smartphones provide social media at users’ fingertips, so it is logical that people could become reliant on both smartphones and social media.

Elhai et al (2018) randomly divided 359 college students into three groups: a group that was asked to imagine not having access to a smart phone, a group that was asked to imagine not having access to social media, and a control group. One group was asked to perceive losing access to their phone and the other group was asked to perceive losing access to social media. The researchers asked participants to imagine losing access to the respective technology for two days and to rate the symptoms they felt using the

Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DAS-21). Elhai et al (2018) found that individuals in the social media loss group demonstrated stronger relationships between suppressive emotion regulation (psychological mechanism where individuals influence the emotions they have and the circumstances under which they express those emotions; Gross, 1998) with anxiety, stress, and depression as a result of the imagined loss. Conversely, the

control group experienced less significant anxiety, stress, and depression than the imagined loss groups (Elhai et al., 2018).

Social media sites have changed how many human beings interact with each other every day. For example, many young people use various social media sites as a main means of communication. Errasti, Amigo, & Villadangos (2017) looked at Facebook and

Twitter use in 503 Spanish adolescents. They compared the participants use to their self- reported levels of narcissism (using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory) self-esteem

(using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and empathy (using the Basic Empathy Scale).

Errasti et al., (2017) found the highest correlation between narcissism and number of

Facebook friends. Additionally, they discovered that increased use of Facebook and

Twitter was associated with lower self-esteem. On the other hand, Errasti et al., (2017) uncovered that those who used Facebook and Twitter had higher scores in the Basic

Empathy Scale than those who did not use the either of the social media sites. A meta- analytic study of 62 research articles further corroborated the aforementioned findings and expounded upon other variables (McCain & Campbell, 2018). The study found that grandiose narcissism was positively related to time spent on social media, frequency of social media status updates/tweets, the number of one’s friends/followers on social media, and individuals’ frequency of posting selfies or pictures of oneself on social media.

This often-relentless task of maintaining an online persona can be a burden for an individual. Hardy and Castonguay (2018) found that the more social media accounts an individual had, the more likely that individual was to report that they felt as though they

were going to have a nervous breakdown. They also found that this feeling was significantly more prevalent among participants under the age of 50.

Media Literacy

Media literacy encompasses the abilities to identify different forms of media and to understand the messages those media are conveying (“What is media literacy, and why is it important?” n.d.). Specifically, media literacy includes the skills of critical thinking, being a smart consumer, recognizing point of view, creating media responsibly, identifying the role of media in our culture, and understanding the author’s goal (“What is media literacy, and why is it important?” n.d.). It is an increasingly familiar concept in the educational lexicon for students both in the classroom and at home. Schmidt (2013) looked at the perceptions of educators in an online survey of K-12 teachers and university faculty. The 277 participants reported that students possessed general media literacy competencies (Schmidt, 2013). Participants reported that students were generally most competent in media access (locating relevant information on the internet or in print), and least competent in analyzing media (including understanding the intended message of and perspectives of media publishers). Media analysis skills include analyzing advertising, music, television, and online content (Schmidt, 2013). This study suggests that students of various grade levels may have limited media literacy skills, especially when it concerns analyzing messages in online content. The study also showed that media literacy was covered more commonly in post-secondary education settings than in earlier grades levels (Schmidt, 2013).

Tamplin et al (2018) looked at social media literacy to see if it would serve as a protective factor against young adults negatively comparing their own body image to

ideal body images on social media. Their results showed that social media literacy protected against the negative impact of body image when women were presented with an ideal image of a woman on social media (Tamplin et al., 2018).

Assessing media literacy. Simons, Meeus, and T’Sas (2017) created a questionnaire to measure students’ levels of media literacy. To do so, the researchers began by developing lists of media literacy competencies through a literature review.

They utilized eight conceptual models of media literacy and related concepts in German,

English, and Dutch research literature to guide their lists. To critically analyze the lists,

Simons et al (2017) enlisted four researchers to evaluate the competencies based on clarity, tangibility, and specificity. The researchers then categorized competencies into similar themes. Next, Simons et al (2017) developed a questionnaire based on the identified competencies and sought feedback from experts in the fields of media, education, and media education. The experts assessed whether the competencies included all aspects of media literacy and whether the questions were formatted logically. After this, the researchers conducted a pilot study with teachers and students in order to critically assess the questionnaire.

Ultimately, Simons et al (2017) settled upon 12 basic competencies, on which they based their survey questions. The researchers use an Exploratory Factor Analysis to determine that theses competencies were valid (Simons et al., 2017). Each of the 12 competencies fell into one of three clusters: “using media”, “understanding media”, and

“contributing medially” (Simons el al., p. 107, 2017). “Using media” related to participants’ ability to use certain technologies. “Understanding media” related to

analyzing and evaluating media content. Lastly, “contributing medially” referred to creating media messages and responding to others’ messages.

Simons et al (2017) ultimately determined that the questionnaire was valid and reliable through a limited pilot group’s critical assessment and then a representative sample of teachers and student teachers’ completion of the questionnaire (Simons et al.,

2017). There were 454 teachers and 219 student teachers included in the representative sample. After analyzing the results of both response groups, the researchers found the questionnaire to be internally and externally valid and generalizable. They also found the questionnaire to be internally consistent and reliable (Simons et al., 2017).

To determine internal and construct validity, the researchers subjected the questionnaire to five stages. In the first three stages, Simons et al (2017) studied field- related literature to develop an exhaustive, relevant questionnaire. During stage four, this a limited pilot group critically assessed the questionnaire. In the final stage, a representative sample of teachers and student teachers completed the questionnaire. Upon reviewing the results of both response groups, the researchers found the questionnaire to be internally and externally valid and generalizable as well as internally consistent and reliable (EFA; Simons et al., 2017).

Media education. A commissioned survey in the United Kingdom examined the extent to which children received media education at home. After surveying parents in the United Kingdom, The Office of Communications in the UK, Ofcom (2014) found that only 2 to 3 percent of parents supervised their eight to 15-year-old children when they accessed the internet. The results also revealed that only 1 to 3 percent of parents of children in that same age group talked to their kids about potential online dangers or risks

every few months (Ofcom, 2014). This information is related to social media literacy. If children and adolescents are not taught social media literacy skills by parents and teachers, then it is unlikely that they will have the skills to navigate social media sites in a healthy manner.

The Present Study

Based on the findings that demonstrate that the adolescent population that is particularly susceptible to experiencing anxiety and uses social media daily, the researcher decided to focus this study specifically on first-year college students. Several studies showed that social media does not always have negative impacts, however. Social media literacy is a relatively new concept that has been shown, in one study, to serve as a protective factor against other reported impacts (Tamplin et al., 2018). Furthermore, one survey indicated that a very low percentage of parents regularly speak with their children about online risks and dangers (Ofcom, 2018). Perhaps there is a correlation between lack of social media literacy and the high occurrence of adolescents experiencing negative impacts due to increased social media use as seen in the research. Specifically, Fardouly et al (2018) found that preadolescents reported poorer mental health when their parents were less restrictive on media use. Hardy and Castonguay (2018) found that the more social media accounts an individual had, the more likely that individual was to report that they felt as though they were going to have a nervous breakdown. Steers et al (2016) found that individuals who spent more time on Facebook were more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and fell a greater need for approval than those who used the social media site in little-to-no amount. Vannucci et al (2017) discovered that individuals with the highest daily social media use were at risk for having a diagnosable anxiety disorder.

and Woods and Scott (2016) not only found that individuals who engaged in nighttime use of a computer, phone, and television had poorer sleep than those who did not engage in such habits, but also learned that individuals with poorer sleep were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression than those with greater sleep. This current research sought to examine the relationship among social media use, media literacy, and anxiety levels in first-year college students.

CHAPTER III

METHODS

Research Questions and Hypotheses

The following research questions were posed in the present study:

Research question 1. What is the relationship between social media usage and anxiety levels among first-year college students?

Hypothesis 1. Research shows that increased social media use is correlated with higher levels in anxiety amongst social media users (Elhai et al., 2018; Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2017; Woods & Scott, 2016). In line with this research, it was hypothesized that first- year college students in the present study who spent more time using social media would report higher levels of anxiety on the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale (AMAS) than those who spent less time using social media (Reynolds, Richmond, & Lowe, 2003).

Research question 2. What are the relationships between anxiety levels and media literacy as well as social media use and media literacy among first-year college students?

Hypothesis 2. No known research has examined the relationship between media literacy and anxiety nor media literacy and social media use. However, it was hypothesized that media literacy may help individuals more effectively navigate social media without falling victim to habits that might result in elevated levels of anxiety.

Thus, in the present study, the researcher made the assumption that a risk factor for anxiety is spending increased time on social media sites.

Research Design

This study employed a correlational survey design, following a post-positivist framework. This paradigm highlights objectivity and the belief that there is one reality that can be learned within a certain amount of probability (Mertens, 2014). Additionally, post-positivism maintains an ethical focus on respecting participants’ privacy. Post- positivist research is typically quantitative in nature (Mertens, 2014). This paradigm proved suitable for this research because the study is quantitative in nature; its chief focus was to discover if relationships existed between social media use and anxiety, media literacy and anxiety, and media literacy and social media use in first-year college students based on their responses to survey questions.

Participants and Setting

The sample included (n = 82) first-year undergraduate students at a private

Midwestern university. The participants were assigned a number that corresponded with their surveys to maintain privacy. The participants completed the questionnaires in an undergraduate classroom setting. The specific class was Interdisciplinary – College of

Arts and Science (ASI) 160, which is a one-credit introductory course required for students who are interested in a major within the College of Arts and Science. The class is designed to help students adjust to college life, build skills and behaviors for success in college, and ultimately find a major. The class professors served as proctors in the rooms and were given specific instructions regarding how to describe, administer, and collect the questionnaires.

Materials

This research project used a questionnaire created by the researcher. The questionnaire utilized the AMAS to assess individuals’ levels of anxiety and the media literacy scale developed by Simons et al (2017) to assess participants’ levels of social media literacy, and one additional question which inquired about participants’ frequency of social media use.

Media literacy scale. Simons et al (2017) ultimately determined that their questionnaire was valid and reliable through a limited pilot group’s critical assessment and then a representative sample of teachers and student teachers’ completion of the questionnaire (Simons et al., 2017). There were 454 teachers and 219 student teachers included in the representative sample. After analyzing the results of both response groups, the researchers found the questionnaire to be internally and externally valid and generalizable. They also found the questionnaire to be internally consistent and reliable

(Simons et al., 2017).

In terms of reliability, the researchers determined the following results for each of the competencies. For ‘using media’ there were three items, which they discovered that α

= > .708. For ‘understanding media’, there were six items, which the researchers found that α = > .789. Lastly, for ‘contributing medially’, there were three items, under which the researchers uncovered that α = > .633. Ultimately, the researchers found that the competencies all demonstrated good internal consistency (Simons et al, 2017).

To determine internal and construct validity, the researchers objected the questionnaire to five stages. In the first three stages, Simons et al (2017) studied field- related literature to develop an exhaustive, relevant questionnaire. During stage four, this

a limited pilot group critically assessed critically assessed the questionnaire. In the final stage, a representative sample of teachers and student teachers completed the questionnaire. Upon reviewing the results of both response groups, the researchers found the questionnaire to be internally and externally valid and generalizable as well as internally consistent and reliable (EFA; Simons et al., 2017).

On the media literacy scale portion of the survey for this study, participants were given 12 statements and asked to rate on a five-point Likert scale, with one indicating they “completely agree” and five indicating they “completely disagree”. According to this scale, the lower the score, the greater the person’s perceived media literacy.

Conversely, the higher the score, the lower the participant’s perceived media literacy.

Below are some sample questions:

1) I know that media represent information in a selective way and know how to interpret media messages (e.g. implicit versus explicit media language, the structure of a text, article, film, video, etc.).

2) I can evaluate media content taking into account various criteria (e.g. accuracy of information, comparison of information, appreciation of aesthetic aspects).

Social media use. The social media habits portion of the survey consisted of one statement, which targeted the frequency of participants’ social media use. Participants were asked to rate the statement: “I am online almost constantly” on a five-point Likert scale, with one indicating they “completely agree” and five indicating they “completely disagree”. This scale was then transposed, after the questionnaires were scored. This was to allow for simpler comparison between the scales. Thus, a one rating became a five, a five rating became a one, a two rating became a four, and a four rating became a two.

Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale (AMAS; Reynolds, Richmond, & Lowe, 2003).

There are three versions of the AMAS instrument. For this study, the researcher used the college student version, the AMAS-C. The AMAS-C has six different scales: worry/oversensitivity (WOS), physiological anxiety (PHY), social concerns/stress (SOC), lie, test anxiety (Test), and totally anxiety (TOT). The lie measure was designed to identify purposeful falsification or response bias based on social desirability.

To evaluate the reliability of the instrument, Reynolds et al (2003) organized a test-retest study where they administered the AMAS-C twice to 70 college students in

Ohio. The researchers found that the temporal stability coefficients ranged from .76 to .83

(Reynolds et al., 2003). Reynolds et al (2003) sampled 818 college students in their standardization process. They found alpha coefficients for the content subscales ranged from .72 to .95 for the total sample. The researchers report that these numbers are within the widely-accepted limits for psychological measure reliability (Reynolds et al., 2003).

The researchers employed a variety of strategies to ensure strong content, construct and predictive validity. To maintain strong content validity, Reynolds,

Richmond, and Lowe (2003) wrote items in their instrument parallel effective, well- known items from the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). In terms of internal consistency, within the construct validity, the researchers found high alpha coefficients in the subscales. They note that high alpha coefficients represent a unitary dimension, which in this case led the researchers to believe that the subscales represent coherent constructs. Lastly, to test the AMAS-A’s predictive validity, the researchers ran correlations between AMAS-C and the Multiscore Depression Inventory (MDI) scores for 62 participants. The researchers found mostly moderate correlations between the

scores, which they note, is expected when assessing a new instrument with an instrument that measures a related construct (Reynolds et al, 2003). Additionally, Reynolds et al

(2003) report that there was a high correlation between the score on the MDI Low Self-

Esteem scale and the AMAS-C SOC scale.

Procedures

IRB approval. The researcher obtained approval from the University of Dayton’s

Institutional Review Board prior to the onset of the study.

Recruitment. The researcher partnered with three communications professors, who each taught one section of a first-year only introductory class designed to students adjust to college life, build skills and behaviors for success in college, and ultimately find a major. The class is entitled Interdisciplinary – College of Arts and Science (ASI) 160.

The professors set aside class time for their students to complete the survey. The professors reiterated to the students that their participation was voluntary. See Appendix

A for the invitation to participate form that each participant received prior to completion of the surveys.

Data collection. The professor proctors passed out the self-report questionnaires to the participants. The surveys were stapled together to include the multiple questionnaires. Each survey packet was marked with an identification number on each page. The professors collected the questionnaires once the participants completed them.

The researcher then collected the questionnaires from the professors. Next, the researcher scored the AMAS and the media literacy scale developed by Simons et al (2017) using the methods described by the measures. The researcher also recorded the participants

social media use. After obtaining these results, the researcher ran Pearson Product-

Moment correlations through SPSS.

Inter-rater reliability. To address inter-rater reliability, another graduate student who was not otherwise involved in the present study reviewed and scored approximately

10%, nine out of the sample of 82, surveys. The nine surveys were chosen at random and were consistently scored by the other rater. The inter-rater reliability was 100%.

Timeline. The surveys were administered in October of 2019. The researcher scored the questionnaires and ran statistics from October 2019 to February of 2020. All the data were gathered by February of 2020.

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

The results of this study yielded information regarding the relationships amongst social media use, media literacy, and anxiety in first-year college students at a private

Midwestern university. Results described in this chapter may be applicable to colleges and universities, as well as K-12 school districts regarding initiatives and practices surrounding media literacy education.

Data Analyses

The quantitative data compiled from the surveys were analyzed using Pearson

Product Moment correlations and descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation).

The Pearson Product-Moment correlation coefficient (r) measures the degree to which quantitative variables are linearly related in a sample (Green & Salkind, 2017).

There were three scales used in this research. The anxiety and media literacy scales were assessed using the procedures described in the Methods section. However, in order to conduct the analysis, the social media use scale was first transposed.

Specifically, participants rated their social media use on a scale from one to five where one equaled “completely agree” and five equaled “completely disagree” when they were presented with the statement: “I am online almost constantly.” This scale was transposed when analyzing the data. A ranking of one was changed to five, five was changed to one, two was changed to four, and four was changed to two. Three rankings remained the same. This transposal was used so that the measures could be more logically and clearly correlated. Thus, in the analysis, the media literacy scale used in this study became a

media illiteracy scale in a sense; higher scores reflected lower media literacy, or conversely, high media illiteracy.

Descriptive Statistics

Of the variables examined, participants reported the highest mean in anxiety. The largest standard deviation was in media literacy. The smallest mean and standard deviation were in social media habits. See Table 1 for descriptive statistics.

Table 1 Means and Standard Deviations on the Media Literacy Scale, AMAS, and Social Media Use Scale

Variable Mean Score Std. Deviation N

Media Literacy 26.4a 13.9 82

Anxiety 54.1b 10.6 82

Social Media Use 2.5c 1.2 82 Note. a Range = 12-60; low score reflects high media literacy. b T-score mean of 50; standard deviation of 10. c Scores range from 1-5; 5 reflects high social media use.

Media literacy. The lowest score possible on the media literacy scale was 12 and the highest score was 60. Low scores on this scale reflect high levels of media literacy.

The distribution (see Figure 1) of scores was skewed to the left, reflecting high levels of self-reported media literacy among the participant group.

Figure 1. Distribution of Media Literacy Questionnaire Total Scores.

Anxiety. Scores on the AMAS are reported as T-scores, which have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. According to Reynolds, Richmond, & Lowe (2003), anxiety T-scores on the AMAS of 65 to 74 are considered clinically significant and anxiety T-scores of 75 or higher are considered extreme. The scores were normally distributed around the mean (50), with one outlier score of 83 reported. See Figure 2 for the anxiety score distribution.

Figure 2. Distribution of Total Anxiety Scores.

Social media use. Lastly, for social media habits, the lowest score possible was one and the highest score was five. Individuals who reported a score of five on the social media use scale consider themselves to be extremely high social media users. The mean participant score on this scale was 2.5, with a standard deviation of 1.2.

Figure 3. Distribution of Social Media Use Scores.

Research question 1. The correlation between social media use and anxiety was low to moderately significant, r (79) = .24, p < .05. This indicates there is a significant relationship between these two variables. See Table 2 for a summary of correlational data.

Research question 2. The correlation between social media use and the media literacy score was significant, r (79) = .51, p < .01. The correlation between the media literacy score and anxiety was not significant, r (79) = .06, p > .05. These results indicate that there is a significant relationship between social media use and media literacy, but there is not a significant relationship between media literacy and anxiety. See Table 2 for a summary of correlational data.

Table 2 Correlations Between Media Literacy Scale, AMAS, and Social Media Use Scale

Variable Media Literacy Anxiety Social Media Use

Media Literacy --- .06 .51**

Anxiety .06 --- .24*

Social Media Use .51** .24* ---

Note. * p < .05. ** p < .01.

CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

The current study examined the relationship amongst media literacy, social media use, and anxiety in a sample of first-year college students. While several studies have examined the relationship between social media use and anxiety (e.g. Barry et al, 2017;

Hardy & Castonguay, 2018; Steers et al, 2016; Vannucci et al., 2017), no known study has examined the aforementioned three variables in tandem. Research shows that the more often individuals engage in social media use, the more likely they are to experience negative feelings such as anxiety (Barry et al, 2017; Hardy & Castonguay, 2018; Steers et al, 2016; Vannucci et al., 2017). This topic of social media use is critical in considering the wellbeing of students, even at the K-12 level. Some estimates suggest that around

97% of school-aged students use some form of social media (Woods & Scott, 2016). Due to how pervasive social media is in the lives of children and adults alike, it is imperative that school professionals examine how the medium may impact students’ lives.

Interpretation of Findings Relative to Hypotheses

This study corroborates previous research that reported a link between social media use and anxiety (Barry et al, 2017; Hardy & Castonguay, 2018; Steers et al, 2016;

Vannucci et al., 2017). Moreover, the more a person used social media, the more likely they were to report anxiety-related symptoms in the present study. The researcher also hypothesized that relationships would exist among the other variables. One of the relationships was between media literacy and social media use. The data from this study suggest there is a significant relationship between these variables. Specifically, this study

suggests that the less media literate a person was, the more likely they were to use social media at an increased rate. However, the results did not demonstrate a significant relationship between media literacy and anxiety.

The findings in this study suggest that increased social media use may be linked to anxiety. This study also found that there was no significant relationship between media literacy and anxiety, so based on this data, it is not known whether media literacy may serve as a protective factor against anxiety for social media users. Future research should examine the mediating and/or moderating effect of media literacy on media use and anxiety. Media literacy may serve as a protective factor against increased social media usage. Since there was a significant correlation between media literacy and social media use, it may be that individuals who are more media literate tend to use social media less.

This may be due to the individuals’ increased understanding of how the platforms work and awareness of common tactics social media sites employ to keep users active on their sites.

Limitations

This research project utilized convenience sampling, thus it is likely that the results are not generalizable beyond the first-year college student population in the

United States. Additionally, there was a potential conflict of interest in that the participants’ professors asked for the participants’ voluntary cooperation in completing the study during a class period. There was a conflict of interest here in that the professors were eliciting voluntary cooperation from students the professors taught. This method of participant selection was chosen due to ease.

Other limitations relate to the design of the survey. First, it was a self-report instrument. Self-report measures such as these contain a risk for participants misreporting their abilities (Hargittai, 2005). Second, the media literacy questionnaire was created for use by teachers, while the researcher used it for a different population, namely college students. Third, Simons et al (2017) developed the competencies measured in the questionnaire in a generic, abstract way, which prompted the teachers in the pilot study to interpret each competency themselves. Thus, even though the researchers engaged in efforts to improve the scale’s validity, it is possible that some items were misinterpreted by the participants. Additionally, the questionnaire was applied in the United States in this study. However, the instrument was constructed for use in a different country,

Belgium. Thus, there are likely culture differences that might have impacted the interpretation of the measure. Furthermore, the media literacy scale was developed to assess the competencies of teachers and student teachers. The researcher used the instrument to assess the media literacy of a different population, first-year college students, so the validity of the measure is likely weakened by this.

Another limitation is in the social media use scale. The researcher devised a statement in order to assess the participants social media use. The statement was: “I am online almost constantly.” Participants then ranked how much they agreed with this statement on a five-point Likert scale, with one indicating they “completely agree” and five indicating they “completely disagree”. The language of being “online” is vague and could include more than just social media. Thus, the social media use scale may not have sufficiently captured the participants’ social media use. Rather, it may have incorporated internet usage as a whole. For example, participants may interpret the statement to

include surfing the internet, reading articles online, playing online videogames, etc.

However, social media use was likely implied. Previous studies have found that the majority of adolescents have at least one social media account and that accessing social media sites is a predominant way in which they spend leisure time online (Davis, 2013).

Implications for Practice

Based on the current finding that the less media literate a person was the more likely they were to use social media at an increased rate, school psychologists and other school personnel should consider developing skills groups with a specific focus on addressing the nuances of social media. Specific areas to focus on may be the addictive nature of social media sites and applications, common experiences people who use such platforms feel (i.e., fear of missing out), and the lack of real-world reflection represented on those platforms. For example, users can purchase “likes” and the platforms employ algorithms which determine which content is presented to users (Barnhart, 2019;

Johnson, 2017).

Kaya and Bicen (2016) examined how 362 high school students in Northern

Cyprus used Facebook. The researchers presented the participants with statements of behaviors such as: “I communicate by Facebook,” I share pictures on Facebook,” and “I follow news on Facebook” (Kaya & Bicen, p. 377, 2016). As part of their study, the researchers had the participants rank another series of statements based on how much they agreed with the statements. These statements examined the participants’ knowledge about users capabilities on Facebook. Some of the statements that participants ranked that they least agreed with were: “I can fool/deceive people on Facebook,” “I can buy likes on

Facebook,” “I can buy followers on Twitter,” “I can buy retweets on Twitter” (Kaya &

Bicen, p. 377, 2016). The students ranking these statements so low may point to the possibility that many adolescents are not aware of the ability to fabricate online social media personas through actions such as buying likes or followers.

Additionally, there is research to suggest that companies benefit from appearing in social media feeds. Coursaris, Osch, and Balogh (2016) reviewed Facebook marketing strategies for Delta Airlines, Wal-Mart, and McDonalds. The researchers note that social media posts are an effective way for companies to obtain brand engagement and to elicit purchases from social media users (Couraris et al., 2016). Thus, companies are incentivized to sponsor posts and to buy ad space in order to appear prominently on social media sites. Once a user likes a post from a certain company or makes a purchase via clicking through a post in a social media site, their online experience will now be curated. The individual will see further posts from the company they did business with or listings of similar products.

Future Research

This study solely focused on first-year college students. Research suggests that a large majority of students across grade levels use multiple social media platforms (Woods

& Scott, 2016). Therefore, it is imperative that researchers investigate the relationship amongst the variables explored in this study across the K-12 grade levels. Furthermore, qualitative exploration of how students use social media might lead to meaningful discoveries, as previous research has shown that time of day of use may impact individuals’ wellbeing. Additionally, students across grade levels may use social media for different purposes.

One important piece moving forward might be to develop a shared media literacy framework that educators, parents, and guardians can work from. One such possibility for this strategy is the framework published by the DQ Institute (DQI). DQI is an international non-profit organization and think tank which is working to set global standards for digital intelligence education, policies, and outreach (DQ Institute, 2020).

DQI developed a framework, which includes 24 competencies across three different categories. The categories are digital citizenship, digital creativity, and digital competitiveness (DQ Institute, 2020). This framework can inform lessons and create a shared foundation on which educators, parents, and guardians can build upon.

The media literacy scale used in this study was developed to assess the competencies of teachers (Simons et al, 2017). It may be beneficial for future researchers to develop specific media literacy questionnaires based on the measure created by Simons et al (2017), but which specifically target students’ competencies. Such measures may yield more accurate results of students’ media literacy competencies.

Next, future studies should investigate protective factors against anxiety, specifically as it relates to social media use. This study corroborates previous findings which suggest that more that individuals use, the more likely they are to experience anxiety ((Barry et al, 2017; Hardy & Castonguay, 2018; Steers et al, 2016; Vannucci et al., 2017). Even though this study did not find a significant relationship between media literacy and anxiety amongst the participants, this may have been due to the self-report nature of the media literacy scale. Participants may have overestimated their media literacy competencies. Thus, it would be beneficial for future studies to consider media literacy as a factor when examining social media use and anxiety. Researchers may even

dive into a more targeted instrument that examines social media literacy, rather than the more general concept of media literacy.

Conclusion

This study offered a correlational examination at social media use, anxiety and media literacy in a sample of first year college students. The results indicate that significant relationships exist between social media use and anxiety as well as media literacy and social media use in first-year college students. The findings reinforce the need for continued examination into the impacts of social media as well as possible preventive factors against negative outcomes associated with social media use, such as incidences of anxiety. School personnel are encouraged to evaluate their own needs for social media skills training in addition to their students and to develop skills groups to meet their students’ needs in these areas.

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10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.05.008

APPENDIX A

Invitation to Participate in Research Surveys and Interviews

Research Project Title: Social Media, Media Literacy, and Anxiety in First-Year College Students

You have been asked to participate in a research project conducted by Anthony Dalpiaz, MEd in the Department of Counselor Education and Human Services at the University of Dayton.

The purpose of the project is to examine the relationship between media literacy use and anxiety in first-year college students.

You should read the information below, and ask questions about anything you do not understand, before deciding whether or not to participate.

• Your participation in this research is voluntary. You have the right not to answer any question and to stop participating at any time for any reason. Answering the questions will take about 5 to 7 minutes.

• You will not be compensated for your participation.

• All of the information you tell us will be anonymous.

• If this is a recorded interview, only the researcher and faculty advisor will have access to the recording and it will kept in a secure place.

• If this is a written or online survey, only the researcher and faculty advisor will have access to your responses. If you are participating in an online survey: We will not collect identifying information, but we cannot guarantee the security of the computer you use or the security of data transfer between that computer and our data collection point. We urge you to consider this carefully when responding to these questions.

• I understand that I am ONLY eligible to participate if I am over the age of 18.

Please contact the following investigators with any questions or concerns:

Name of Student, University of Dayton E-mail Address, Phone Number: Anthony Dalpiaz, [email protected], (440) 409-5218

Name of Faculty Supervisor, University of Dayton E-mail Address, Phone Number: Dr. Elana Bernstein, [email protected], (937) 229-3624

If you feel you have been treated unfairly, or you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, you may contact Candise Powell, J.D., Chair of the Institutional Review Board at the University of Dayton, [email protected]; Phone: (937) 229-3515.

If you are experiencing anxiety or other difficulties, contact the University of Dayton Counseling Center at: Gosiger Hall, Room 110 300 College Park Dayton, Ohio 45469 - 0910 Phone Number: (937) 229-3141

APPENDIX B

Anxiety, Media Literacy, and Social Media Use Survey

Directions: Please answer the following questions honestly by circling a number from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating you “completely agree” and 5 indicating you “completely disagree”.

1) I can use media devices in a technical sense (e.g. computer, projector, tablets, smartphone, interactive whiteboard). 1 2 3 4 5

2) I can consciously choose between different media devices, based on their function (e.g. computer, smartphone or tablet, navigate through hyperlinks). 1 2 3 4 5

3) I can purposefully use different sources of information and media devices (e.g. search for information using social network sites, the internet). 1 2 3 4 5

4) I know that media represent information in a selective way and know how to interpret media messages (e.g. implicit versus explicit media language, the structure of a text/article/film/video/etc.). 1 2 3 4 5

5) I know how media production and distribution works (e.g. from source to article, the filtering of news, the intersection between politics, media and democracy). 1 2 3 4 5

6) I know how media content is tailored to the target audience (e.g. selection possibilities, personalized on line offer through cookies, newspapers/television channels/websites and their target audience). 1 2 3 4 5

7) I can evaluate media content taking into account various criteria (e.g. accuracy of information, comparison of information, appreciation of aesthetic aspects). 1 2 3 4 5

8) I am aware of the effects of media (e.g. influence on purchasing behavior, undesired effects such as hate or addiction). 1 2 3 4 5

9) I am aware of my own media behavior (e.g. copyright, illegal downloads, dangerous media behavior). 1 2 3 4 5

10) I can create media content (e.g. write an article, create a photo or video document, set up a blog). 1 2 3 4 5

11) I can communicate and present contents using media (e.g. structure and adapt a presentation, publish media content through an appropriate channel such as blogs, directories, YouTube). 1 2 3 4 5

12) I can participate in the public debate through media (e.g. show commitment using (social) media, contact organizations by email, reader reactions or social media). 1 2 3 4 5

13) I go online several times a day. 1 2 3 4 5

14) I am online almost constantly. 1 2 3 4 5

For the next question, please fill in the blank. If the answer is none, then write “none”.

15) I visit these social media sites at least once per day (ex: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, Flickr, TikTok, etc.):

______

The next portion of the survey is the AMAS-C protocol, which can be found here: https://www.wpspublish.com/store/p/2652/amas-adult-manifest-anxiety-scale