Impact of Social Media on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of

High School Students

TEJASWI TURUBILLI, M.Sc. (N)
Lecturer
JMJ College of Nursing, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

A study was undertaken to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of

high school students regarding Social Media at a selected High School in
Hyderabad, Telangana with a view to develop an Informational Booklet. Students
were selected by simple random sampling technique. The conceptual framework of
the study was based on modified Pender’s Health promotion Model (2007). Data
were collected from 120 students using structured questionnaire to assess the
Knowledge, a five point Likert scale to assess the level of Attitude and three point
rating scale to assess the Practice on Social Media. The study revealed that 62% of
the students were found to have moderately adequate Knowledge, while 94% have
expressed moderately favourable Attitude and 67% of them reported poor Practice
on Social Media. The statistical “t” test was found to be significant at 0.05 level. Thus
it is inferred that the Knowledge of High School students on social media consistently
influences samples Attitude towards use of Social Media but not Practice.

Key words: Assess, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Social Media, Students,

Informational Booklet.

Social Networking Sites (SNS) play an important role in the lives of many
school students. Over 60% of 13 - 17 year olds have at least one profile on a social
networking site, many spending more than 2 hours per day on social networking
sites. Dr Richard Woolfson, child psychologist, said: ‘The internet offers wonderful
experiences for growing and inquisitive young minds.’ Yet, as Social Media has
removed the barriers between a young person's public and private self, children can
become vulnerable, and compulsive online sharing can lead to danger. 65% school
students are optimistic about the potential benefits of Social Media for learning,
development and creativity whereas 35% are concerned about the negative impact
of cyber bullying, face book depression and lower school grades. For this reason, it

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is important that Educators and parents become aware of the nature of Social Media
sites, given that not all of them are healthy environments for children and
adolescents.

Statement of the Problem

“A study on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice regarding Social

Media among Students at a selected High School in Hyderabad with a view to
develop an Informational Booklet”

Objectives of the Study

i. To assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) on Social Media

among Students.

ii. To correlate Knowledge and Attitude, Knowledge and Practice, Attitude

and Practice of Social Media among Students.

iii. To associate students Knowledge, Attitude and Practice regarding Social

Media with selected demographic variables.

iv. To develop and validate the Informational Booklet on Social Media.

Hypotheses

H1 There is a significant correlation between Knowledge and Attitude; Knowledge

and Practice; Attitude and Practice regarding Social Media among Students at
0.05 level of significance.

H2 There is a significant association between levels of Knowledge, Attitude and

Practice among Students with selected demographic variables such as Age,
Father’s education, Father’s occupation, Mother’s education, Family monthly
income and Source of information at 0.05 level of significance.

Conceptual Framework: The Conceptual Framework adopted for this study was
based on modified Pender’s Health Promotion Model (2007).

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Research Methodology

This study used a descriptive study design.

Research Variables

 The independent variable was use of social media by the Students.

 The dependent variables were Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of School
students on Social Media.

Sample and Sampling technique

This study used a single-stage cluster sampling. One High school was
selected randomly. The total study sample was 120 students who were selected by
simple random sampling technique..

Data Collection Tools

Structured questionnaire was used to assess the Knowledge, a five point

Likert scale to assess the level of Attitude and three point rating scale to assess the
Practice on Social Media.

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 Research Design: Descriptive Research Design

Study Setting:
Don Bosco High School, Hyderabad

Target Population:
High School Students

Accessible population: VIII and IX standard students

of Don Bosco High School, Hyderabad

Sample, Sample size & Sampling technique:

120 Students of VIII and IX standard,
Simple Random technique

Development of Tool for data collection

Step 1: Preparation of Tool Step 2: Conducting

Section I: Demographic profile of the Sample  Validity & Reliability of the
Tool
Section II: Structured Knowledge Questionnaire
 Develop & validity of Booklet
Section III: Attitude Rating Scale  Pilot study
Section IV: Practice Rating Scale  Main study
 Preparation of Informational
Booklet

Data Analysis: Descriptive and Inferential statistics

Conclusion and dissemination of findings

Figure No. 1 Schematic representation of the Study Design

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Pilot study

The pilot study was conducted in February 2015. It revealed the feasibility and
practicality of the study.

Main study

The main study was conducted in February 2015. The data collected was
analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results

Findings related to Demographic Variables

 Majority (79%) of students belonged to the age of 13 - 14 years and 63%

belonged to Hindu religion.
 Majority (65%) of students belonged to Nuclear family, 42% of students’
parents studied up to degree and 43 percent of them were private employees.

Findings related to general information on Social Media among High school

students.

 A little more than half (59%) of students commonly used cell phone as their
Social Media tool.
 44% of students used face book as their common Social Media network,
while 47% of students used Social Media for chatting purpose.
 Almost half (52%) of the students commonly subscribed Social Media for
entertainment and nearly half (47%) of students’ parents did not supervise
them while they used internet at home.

Findings related students levels of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice

regarding Social Media

 Majority (62.0%) of Students were found to have moderately adequate

Knowledge on Social Media.

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  Majority (94.0%) of Students have expressed moderately favourable
Attitude towards Social Media.
 Majority (67.0%) of Students have reported poor Practice of Social Media.

Table 1: The mean and standard deviation of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice
scores of High school students towards use of Social Media

n=120

Test
S. No Study Variables Standard
Mean
Deviation

1. Knowledge 9.08 1.86

2. Attitude 3.31 0.29

3. Practice 11.99 6.49

The findings in the present study revealed that the Knowledge and Attitude
scores of the sample are homogeneous as the SD values for Knowledge and
Attitude are smaller, which indicated that the means of the sample in Knowledge and
Attitude show less variability where as the SD value for Practice is bigger, which
indicate that the means of the sample in practice show more variability. Hence, it
was concluded that the Knowledge of High school students consistently influences
samples Attitude towards use of Social Media but not Practice.

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Findings related to relationship between Knowledge, Attitude and Practice

Table 2: Correlation Coefficient between Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of

High school students regarding Social Media
n=120

Study Variables Correlation Coefficient

Knowledge and Attitude

0.0034*

Attitude and Practice 0.1736*

Knowledge and Practice - 0.0499

* Significant at 0.05 level P < 0.05

The linear correlation between Knowledge and Attitude i.e. (r=0.0034) and
between Attitude and Practice (r=0.1736) was positive which was statistically
significant at 0.05 level, while between Knowledge and Practice (r= - 0.0499) was
found to be negative, which was statistically non significant at 0.05 level. Hence
there was a significant relationship between Knowledge and Attitude, Attitude and
Practice of Students on Social Media.

Findings related to association between Knowledge, Attitude and Practice with

selected demographic variables

There was statistically significant association between the level of Knowledge

with demographic variable Father’s Education and Practice with Family monthly
income.

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 There was no significant association between the levels of Attitude with any
demographic variables.

Implications of the Study

 Nurses as educators and health care professional take the lead to educate
youth on responsible use of social media, enhancing sound Knowledge,
favourable Attitude and good Practice on Social Media.

Recommendations

 A similar study can be undertaken on large samples, so that results can be

generalized.

 An experimental study can be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of

Educational interventions / Programmes on Social media.

Conclusion

On the basis of study results it is concluded that there is a need for more
information on Social Media among students and Informational Booklet will definitely
educate the students to enhance their knowledge, develop positive attitude and good
practices on the use of Social Media and helps them to achieve their life’s goal as
responsible citizens of the country.

References

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5. Elenora Graham. Online Social Network Member Knowledge, Attitude and
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