The effect of the use of social media on young adults during adolescence

This data depicts young adults' reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence with the goal of better understanding the effects of social media use on a sample of South African adolescents. The study formed part of a group research project in which several researchers conducted individual studies countrywide on the topic. The goal of the study was to explore and describe young adults’ reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence, and the research question for the study was 'what are young adults’ reflections on their experiences of social media use during adolescence?'. The following research methodology was employed, a qualitative research approach; an interpretivist paradigm; the research was regarded as applied research and was guided by an instrumental case study design. The sample was selected by means of snowball and purposive sampling; data was collected by means of a semi-structured interview, with the use of an interview schedule; and thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the data that was obtained. The theoretical framework for this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. The researcher interviewed 10 participants who fit the specific criteria for inclusion; the sample consisted of young adults living in South Africa, within the geographical area of the City of Tshwane. Participants were between the ages of 19 and 25 and gave an account of their reflections on their social media use between the ages of 11 and 18. Participants were also affected in terms of their biological development (i.e., physical, cognitive, emotional, social, moral as well as their identity development).

本数据集呈现了年轻成年人对其青春期阶段使用社交媒体经历的反思，旨在更深入地理解社交媒体使用对南非青少年样本的影响。本研究属于一项群体性科研项目的子课题，该项目由多名研究者在南非全国范围内围绕该主题开展独立研究。本研究的核心目标为探索并阐述年轻成年人对青春期社交媒体使用经历的反思，其研究问题为："年轻成年人对青春期社交媒体使用经历的反思是什么？"。本研究采用以下研究方法：质性研究范式、解释主义研究框架，同时将本研究界定为应用研究，并以工具性个案研究设计为研究指引。研究样本通过滚雪球抽样与目的性抽样相结合的方式选取；数据采集采用半结构化访谈形式，并配套使用访谈提纲；最终通过主题分析法对所获数据进行分析。本研究的理论框架为布朗芬布伦纳（Bronfenbrenner）生态系统理论。研究者共访谈了10名符合纳入标准的参与者，样本均为居住在南非茨瓦内市（City of Tshwane）辖区内的年轻成年人。参与者年龄介于19至25岁之间，均回顾了自身11至18岁阶段使用社交媒体的相关反思。参与者的生物性发展——包括身体、认知、情感、社交、道德以及身份认同发展——亦受到了社交媒体使用的影响。