HBC203 Psychological Impact of Instagram Usage Among University Students, Singapore

Question 1 (100 marks)

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world today. Because it is so widely used amongst youths, it is important to examine how they use the social media platform and its psychological impact.

Raymond conducted a study with undergraduates at a university (aged 18 – 24) to examine the following research questions (RQs):

1. RQ1: Do males and females users differ in their levels of Instagram use?
2. RQ2: Do light, moderate, and heavy Instagram users report differing levels of life satisfaction?
3. RQ3: Do Instagram users spend different amounts of time on active and passive activities on Instagram?
4. RQ4: Do Instagram users who spend more time actively using Instagram experience greater levels of positive emotions than those who spend less time doing so?
5. RQ5: Do Instagram users who spend more time passively using Instagram experience greater levels of negative emotions than those who spend less time doing so?

In the study, the participants first reported their gender, life satisfaction levels, and the amount of time they estimated they spend on Instagram daily. Next, they used Instagram as they normally would for 10 minutes (e.g., scroll through their feed, respond to direct messages, comment on others’ posts). Their activities on Instagram were video-recorded.

After the 10 minutes, the participants reported their current emotions, both positive (e.g., “At this current moment, I feel happy”) and negative (e.g., “At this current moment, I feel sad”). To reduce the chance of the participants guessing the study’s true purpose, Raymond included questions irrelevant to the study as well. (Responses to those questions are not included in the dataset provided.)

After the study, Raymond re-watched the videos and coded two types of participants’ activities on Instagram:

1. Active use: Where participants actively communicated with other users (e.g., liking and commenting on other users’ posts, sending direct messages to other users).
2. Passive use: Where participants consumed social media content without communicating with other users (e.g., simply viewing others’ profiles, posts, comments, and messages without responding).

He recorded the amount of time the participants engaged in each type of activity. (Note that although participants also viewed their own profile, posts, comments, and messages, these were not coded.) After coding the participants’ activities on Instagram, Raymond calculated the average life satisfaction score, average positive emotion score, and average negative emotion score.

Data Set

The data from the study are presented in HBC203 TMA02 Dataset.csv. (For Mac users: Please use a web browser other than Safari to download the .csv file from Canvas. Otherwise, you may be unable to open the downloaded file.) The following table summarises the information gathered in the study and the response options for each question (if there were any).

Data Collection Phase

Part A (82 marks)

For each of Raymond’s research questions:

Identify the most appropriate statistical test to conduct. Explain why it is the most appropriate statistical test by providing all the relevant reasons. The reasons should be explained fully (e.g., you should state how many and what the levels of independent variable are). Assuming all the assumptions of the statistical test you identified are met and there are no concerns about small sample size, analyse the data using jamovi. Show the jamovi output by copying and pasting all the output necessary to interpret the results in your answer. To copy the output, either take a screenshot of the output (preferred) or right click on the respective table(s) and select Copy from the dropdown menu. Report the analysis results in APA format. (Use an alpha level of .05 two-tailed to determine statistical significance.) Discuss plausible explanations for the results. Use at least one academic paper (i.e., journal article) per research question to support your explanations. Include the references (in APA style) as an appendix at the end of your submission.

Present each research question separately and in sequence (i.e., RQ1, followed by RQ2 and so on).

Part B (18 marks)

Identify and discuss three problems with Raymond’s study. (Limit your discussion to the details provided in the scenario above. Do NOT mention sample size as a limitation.) Then, describe in detail the changes you would make to the study to address each limitation. Explain how the proposed changes would address the limitations. Use at least one academic paper (i.e., journal article) to support each problem raised in this section. Include the references (in APA style) as an appendix at the end of your submission.