Degree
BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)
Faculty / School
School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)
Department
Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts
Date of Award
Summer 2023
Date of Submission
2023-06-13
Advisor
Maria Haqqani, Visiting Faculty, Department of Social Sciences
Project Type
SSLA Culminating Experience
Access Type
Restricted Access
Keywords
Social media, Romantic relationships, Satisfaction, Social comparison, Young adults, Correlation, Mixed method
Abstract
The present study explores the correlation between social media involvement and the romantic relationship satisfaction of young adults in Pakistan. Previous research has linked social media usage to psychological distress and relationship dissatisfaction, but this correlation has not been extensively studied in the Pakistani context while accounting for its cultural nuances, a gap in research that this study aims to contribute to closing. The study employed a mixed methodology, using two scales: the Social Networking Sites Involvement Questionnaire (SNSIQ), and Burns Relationship Satisfaction Scale (BRSS), to measure social media involvement and romantic relationship satisfaction respectively; and semi-structured open-ended interviews to add nuance to the findings. The SNSIQ was based on the five components of Brown’s Model Behavioral Addiction: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and conflict. The Questionnaire consisted of a set of questions that were aimed at evaluating each of these five components. The BRSS is a self-report scale that evaluated the participants’ level of satisfaction within their romantic relationships. Moreover, the interviews were conducted to study upward (comparing with someone seen as superior) and downward (comparing with someone perceived as an inferior) social comparison as potential mediators of the relationship between social media use and romantic relationship satisfaction amongst young adults in Pakistan. The study found a weak positive correlation between the two variables and found that in a collectivist society and religious country, social media was heavily used to sustain romantic relationships. Some Upward social comparison was observed but was not significant enough to have any impact on romantic relationship satisfaction.
Pages
68
Recommended Citation
Khan, H. R. (2023). The association between Social Media usage and romantic relationship satisfaction: A mixed methodology study of young adults in Pakistan (Unpublished undergraduate project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sslace/180
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