How Does Social Media Change Our Life 
Introduction
Research has shown that the use of social media in today’s society is a common practice that is constantly increasing every day. The development of numerous social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter has turned the world into a small village where people from all corners of the globe can communicate within seconds. Therefore, the use of social media has had a major impact on the lives of many people. This research will attempt to show how the use of social media has changed people’s lives.
Methodological Approach
This research study will be quantitative in nature. A quantitative research entails the collection and analysis of statistical information with the aid of different instruments. The data collection instruments that will be used in this research are structured questionnaires. The questionnaires will include both open-ended and close-ended questions. The results of using this method are often objective because the researcher draws conclusions about a certain phenomenon from numerical information that they gather. Such conclusions will then apply across a particular category of individuals that the research intends to study. The main purpose of a qualitative research method is usually to establish whether or not there is a relationship between two variables of a certain group of individuals. There are normally two categories of variables including the independent and the dependent variable. More specifically, this qualitative research will be descriptive because it only seeks to establish the link between the use of social media and how this changes the lives of people.
Another important feature of using a quantitative research design is the use of different techniques to classify information for purposes of analysis. Thus, the research will entail the use tables, pie charts, graphs and other statistical methods to represent the information. Information from this research can be used to come up with general findings that can be used for projecting any future outcomes. It is also advantageous as it encourages people to identify any gaps within the research for purposes of further investigation.
Participants
The research will sample its population from among the people that frequently use the social media. Thus, it will mainly target educational institutions and workplaces. That is because a majority of internet users are found in such places. Also, the research will include both female and male participants between the ages of 18 to 55 years. That is because most of the people who rely on the social media fall within that age bracket and they also include the category that is techno savvy. The intended sample size will be 100 interviewees. Thus, the research will recruit 120 people at the initial stage in case some of the interviewees fail to respond because of different reasons. The research intends to use reminders and make periodical evaluations on the progress to follow-up the recruitment.
Procedure
The data collection process will take place trough the distribution of questionnaires to the target population. The human subjects will be protected, by maintaining confidentiality during the data collection process, as well as, when analyzing the information. The questionnaire will, therefore, not include too personal information such as the names of the interviewees. The data collection process will also involve the drafting of authorization letters to the necessary institutions in order to reach the target population. The intended sample techniques in this research will use the probability method which also uses the random sampling methods. That is because this method is objective and it will ensure that the sample population is representative of the large group of people who use social media. Thus, this method also ensures that the researcher or even the interviewees will be unable to influence the outcomes of the research. Before filling the survey, the interviewees will be told that they will gain access to the results of the research to encourage them to participate. People who agree will also receive acknowledgment for accepting to help in the research study. Each session of data collection is estimated to take approximately one hour in each institution. The data records will be contained on the questionnaires, and they will later be entered into the computer for storage. The nature of data that will be collected will range from personal information to questions that need personal opinions about the impact of social media on people’s lives. The research will use the questionnaire to measure the outcomes of the survey.
Data Analysis
This step of the study will employ several diverse methods of analyzing the data collected. For example, it will use statistical methods such as percentages, ratios, and measures of central tendency to evaluate the information. That is because such methods will help with the identification of any relationships that exist between the variables in this research.
Research Instrument
The variables in this study will be the influence of social media and the effect on people’s social lives. The influence of the media will be the independent variable, while the latter aspect will be the independent variable. A 5-point scale will be used to evaluate the responses of the respondents where 1 = strongly agree and 5 = strongly disagree. The scale which measures the extent to which the respondents agree or disagree with the statements on the questionnaire will be designed by the author. The measure developed by Likert in 1932 uses fixed response choices and assumes that the intensity of interviewees is linear. The measure is frequently used in social sciences research to directly measure people’s attitude. Due to widespread use, the scale is deemed to be an accurate and reliable means of measuring people’s attitudes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the questionnaire developed for this study, it has to be tested on a smaller sample. The pilot testing sample questionnaires will be administered to 20 people evenly spread out among the four categories being studied.
Sample Questionnaire
1. What is your age bracket?
(18 - 25) (26 - 35) (36 - 45) (45 - 55)
2. What is your gender?
(Male) (Female)
3. What is your level of income?
(Low-Income) (Middle-Income) (High-Income) (None)
4. Have you ever used social media?
(Yes) (No)
5. If yes above, please indicate the social media sites in which you are a member.
(Facebook) (Twitter) (Instagram) (Tumblr) (Others) Please specify
6. How frequent do you use social media?
(Daily) (Weekly) (Monthly) (Never) (Others) please specify
7. Why do you use social media? ( indicate your reasons below)
________________________
________________________
________________________
Please tick the appropriate response for the following questions
8. Social media has increased the size my social network
(Strongly agree) (Agree) (Don’t know) (Disagree) (Strongly disagree)
9. Social media has contributed to an increase in the size my professional network
(Strongly agree) (Agree) (Don’t know) (Disagree) (Strongly disagree)
10. I am now more popular because of the use of social media.
(Strongly agree) (Agree) (Don’t know) (Disagree) (Strongly Disagree)
11. I spend a lot of time on social media and as a result, I am less productive
(Strongly agree) (Agree) (Don’t know) (Disagree) (Strongly Disagree)
12. Social media is an optional source of entertainment and has actually replaced the conventional sources of entertainment
(Strongly agree) (Agree) (Don’t know) (Disagree) (Strongly Disagree)
