Impact of MySpace on Adolescent Lives

1. The Effect of Virtual Worlds on Adolescents' Real World Lives Cheyenne Cummings and Larry Rosen, Ph.D. California State University, Dominguez Hills Introduction Graphical Results Results In today’s society MySpace has become one of the top virtual worlds for teens. MySpace is a social networking website founded in 2003 and provides an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, and more. MySpace is the third most popular website in the U.S.A, only after yahoo.com and google.com (Alexa Internet, 2007). One study found that 55% of online American youth between ages of 12 and 17 use online social networking websites and 85% of them prefer MySpace as their social networking site (Lenhart & Madden, 2007). Teen use of MySpace leads to the question: How do virtual worlds affect adolescents’ real world lives? This study focused on finding whether the Internet – particularly MySpace use – interferes with an adolescent’s real world life. • MySpace Interference • Parents believe that MySpace interferes with schoolwork, family time, outdoor activities, and chores more than teens (p<.001, Study 1 and Study 2 with outdoor activities p<.01). In both studies parents and teens felt MySpace interfered in relationships with offline friends less then any other category, but the difference was still significant (p<.05). MySpace was considered to impact family time the most in both studies. • Information Disclosure • Parents believe teens disclose less then teens actually disclose with every category being significant from Study 1 and Study 2. Teens in both studies disclosed more than their parents’ estimates indicated, and school name was the information most often disclosed by teens. • Computer Usage • Teens spent significantly more days and more hours per day on MySpace when the computer was located in the bedroom. However, Study 2 teens did not show significant difference in hours per day regardless of the computer’s location. z = 5.72 *** z = 3.34 *** z = 5.89 *** z = 3.84 *** z = 1.54 * z = 4.86 *** z = 3.11 *** Material and Methods z = 3.56 *** z = 2.67 ** z = 1.74 * • Using an upper-division undergraduate social science course, students were assigned to distribute the website link to an online survey as a class project, which included a consent form for both parent and teen. Both studies included multiple questions assessing demographics of parent and teen; teen MySpace use and parental awareness; parent perceptions of online behavior; and parental attitudes about teen MySpace use. The two surveys were administered June 2006 and September 2006. No incentives were given for participation. z = 7.27 *** z = 4.41 *** z = 5.07 *** Study 1 z = 2.60 ** z = 3.67 *** z = 4.79 *** z = 1.81 * Two hundred sixty-six teen-parent pairs took part in an anonymous online questionnaire. One specification was teens had to be MySpace users. Parents consisted of 66% female, and parent ages ranged from 30’s-50’s. Only 14% of parents marked themselves as single. The average household included two children. Most parents were employed full time and over half reported having a college degree (53%) and another 24% had some college. As for teens,although children under 14 are prohibited from establishing a MySpace page, our sample of 44% males and 56% females included 13% under 14, 44% between 14 and 16, and 43% between 17 and 18 (M=15.9). z = 5.025 *** z = 5.27 *** z = 6.07 *** z = 3.84 *** z = 5.89 *** z = 4.82 *** z = 2.87 ** Study 2 Conclusion Three hundred forty-two teen-parent pairs participated in a second online, anonymous survey. The two studies had no significant differences in demographics. Parents were again mainly female (75%), with 85% in a two-parent home. Most worked fulltime (73%), with one (44%) to four children (M = 2.00). Parents again ranged from their 30’s-50’s. Most parents reported having a college degree (40%) and another 29% had some college. Teens included 38% males and 62% females, and with 17% under 14, 42% between 14 and 16, and 41% between 17 and 18 (M=15.7). Most teens had been on MySpace for six months to one year (30%) or more than one year (47%). • Parents and teens do not see eye-to-eye in that parents more then teens feel MySpace interferes with most offline activities. Also, teens disclose more information than parents believe including school name which is part of the MySpace personal page design. Also, teens who have a computer located in the bedroom spend more time on MySpace, both in number of days and hours per day. z = 0.18 z = 2.38 ** z = 4.54 *** z = 1.67 * *p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.001 Supported in part by NIH/MBRS GM62252.