The Role of Social Networks in Shaping the Self-Image of High School Students in Lower Drava region

V svojem diplomskem delu na kvantitativen način preučujem vlogo družbenih omrežij pri oblikovanju samopodobe gimnazijcev v Spodnjem Podravju. V teoretičnem delu sem najprej na kratko orisala samo temo, nato sem se osredotočila na opredelitev družbenih omrežij. V nadaljevanju sem tako podala nekaj statističnih podatkov, ki so že na voljo v povezavi z uporabo družbenih omrežij, pri tem sem zajela podatke na nivoju svetovne populacije, Evropske unije in Slovenije. Po tem poglavju se dotaknem naslednje velike teme, ki je samopodoba. Ker se v svojem delu osredotočam na splošno samopodobo, telesno samopodobo in socialno samopodobo, opišem te tematike, ki jih obravnavam pod skupnim pojmom samopodoba. Predstavim tudi posledice uporabe družbenih omrežij in opredelim pojme: depresija, tesnoba ali anksioznost in Snapchat dismorfija. Glavni cilj raziskave je ugotoviti, kakšno vlogo imajo družbena omrežja pri oblikovanju samopodobe oziroma ali igrajo tako pomembno vlogo. Raziskavo sem izvedla z gimnazijci v Spodnjem Podravju, saj je to območje, kjer živim in želim delati v prihodnosti. Na tem območju raziskujem Gimnazijo Ptuj in Gimnazijo Ormož. V mojo raziskavo so bili vključeni gimnazijci, ki v šolskem letu 2022/23 obiskujejo navedeni gimnaziji. Za potrebe diplomskega dela sem se poslužila tudi vzorčenja. Moj vzorec bo neslučajnostni in priročen. V vzorec so tako vključeni gimnazijci, ki v šolskem letu 2022/23 obiskujejo 3. in 4. letnik gimnazij v Spodnjem Podravju. Ugotovitve raziskave so bile pričakovane, saj imajo vsi vključeni ustvarjen profil na družbenih omrežjih. Velika večina jih pozna pojma depresija ter tesnoba ali anksioznost, pojem Snapchat dismorfija pa je poznala samo ena četrtina vseh sodelujočih. Skozi raziskavo sem tudi prepoznala povezavo med količino preživetega časa na družbenih omrežjih in željo po spremembi telesa, ki se razlikuje glede na spol, prav tako pa je negativno dojemanje samopodobe odvisno od časa, preživetega na družbenih omrežjih. Količina preživetega časa na družbenih omrežjih pa ni povezana s poznavanjem pojmov depresije, anksioznosti oziroma tesnobe in Snapchat dismorfije. Skozi raziskavo ugotovim, da dijaki uspešno prepoznajo pozitivne in negativne lastnosti družbenih omrežij, prav tako pa so mnenja deljena, ko gre za doživljanje tesnobnega občutka pri primerjanju z drugimi na družbenih omrežjih. V prihodnosti bi bilo potrebno raziskavo razširiti na večjo populacijo. V sklopu praktičnega delovanja pa se bodo o teh tematikah izvedle tudi različne delavnice skupaj z mladinskim centrom.In my Graduation Thesis, I examine the role of social networks in shaping the self-image of high school students in the Lower Drava region in a quantitative manner. In the theoretical part, I first briefly outlined the topic, then focused on the definition of social networks. I then provided some statistical data that were already available, relating to the use of social networks. This data encompassed the global population level, the European Union, and Slovenia. Following this chapter, I delved into the next major topic, self-image. As my work focuses on general self-image, body self-image, and social self-image, I described these topics under the common term \u27self-image\u27. I also introduced the consequences of using social networks and defined the terms: depression, anxiety, and Snapchat dysmorphia. The main goal of the research is to determine what role social networks play in shaping self-image, or if they indeed play a significant role. The study targeted high school students in the Lower Drava region, an area where I live and plan to work in the future. I investigated Ptuj High School and Ormož High School. The research involved high school students attending schools in the Lower Drava region during the 2022/23 academic year. To meet the needs of the thesis, I employed sampling. My sample will be non-random and convenient, including high school students who attended the 3rd and 4th grades in the Lower Drava region during the 2022/23 academic year. The findings of the study were as expected, with all participants having a profile on social networks. A large majority are familiar with the terms depression and anxiety, but only a quarter of all participants were familiar with the term Snapchat dysmorphia. Through the research, I observed a connection between the amount of time spent on social networks and the desire for body change, which differs depending on gender. I also noted that negative self-perception is dependent on the time spent on social networks, but the amount of time spent on social networks is not associated with knowledge of terms like depression, anxiety, and Snapchat dysmorphia. I also noted that students were able to identify the positive and negative aspects of social networks. However, opinions were divided when it came to experiencing anxiety when comparing themselves to others on social networks. In the future, it would be beneficial to expand the research to a larger population. As part of practical operations, various workshops on these topics will also be carried out in collaboration with the youth center