Introduction and Methods

Introduction

Nearly everyone uses cell phones and social media today, but does this make us more or less social than if we did not have them? On average people pick up their phone twenty eight times in a day, a third of which are for no particular reason, which can interrupt their interactions with others who are actually present (MacDonald, 2018). In addition, “87 percent of millennials admitted to missing out on a conversation because they were distracted by their phone” (Saiidi, 2015). Researchers also found that approximately one third of participants followed their parents, partners, children, and friends on social media to replace communicating with them (Noble, 2018). Differences are also found in the cell phone use in men vs. women, women use their phones for about 365 minutes each day, whereas men use their phones for only 287 minutes (Anderson, 2016). Researchers are attempting to find whether or not the increased use of cell phones and social media is improving or hindering our social skills. This may be answered by finding if phones are making society more or less social than if we did not have them.

Methods

Participants

The participants in the survey were between the ages of 18-19 and are students at the University of Iowa during the fall 2018 semester. The participants included males and females with a variety of majors.

Procedures

Participants of this survey were asked to complete the survey on Instagram or Snapchat. The participants completed a 7-question survey on Google forms about their cell phone use. The first question asked for their age, then the second asked for their gender. The following two questions asked for approximately how many hours each day they spend talking to others on their phone and in person. Next they were asked what social media platforms they use the most. Following this they were asked how often they are on their phone while in the presence of others.  Lastly, they were asked how often they choose to use technology over spending time with family or friends in person.

Data Analysis

The survey responses were organized into how often they used their cell phones in a day to find the average for all the participants. They were also separated by gender to find any variation between men and women.