The effect of social media use on interpersonal communications skills and self-esteem in high school students

In today’s society, social media is a growing tool used primarily for communication. Previous studies suggest that it may have an effect on interpersonal communication skills and self-esteem, two vital components of an individual’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. This study was aimed to find the effect of social media use on self-esteem and interpersonal communication skills in high school students. It was hypothesized that those who use an excessive (more than 4 hours a day) amount of social media will demonstrate lower self-esteem and lower interpersonal communication skills. This was accomplished by administering a three-part test to high school students, ages 14 to 18. The first part determined social media use. The second part evaluated self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The third part evaluated interpersonal communication skills using the Interpersonal Communication Skills Test. Data was statistically analyzed through the use of two one-way ANOVAs at alpha=0.05 and a correlation test. Results displayed no significant differences of means between interpersonal communication skills (F=0.73, p\u3e0.05) and self-esteem (F=0.20, p\u3e0.05) in Twitter users, Instagram users, non-users, and users of both. Results also displayed no significant correlations between time spent on Twitter, time spent on Instagram, self-esteem, and interpersonal communication skills (p\u3e0.05). It was concluded that social media use had no effect on self-esteem and interpersonal communication skills in high school students