The Effect Social Media has on College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The present study surveyed college students from a small Midwestern university regarding the effects social media had on college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The students were asked to take a brief survey via campus email. The goal of this research was to measure how social media affected college students’ major decisions. Major decisions in this study are classified as follows: masking, vaccinating, traveling, and testing, to name a few. Prior research has shown that social media affected college students negatively by causing depression and anxiety. Based on these results, I hypothesized “social media influencers” would affect college student’s decisions, such as going out versus staying in, etc. This study has significant implications as the results show how students have been impacted by the behaviors displayed by influencers on social media. Furthermore, the preliminary results from this study indicate emerging themes in the following categories: spending more money on advertised products, following COVID protocols more closely, and discontinuing social media use. It is important to note that data collection is complete and final results are forthcoming.