This document proposes a research study to examine whether extended use of social media and networking sites causes youth to become introverted. It would involve testing 100 youth aged 12-18 for extraversion before and after a 6-month period where one group spends a minimum of 6 hours per day on social media and the other group limits use to 2 hours per day. Data on social media use, extraversion, and depression would be collected and analyzed using t-tests and F-tests to determine if prolonged social media use leads youth to become more introverted. If so, it could suggest social media needs monitoring to prevent negative effects on youth development and well-being. The study would contribute new insights on the psychological impacts of technology use.

1. Running head: INTROVERSION IN YOUTH CREATED BY SOCIAL
NETWORKING
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Introversion in Youth Created by Social Networking and Internet Use
Tamara Harms
PSYCH 610
January 18, 2016
James Smalls

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Abstract
Technology has advanced enabling people to access information and socialize via the internet
through the use of social media. This access is available for youth just as much if not more than
for adults. Over time and growth, the benefits as well as the risks have been studied. This
research proposal seeks to research further into the risks. More specifically the effects of
introversion on youth due to the extended use of social media and social networking will be
proposed for further study. Participants will be divided into two groups, be tested for
extroversion, and fill out a questionnaire. Data will then be collected and tests performed will
include the Two tailed test and the F test. The proposed study could unlock new information and
aid in contributing much to the psychology community, specifically to the technological side of
psychology. This in turn can better the wellbeing of the human population from the still
developing stages through old age.

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Introversion in Youth Created by Social Networking and Internet Use
Introduction
Technology has advanced and continues to do so on a daily basis. As technology has
advanced so has the use of social media and social networking among the population. Youth are
among the many to use this technology to communicate and are observed on a regular basis.
Current studies have weighed the risks and advantages of youth using this technology. However,
one risk has been left unstudied. This is a proposal to study the risk of youth becoming
introverted due to over use of social media and social networking. The below text will discuss
the subtopics of a statement of the problem, review of the literature, purpose of the study,
hypotheses, definition of terms, assumptions, research methods and procedures, and
implications.
Statement of the Problem
Technology has advanced in many areas including communication through social networking
and media sites. With this technology youth are exposed and taught early on to use these sites as
a form of entertainment. This virtual interaction is considered a world of its own and has an
impact on society in many ways. The problem is while technology is good it impacts youth while
still in the stages of development. This may cause some youth to become introverted as they put
more focus on technology and less focus on their surroundings. What this means is the effects
must be researched to aid in the effective development of youth in a technologically rich society.
Some past positive effects the internet has had on youth are the ability to interact with
friends as well as family that are far away, learned computer skills, and access to knowledge at
the youth’s finger tips. Some past negative effects from such technology are cyber bullying,
sexting, and unsafe sharing of personal information. Upon researching this problem knowledge

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of how to counteract undesired effects can become known and applied for better youth
development. These are researched effects on youth however research has yet to be conducted to
discover the effects of introversion or extraversion in this area.
Review of the Literature
Current studies on the impact of social media and sites weighs the benefits against the
negatives of youth using technology to socialize. O’Keefe & Clark-Pearson (2010) names
socialization, communication, enhanced learning opportunities, and accessing health information
as benefits to using social media and sites. O’Keefe & Clark-Pearson (2010) lists cyber bullying,
online harassment, sexting, and Facebook depression as risks for youth who use technology to
socializing and entertainment purposes. O’Keefe & Clark-Pearson (2010) is only one of many to
study these effects on youth. Other studies conducted on the effects of social media and social
networking can be found on the reference page. Each of these references have similarity in their
findings. Facebook depression is participant in introversion that can add to the depression in turn.
This forms a cycle that is unhealthy for anyone especially those who are still developing.
Introversion is the focus of this proposed study and would aid greatly to the mental wellbeing of
people.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not social networking sites cause youth
to become introverted as they become more involved in socializing through technology. This
study needs to be conducted to determine the rate of external socialization and motivation of
youth when socializing on the internet becomes the focal point. If indeed this behavior is causing
youth to become introverted the behaviors need to change in effort to limit introversion that can
affect the overall health of a person. Introversion I extreme cases can lead to such things as

5. INTROVERSION IN YOUTH CREATED BY SOCIAL NETWORKING 5
depression and lack of motivation. This in turn would limit one’s quality of life.
Hypotheses
Hypothesis: A greater number of youth that use technology to socialize are introverted than
youth who use technology to socialize less.
Null Hypothesis: there is no difference in introversion between youth who use technology to
socialize and youth who use technology less.
Definition of Terms
Cyber Bullying: Bully behaviors such as threatening or intimidating messages through the use
of electronic devices.
Digital Footprint: The recorded online activity; unique to the person who is participating in
online activity.
Error Variance: The variability of scores within groups (Cozby, 2010).
Extroversion: Preference of a person to be around others to socialize.
Facebook Depression: Depression that is brought on during preteen and teen years by overuse
of social sites such as Facebook.
Introversion: The state of tendency toward predominately concerned with the mental health of
oneself.
Online Harassment: The use of online resources such as email to harass or bully another
individual repeatedly.
Sexting: Sending or receiving messages or pictures of sexual or suggestive content.
Social Media: Internet based tools such as cell phones, computers, tablets, and I-pads; used to
access the internet to share or receive information.
Social Networking: A network used for social interaction and personal relationships.

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Systematic Variance: The variability between scores between groups (Cozby, 2010).
Assumptions
 Youth who become heavily involved in online activities including online socializing
begin to lose interest in real world socializing.
 Youth heavily involved in online activities including socializing will be doing so through
social media even in public settings.
 Youth will become somewhat obsessed or addicted to social networking in extreme
cases.
 Youth will become involved in at least one form of sexting or experience cyberbullying
to some degree.
 Depression will follow heavy usage of social networking resulting in introversion like
behaviors.
ResearchMethods and Procedures
Population: The population sought for the study will be in a sample group of 100 and will
fall within the following guidelines.
 12-18 Years of Age
 Gender: Male and Female
 Above 50% Extraversion Personality
 No History of Depression
 One hundred minimum participants required.
Procedure: The sample group would be divided into two groups. Group A will be required
to spend a minimum of six hours on social networking sites of their choice within a 24-hour
period. Group B will be instructed to limit social networking to a maximum of two hours within

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a 24-hour period. Each participant will be tested for extraversion and fill out a questionnaire;
logging pre study depression, activities, and time spent outside of the home socializing. The
study will last for a six-month period and time spent on social networking sites will be logged on
a daily basis. At the end of the trial the logs will be gathered, extraversion tests will be
administered, and the questionnaire will be given once again for comparison purposes.
Instruments: Instruments to be used in the research are the Big 5 personality test that tests
for the extraversion percentage of the participant before as well as after the trial. A log book for
logging start and stop times of daily social networking activities. A questionnaire built to gather
the perspectives and current lifestyle of the participant. The questionnaire will be dispersed and
gathered before and after the six-month trial period.
Data Analysis: Once the data is gathered the degree of freedom will be determined, then a
two tailed test will be conducted followed by the F test to analyze the variance. Upon retrieving
the systematic and error variance levels the hypothesis will either be accepted or rejected based
on the level of F. If the F level of the systematic level is high the two groups will show
significance difference in results and the hypothesis will be accepted. If the F level is low the
variation between groups will not be enough to accept the hypothesis, therefore the hypothesis
will be rejected.
Discussion: If the results of the study allow for the null hypothesis to be rejected, then the
outcome would suggest that prolonged use of social media and social networking sites causes
youth to become introverted. My implications in response to the rejection of the null hypothesis
is that social media as well as social networking sites must be monitored to prevent introversion
for the overall happiness and well-being of youth. Introversion can cause cognitive social ability
issues and lead to depression as well as lack of motivation. This in turn can cause youth to be

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less productive, unhappy, and affect them into adulthood which affects society as a whole.
If rejection of the null hypothesis fails, then the implications are also rejected as there
will be no difference in the introversion or extraversion of youth while using social media for
social networking. There will be no effects shown in the extraversion or introversion of youth
while participating in social networking, so there will be no need for further study.
The limitations of this study are limited to showing the correlation between youth, social
networking, and introversion. Upon accepting the hypothesis further study would be necessary to
determine cognitive social ability, depression, and motivation in relation to introversion.
Implications
Technology is advancing on a daily basis resulting in people relying more on that technology
for many reasons including socializing. Youth are introduced to social media and social
networking sites at early ages and are observed using social media for many hours a day. This
has opened up research into the technological world and the risks as well as the benefits have
been studied. Some of the risks associated with this type of behavior are cyberbullying,
harassment, and Facebook depression. However, introversion has been overlooked as a risk
factor in the amount of time youth spends using social media and social networking. Should this
study be conducted the results could lead to further research, opening up a whole branch of
psychology within the technology field.

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