Booth Id:
BEHA063
Category:
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Year:
2021
Finalist Names:
Leon-Diaz, Natalia (School: Escuela Secundaria de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UHS))
Abstract:
During the past few years, social media has become a predominant part of many adolescents’ lives. As their use of these platforms rapidly increase, so do the concerns about their possible secondary effects. According to Arab et al., (2015), “The abuse of social media has been linked with depression, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), insomnia, reduction of total sleep time, reduction of academic performance and dropout from school”. This study had the purpose of identifying the effects of the usage of social media with an infinite stream of content in adolescents who made excessive use of such. The hypothesis established that a reduction of the excessive usage given to the selected social media will increase adolescents’ attention span. Twenty-two adolescents between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were chosen who, for twelve days, significantly reduced the excessive use they previously dedicated to social media. Previous and posterior to the intervention, the participants filled out two forms and their responses were analyzed and compared. It was found that the participants noticed an improvement in their attention span while fulfilling daily tasks and activities after reducing their usage of social media and therefore, the hypothesis was supported. These findings indicate that the excessive use of social media can lead to a reduction of adolescents’ ability to communicate, watch lengthy content and their overall academic performance. Thus, a reduction of social media usage is favorable and recommended for the betterment of their attention span.