Welcome

We want to learn the effects of exposure to social media on anxiety and the potential mediating effects of exposure time.

We measured perceived anxiety with our Main IV and Moderate IV. Anxiety scale consisted of 8 questions in a Qualtrics questionnaire. Participants rated their experience on statements on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from no anxiety to severe anxiety.

Main IV

The Main Independent Variable is Media Format. This means we manipulated and measured what media format the participant interacted with.

Level 1 had people read social media posts. Level 2 had people read short essays.

Moderate IV

The Moderate Independent Variable is Media Exposure. This means we manipulated and measured how long the participant was exposed to media.

Level 1 had people exposed to media for less time. Level 2 had people exposed to media for more time.

Dependent Variable

We measured our DV, perceived anxiety, with our Main IV and Moderate IV.

Conditions

There are four conditions:

Main IV level 1 and Moderator IV level 1 = Reading Social Media Post and Exposed for less time

Main IV level 1 and Moderator IV level 2 = Reading Social Media Post and Exposed for more time

Main IV level 2 and Moderator IV level 1 = Reading Short Essay and Exposed for less time

Main IV level 2 and Moderator IV level 2 = Reading Short Essay and Exposed for more time

Hypotheses

Among participants high in exposure length, I predict those using social media will be high in the measured frequency of anxiety.

Discussion

Limitations of our research are external validity, sample size, and convenience sampling. Our research can not be generalized to other populations because of this.

Previous research has shown correlations with important outcomes like behavior, so this study has predictive validity, which is a strength.

Take-Home Message

This study only scratches the surface of what needs to be done for proper anxiety research.