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Analysing the Impact of Social Media on Students’ Academic Performance: A Comparative Study of Extraversion and Introversion Personality

• Review Article
• Published: 12 November 2022
• Volume 67 , pages 549–559, ( 2022 )

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• Sourabh Sharma   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9729-5129 1 &
• Ramesh Behl 1  

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The advent of technology in education has seen a revolutionary change in the teaching–learning process. Social media is one such invention which has a major impact on students’ academic performance. This research analyzed the impact of social media on the academic performance of extraversion and introversion personality students. Further, the comparative study between these two personalities will be analysed on education level (postgraduate and undergraduate) and gender (male and female). The research was initiated by identifying the factors of social media impacting students’ academic performance. Thereafter, the scale was developed, validated and tested for reliability in the Indian context. Data were collected from 408 students segregated into 202 males and 206 females. Two hundred and thirty-four students are enrolled in postgraduation courses, whereas 174 are registered in the undergraduate programme. One-way ANOVA has been employed to compare the extraversion and introversion students of different education levels and gender. A significant difference is identified between extraversion and introversion students for the impact of social media on their academic performance.

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Introduction

Social Networking Sites (SNS) gained instant popularity just after the invention and expansion of the Internet. Today, these sites are used the most to communicate and spread the message. The population on these social networking sites (SNS) has increased exponentially. Social networking sites (SNS) in general are called social media (Boyd & Ellison, 2008 ). Social media (SM) is used extensively to share content, initiate discussion, promote businesses and gain advantages over traditional media. Technology plays a vital role to make SM more robust by reducing security threats and increasing reliability (Stergiou et al., 2018 ).

As of January 2022, more than 4.95 billion people are using the Internet worldwide, and around 4.62 billion are active SM users (Johnson, 2022 ). In India, the number of Internet users was 680 million by January 2022, and there were 487 million active social media users (Basuray, 2022 ). According to Statista Research Department ( 2022 ), in India, SM is dominated by two social media sites, i.e. YouTube and Facebook. YouTube has 467 million users followed by Facebook with 329 million users.

Although almost all age groups are using SM platforms to interact and communicate with their known community (Whiting & Williams, 2013 ), it has been found that social media sites are more popular among youngsters and specifically among students. They use SM for personal as well as academic activities extensively (Laura et al., 2017 ). Other than SM, from the last two years, several online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet are preferred to organize any kind of virtual meetings, webinars and online classes. These platforms were used worldwide to share and disseminate knowledge across the defined user community during the pandemic. Social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp and blogs are comparatively more open and used to communicate with public and/or private groups. Earlier these social media platforms were used only to connect with friends and family, but gradually these platforms became one of the essential learning tools for students (Park et al., 2009 ). To enhance the teaching–learning process, these social media sites are explored by all types of learning communities (Dzogbenuku et al., 2019 ). SM when used in academics has both advantages and disadvantages. Social media helps to improve academic performance, but it may also distract the students from studies and indulge them in other non-academic activities (Alshuaibi et al., 2018 ).

Here, it is important to understand that the personality traits of students, their education level and gender are critical constructs to determine academic performance. There are different personality traits of an individual such as openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and introversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (McCrae & Costa, 1987 ). This cross-functional research is an attempt to study the impact of social media on the academic performance of students while using extraversion and introversion personality traits, education levels and gender as moderating variables.

Literature Review

There has been a drastic change in the internet world due to the invention of social media sites in the last ten years. People of all age groups now share their stories, feelings, videos, pictures and all kinds of public stuff on social media platforms exponentially (Asur & Huberman, 2010 ). Youth, particularly from the age group of 16–24, embraced social media sites to connect with their friends and family, exchange information and showcase their social status (Boyd & Ellison, 2008 ). Social media sites have many advantages when used in academics. The fun element of social media sites always helps students to be connected with peers and teachers to gain knowledge (Amin et al., 2016 ). Social media also enhances the communication between teachers and students as this are no ambiguity and miscommunication from social media which eventually improves the academic performance of the students (Oueder & Abousaber, 2018 ).

When social media is used for educational purposes, it may improve academic performance, but some associated challenges also come along with it (Rithika & Selvaraj, 2013 ). If social media is incorporated into academics, students try to also use it for non-academic discussions (Arnold & Paulus, 2010 ). The primary reason for such distraction is its design as it is designed to be a social networking tool (Qiu et al., 2013 ). According to Englander et al. ( 2010 ), the usage of social media in academics has more disadvantages than advantages. Social media severely impacts the academic performance of a student. The addiction to social media is found more among the students of higher studies which ruins the academic excellence of an individual (Nalwa & Anand, 2003 ). Among the social media users, Facebook users’ academic performance was worse than the nonusers or users of any other social media network. Facebook was found to be the major distraction among students (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010 ). However, other studies report contrary findings and argued that students benefited from chatting (Jain et al., 2012 ), as it improves their vocabulary and writing skills (Yunus & Salehi, 2012 ). Social media can be used either to excel in academics or to devastate academics. It all depends on the way it is used by the students. The good or bad use of social media in academics is the users’ decision because both the options are open to the students (Landry, 2014 ).

Kaplan and Haenlein ( 2010 ) defined social media as user-generated content shared on web 2.0. They have also classified social media into six categories:

Social Networking Sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram are the social networking sites where a user may create their profile and invite their friends to join. Users may communicate with each other by sharing common content.

Blogging Sites: Blogging sites are individual web pages where users may communicate and share their knowledge with the audience.

Content Communities and Groups: YouTube and Slideshare are examples of content communities where people may share media files such as pictures, audio and video and PPT presentations.

Gaming Sites: Users may virtually participate and enjoy the virtual games.

Virtual Worlds: During COVID-19, this type of social media was used the most. In the virtual world, users meet with each other at some decided virtual place and can do the pre-decided things together. For example, the teacher may decide on a virtual place of meeting, and students may connect there and continue their learning.

Collaborative Content Sites: Wikipedia is an example of a collaborative content site. It permits many users to work on the same project. Users have all rights to edit and add the new content to the published project.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are in trend since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Raja & Kallarakal, 2020 ). MOOCs courses are generally free, and anyone may enrol for them online. Many renowned institutions have their online courses on MOOCs platform which provides a flexible learning opportunity to the students. Students find them useful to enhance their knowledge base and also in career development. Many standalone universities have collaborated with the MOOCs platform and included these courses in their curriculum (Chen, 2013 ).

Security and privacy are the two major concerns associated with social media. Teachers are quite apprehensive in using social media for knowledge sharing due to the same concerns (Fedock et al., 2019 ). It was found that around 72% teachers were reluctant to use social media platforms due to integrity issues and around 63% teachers confirmed that security needs to be tightened before using social media in the classroom (Surface et al., 2014 ). Proper training on security and privacy, to use social media platforms in academics, is needed for  students and teachers (Bhatnagar & Pry, 2020 ).

The personality traits of a student also play a significant role in deciding the impact of social media on students’ academic performance. Personality is a dynamic organization which simplifies the way a person behaves in a situation (Phares, 1991 ). Human behaviour has further been described by many renowned researchers. According to Lubinski ( 2000 ), human behaviour may be divided into five factors, i.e. cognitive abilities, personality, social attitudes, psychological interests and psychopathology. These personality traits are very important characteristics of a human being and play a substantial role in work commitment (Macey & Schneider, 2008 ). Goldberg ( 1993 ) elaborated on five dimensions of personality which are commonly known as the Big Five personality traits. The traits are “openness vs. cautious”; “extraversion vs. introversion”; “agreeableness vs. rational”; “conscientiousness vs. careless”; and “neuroticism vs. resilient”.

It has been found that among all personality traits, the “extraversion vs. introversion” personality trait has a greater impact on students’ academic performance (Costa & McCrae, 1999 ). Extrovert students are outgoing, talkative and assertive (Chamorro et al., 2003 ). They are positive thinkers and comfortable working in a crowd. Introvert students are reserved and quiet. They prefer to be isolated and work in silos (Bidjerano & Dai, 2007 ). So, in the present study, we have considered only the “extraversion vs. introversion” personality trait. This study is going to analyse the impact of social media platforms on students’ academic performance by taking the personality trait of extraversion and introversion as moderating variables along with their education level and gender.

Research Gap

Past research by Choney ( 2010 ), Karpinski and Duberstein ( 2009 ), Khan ( 2009 ) and Kubey et al. ( 2001 ) was done mostly in developed countries to analyse the impact of social media on the students’ academic performance, effect of social media on adolescence, and addictiveness of social media in students. There are no published research studies where the impact of social media was studied on students’ academic performance by taking their personality traits, education level and gender all three together into consideration. So, in the present study, the impact of social media will be evaluated on students’ academic performance by taking their personality traits (extraversion and introversion), education level (undergraduate and postgraduate) and gender (male and female) as moderating variables.

Objectives of the Study

Based on the literature review and research gap, the following research objectives have been defined:

To identify the elements of social media impacting student's academic performance and to develop a suitable scale

To test the  validity and reliability of the scale

To analyse the impact of social media on students’ academic performance using extraversion and introversion personality trait, education level and gender as moderating variables

Research Methodology

Sampling technique.

Convenience sampling was used for data collection. An online google form was floated to collect the responses from 408 male and female university students of undergraduation and postgraduation streams.

Objective 1 To identify the elements of social media impacting student's academic performance and to develop a suitable scale.

A structured questionnaire was employed to collect the responses from 408 students of undergraduate and postgraduate streams. The questionnaire was segregated into three sections. In section one, demographic details such as gender, age and education stream were defined. Section two contained the author’s self-developed 16-item scale related to the impact of social media on the academic performance of students. The third section had a standardized scale developed by John and Srivastava ( 1999 ) of the Big Five personality model.

Demographics

There were 408 respondents (students) of different education levels consisting of 202 males (49.5%) and 206 females (50.5%). Most of the respondents (87%) were from the age group of 17–25 years. 234 respondents (57.4) were enrolled on postgraduation courses, whereas 174 respondents (42.6) were registered in the undergraduate programme. The result further elaborates that WhatsApp with 88.6% and YouTube with 82.9% are the top two commonly used platforms followed by Instagram with 76.7% and Facebook with 62.3% of students. 65% of students stated that Google doc is a quite useful and important application in academics for document creation and information dissemination.

Validity and Reliability of Scale

Objective 2 Scale validity and reliability.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha test were used to investigate construct validity and reliability, respectively.

The author’s self-designed scale of ‘social media impacting students’ academic performance’ consisting of 16 items was validated using exploratory factor analysis. The principle component method with varimax rotation was applied to decrease the multicollinearity within the items. The initial eigenvalue was set to be greater than 1.0 (Field, 2005 ). Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) with 0.795 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity having significant values of 0.000 demonstrated the appropriateness of using exploratory factor analysis.

The result of exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha is shown in Table 1 . According to Sharma and Behl ( 2020 ), “High loading on the same factor and no substantial cross-loading confirms convergent and discriminant validity respectively”.

The self-developed scale was segregated into four factors, namely “Accelerating Impact”, “Deteriorating Impact”, “Social Media Prospects” and “Social Media Challenges”.

The first factor, i.e. “Accelerating Impact”, contains items related to positive impact of social media on students’ academic performance. Items in this construct determine the social media contribution in the grade improvement, communication and knowledge sharing. The second factor “Deteriorating Impact” describes the items which have a negative influence of social media on students’ academic performance. Items such as addiction to social media and distraction from studies are an integral part of this factor. “Social Media Prospects” talk about the opportunities created by social media for students’ communities. The last factor “Social Media Challenges” deals with security and privacy issues created by social media sites and the threat of cyberbullying which is rampant in academics.

The personality trait of an individual always influences the social media usage pattern. Therefore, the impact of social media on the academic performance of students may also change with their personality traits. To measure the personality traits, the Big Five personality model was used. This model consists of five personality traits, i.e. “openness vs. cautious”; “extraversion vs. introversion”; “agreeableness vs. rational”; “conscientiousness vs. careless”; and “neuroticism vs. resilient”. To remain focussed on the scope of the study, only a single personality trait, i.e. “extraversion vs. introversion” with 6 items was considered for analysis. A reliability test of this existing scale using Cronbach’s alpha was conducted. Prior to the reliability test, reverse scoring applicable to the associated items was also calculated. Table 2 shows the reliability score, i.e. 0.829.

Objective 3 To analyse the impact of social media on students’ academic performance using extraversion and introversion personality traits, education level and gender as moderating variables.

The research model shown in Fig.  1 helps in addressing the above objective.

Social media factors impacting academic performances of extraversion and introversion personality traits of students at different education levels and gender

As mentioned in Fig.  1 , four dependent factors (Accelerating Impact, Deteriorating Impact, Social Media Prospects and Social Media Challenges) were derived from EFA and used for analysing the impact of social media on the academic performance of students having extraversion and introversion personality traits at different education levels and gender.

Students having a greater average score (more than three on a scale of five) for all personality items mentioned in Table 2 are considered to be having extraversion personality or else introversion personality. From the valid dataset of 408 students, 226 students (55.4%) had extraversion personality trait and 182 (44.6%) had introversion personality trait. The one-way ANOVA analysis was employed to determine the impact of social media on academic performance for all three moderators, i.e. personality traits (Extraversion vs. Introversion), education levels (Undergraduate and Postgraduate) and gender (Male and Female). If the sig. value for the result is >  = 0.05, we may accept the null hypothesis, i.e. there is no significant difference between extraversion and introversion personality students for the moderators; otherwise, null hypothesis is rejected which means there is a significant difference for the moderators.

Table 3 shows the comparison of the accelerating impact of social media on the academic performance of all students having extraversion and introversion personality traits. It also shows a comparative analysis on education level and gender for these two personality traits of students. In the first comparison of extraversion and introversion students, the sig. value is 0.001, which indicates that there is a significant difference among extraversion and introversion students for the “Accelerating Impact” of social media on academic performance. Here, 3.781 is the mean value for introversion students which is higher than the mean value 3.495 of extraversion students. It clearly specifies that the accelerating impact of social media is more prominent in the students having introversion personality traits. Introversion students experienced social media as the best tool to express thoughts and improve academic grades. The result is also consistent with the previous studies where introvert students are perceived to use social media to improve their academic performance (Amichai-Hamburger et al., 2002 ; Voorn & Kommers, 2013 ). Further at the education level, there was a significant difference in postgraduate as well as undergraduate students for the accelerating impact of social media on the academic performance among students with extraversion and introversion, and introverts seem to get better use of social media. The gender-wise significant difference was also analysed between extraversion and introversion personalities. Female introversion students were found to gain more of an accelerating impact of social media on their academic performance.

Like Table 3 , the first section of Table 4 compares the deteriorating impact of social media on the academic performance of all students having extraversion and introversion personality traits. Here, the sig. value 0.383 indicates no significant difference among extraversion and introversion students for the “Deteriorating Impact” of social media on academic performance. The mean values show the moderating deteriorating impact of social media on the academic performance of extraversion and introversion personality students. Unlimited use of social media due to the addiction is causing a distraction in academic performance, but the overall impact is not on the higher side. Further, at the education level, the sig. values 0.423 and 0.682 of postgraduate and undergraduate students, respectively, show no significant difference between extraversion and introversion students with respect to “Deteriorating Impact of Social Media Sites”. The mean values again represent the moderate impact. Gender-wise, male students have no difference between the two personality traits, but at the same time, female students have a significant difference in the deteriorating impact, and it is more on extroverted female students.

The significant value, i.e. 0.82, in Table 5 represents no significant difference between extraversion and introversion personality students for the social media prospects. The higher mean value of both personality students indicates that they are utilizing the opportunities of social media in the most appropriate manner. It seems that all the students are using social media for possible employment prospects, gaining knowledge by attending MOOCs courses and transferring knowledge among other classmates. At the education level, postgraduation students have no significant difference between extraversion and introversion for the social media prospects, but at the undergraduate level, there is a significant difference among both the personalities, and by looking at mean values, extroverted students gain more from the social media prospects. Gender-wise comparison of extraversion and introversion personality students found no significant difference in the social media prospects for male as well as female students.

Table 6 shows the comparison of the social media challenges of all students having extraversion and introversion personality traits. It is also doing a comparative analysis on education level and gender for these two personality traits of students. All sig. values in Table 6 represent no significant difference between extraversion and introversion personality students for social media challenges. Even at the education level and gender-wise comparison of the two personalities, no significant difference is derived. The higher mean values indicate that the threat of cyberbullying, security and privacy is the main concern areas for extraversion and introversion personality students. Cyberbullying is seen to be more particularly among female students (Snell & Englander, 2010 ).

The use of social media sites in academics is becoming popular among students and teachers. The improvement or deterioration in academic performance is influenced by the personality traits of an individual. This study has tried to analyse the impact of social media on the academic performance of extraversion and introversion personality students. This study has identified four factors of social media which have an impact on academic performance. These factors are: accelerating impact of social media; deteriorating impact of social media; social media prospects; and social media challenges.

Each of these factors has been used for comparative analysis of students having extraversion and introversion personality traits. Their education level and gender have also been used to understand the detailed impact between these two personality types. In the overall comparison, it has been discovered that both personalities (extraversion and introversion) have a significant difference for only one factor, i.e. “Accelerating Impact of Social Media Sites” where students with introversion benefited the most. At the education level, i.e. postgraduate and undergraduate, there was a significant difference between extraversion and introversion personalities for the first factor which is the accelerating impact of social media. Here, the introversion students were found to benefit in postgraduate as well as undergraduate courses. For the factors of deteriorating impact and social media challenges, there was no significant difference between extraversion and introversion personality type at the different education levels.

Surprisingly, for the first factor, i.e. the accelerating impact of social media, in gender-wise comparison, no significant difference was found between extraversion and introversion male students. Whereas a significant difference was found in female students. The same was the result for the second factor, i.e. deteriorating impact of social media of male and female students. For social media prospects and social media challenges, no significant difference was identified between extraversion and introversion students of any gender.

Findings and Implications

The personality trait of a student plays a vital role in analysing the impact of social media on their academic performance. The present study was designed to find the difference between extraversion and introversion personality types in students for four identified factors of social media and their impact on students’ academic performance. The education level and gender were also added to make it more comprehensive. The implications of this study are useful for institutions, students, teachers and policymakers.

This study will help the institutions to identify the right mix of social media based on the personality, education level and gender of the students. For example, technological challenges are faced by all students. It is important for the institutions to identify the challenges such as cyberbullying, security and privacy issues and accordingly frame the training sessions for all undergraduate and postgraduate students. These training sessions will help students with extraversion and introversion to come out from possible technological hassles and will create a healthy ecosystem (Okereke & Oghenetega, 2014 ).

Students will also benefit from this study as they will be conscious of the possible pros and cons that exist because of social media usage and its association with students’ academic performance. This learning may help students to enhance their academic performance with the right use of social media sites. The in-depth knowledge of all social media platforms and their association with academics should be elucidated to the students so that they may explore the social media opportunities in an optimum manner. Social media challenges also need to be made known to the students to improve upon and overcome with time (Boateng & Amankwaa, 2016 ).

Teachers are required to design the curriculum by understanding the learning style of students with extraversion and introversion personality type. Innovation and customization in teaching style are important for the holistic development of students and to satisfy the urge for academic requirements. Teachers should also guide the students about the adverse impacts of each social media platform, so that these can be minimized. Students should also be guided to reduce the time limit of using social media (Owusu-Acheaw & Larson, 2015 ).

Policymakers are also required to understand the challenges faced by the students while using social media in academics. All possible threats can be managed by defining and implementing transparent and proactive policies. As social media sites are open in nature, security and privacy are the two major concerns. The Government of India should take a strong stand to control all big social media companies so that they may fulfil the necessary compliances related to students’ security and privacy (Kumar & Pradhan, 2018 ).

The overall result of these comparisons gives a better insight and deep understanding of the significant differences between students with extraversion and introversion personality type towards different social media factors and their impact on students’ academic performance. Students’ behaviour according to their education level and gender for extraversion and introversion personalities has also been explored.

Limitation and Future Scope of Research

Due to COVID restrictions, a convenient sampling technique was used for data collection which may create some response biases where the students of introversion personality traits may have intentionally described themselves as extroversion personalities and vice versa. This study also creates scope for future research. In the Big Five personality model, there are four other personality traits which are not considered in the present study. There is an opportunity to also use cross-personality comparisons for the different social media parameters. The other demographic variables such as age and place may also be explored in future research.

Availability of data and material

Complete data and material is available to support transparency.

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Sharma, S., Behl, R. Analysing the Impact of Social Media on Students’ Academic Performance: A Comparative Study of Extraversion and Introversion Personality. Psychol Stud 67 , 549–559 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-022-00675-6

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Teens and social media: Key findings from Pew Research Center surveys

For the latest survey data on social media and tech use among teens, see “ Teens, Social Media, and Technology 2023 .” 

Today’s teens are navigating a digital landscape unlike the one experienced by their predecessors, particularly when it comes to the pervasive presence of social media. In 2022, Pew Research Center fielded an in-depth survey asking American teens – and their parents – about their experiences with and views toward social media . Here are key findings from the survey:

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand American teens’ experiences with social media and their parents’ perception of these experiences. For this analysis, we surveyed 1,316 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17, along with one parent from each teen’s household. The survey was conducted online by Ipsos from April 14 to May 4, 2022.

This research was reviewed and approved by an external institutional review board (IRB), Advarra, which is an independent committee of experts that specializes in helping to protect the rights of research participants.

Ipsos invited panelists who were a parent of at least one teen ages 13 to 17 from its KnowledgePanel , a probability-based web panel recruited primarily through national, random sampling of residential addresses, to take this survey. For some of these questions, parents were asked to think about one teen in their household. (If they had multiple teenage children ages 13 to 17 in the household, one was randomly chosen.) This teen was then asked to answer questions as well. The parent portion of the survey is weighted to be representative of U.S. parents of teens ages 13 to 17 by age, gender, race, ethnicity, household income and other categories. The teen portion of the survey is weighted to be representative of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who live with parents by age, gender, race, ethnicity, household income and other categories.

Here are the questions used  for this report, along with responses, and its  methodology .

Majorities of teens report ever using YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. YouTube is the platform most commonly used by teens, with 95% of those ages 13 to 17 saying they have ever used it, according to a Center survey conducted April 14-May 4, 2022, that asked about 10 online platforms. Two-thirds of teens report using TikTok, followed by roughly six-in-ten who say they use Instagram (62%) and Snapchat (59%). Much smaller shares of teens say they have ever used Twitter (23%), Twitch (20%), WhatsApp (17%), Reddit (14%) and Tumblr (5%).

Facebook use among teens dropped from 71% in 2014-15 to 32% in 2022. Twitter and Tumblr also experienced declines in teen users during that span, but Instagram and Snapchat saw notable increases.

TikTok use is more common among Black teens and among teen girls. For example, roughly eight-in-ten Black teens (81%) say they use TikTok, compared with 71% of Hispanic teens and 62% of White teens. And Hispanic teens (29%) are more likely than Black (19%) or White teens (10%) to report using WhatsApp. (There were not enough Asian teens in the sample to analyze separately.)

Teens’ use of certain social media platforms also varies by gender. Teen girls are more likely than teen boys to report using TikTok (73% vs. 60%), Instagram (69% vs. 55%) and Snapchat (64% vs. 54%). Boys are more likely than girls to report using YouTube (97% vs. 92%), Twitch (26% vs. 13%) and Reddit (20% vs. 8%).

Majorities of teens use YouTube and TikTok every day, and some report using these sites almost constantly. About three-quarters of teens (77%) say they use YouTube daily, while a smaller majority of teens (58%) say the same about TikTok. About half of teens use Instagram (50%) or Snapchat (51%) at least once a day, while 19% report daily use of Facebook.

Some teens report using these platforms almost constantly. For example, 19% say they use YouTube almost constantly, while 16% and 15% say the same about TikTok and Snapchat, respectively.

More than half of teens say it would be difficult for them to give up social media. About a third of teens (36%) say they spend too much time on social media, while 55% say they spend about the right amount of time there and just 8% say they spend too little time. Girls are more likely than boys to say they spend too much time on social media (41% vs. 31%).

Teens are relatively divided over whether it would be hard or easy for them to give up social media. Some 54% say it would be very or somewhat hard, while 46% say it would be very or somewhat easy.

Girls are more likely than boys to say it would be difficult for them to give up social media (58% vs. 49%). Older teens are also more likely than younger teens to say this: 58% of those ages 15 to 17 say it would be very or somewhat hard to give up social media, compared with 48% of those ages 13 to 14.

Teens are more likely to say social media has had a negative effect on others than on themselves. Some 32% say social media has had a mostly negative effect on people their age, while 9% say this about social media’s effect on themselves.

Conversely, teens are more likely to say these platforms have had a mostly positive impact on their own life than on those of their peers. About a third of teens (32%) say social media has had a mostly positive effect on them personally, while roughly a quarter (24%) say it has been positive for other people their age.

Still, the largest shares of teens say social media has had neither a positive nor negative effect on themselves (59%) or on other teens (45%). These patterns are consistent across demographic groups.

Teens are more likely to report positive than negative experiences in their social media use. Majorities of teens report experiencing each of the four positive experiences asked about: feeling more connected to what is going on in their friends’ lives (80%), like they have a place where they can show their creative side (71%), like they have people who can support them through tough times (67%), and that they are more accepted (58%).

When it comes to negative experiences, 38% of teens say that what they see on social media makes them feel overwhelmed because of all the drama. Roughly three-in-ten say it makes them feel like their friends are leaving them out of things (31%) or feel pressure to post content that will get lots of comments or likes (29%). And 23% say that what they see on social media makes them feel worse about their own life.

There are several gender differences in the experiences teens report having while on social media. Teen girls are more likely than teen boys to say that what they see on social media makes them feel a lot like they have a place to express their creativity or like they have people who can support them. However, girls also report encountering some of the pressures at higher rates than boys. Some 45% of girls say they feel overwhelmed because of all the drama on social media, compared with 32% of boys. Girls are also more likely than boys to say social media has made them feel like their friends are leaving them out of things (37% vs. 24%) or feel worse about their own life (28% vs. 18%).

When it comes to abuse on social media platforms, many teens think criminal charges or permanent bans would help a lot. Half of teens think criminal charges or permanent bans for users who bully or harass others on social media would help a lot to reduce harassment and bullying on these platforms. 

About four-in-ten teens say it would help a lot if social media companies proactively deleted abusive posts or required social media users to use their real names and pictures. Three-in-ten teens say it would help a lot if school districts monitored students’ social media activity for bullying or harassment.

Some teens – especially older girls – avoid posting certain things on social media because of fear of embarrassment or other reasons. Roughly four-in-ten teens say they often or sometimes decide not to post something on social media because they worry people might use it to embarrass them (40%) or because it does not align with how they like to represent themselves on these platforms (38%). A third of teens say they avoid posting certain things out of concern for offending others by what they say, while 27% say they avoid posting things because it could hurt their chances when applying for schools or jobs.

These concerns are more prevalent among older teen girls. For example, roughly half of girls ages 15 to 17 say they often or sometimes decide not to post something on social media because they worry people might use it to embarrass them (50%) or because it doesn’t fit with how they’d like to represent themselves on these sites (51%), compared with smaller shares among younger girls and among boys overall.

Many teens do not feel like they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to controlling what information social media companies collect about them. Six-in-ten teens say they think they have little (40%) or no control (20%) over the personal information that social media companies collect about them. Another 26% aren’t sure how much control they have. Just 14% of teens think they have a lot of control.

Despite many feeling a lack of control, teens are largely unconcerned about companies collecting their information. Only 8% are extremely concerned about the amount of personal information that social media companies might have and 13% are very concerned. Still, 44% of teens say they have little or no concern about how much these companies might know about them.

Only around one-in-five teens think their parents are highly worried about their use of social media. Some 22% of teens think their parents are extremely or very worried about them using social media. But a larger share of teens (41%) think their parents are either not at all (16%) or a little worried (25%) about them using social media. About a quarter of teens (27%) fall more in the middle, saying they think their parents are somewhat worried.

Many teens also believe there is a disconnect between parental perceptions of social media and teens’ lived realities. Some 39% of teens say their experiences on social media are better than parents think, and 27% say their experiences are worse. A third of teens say parents’ views are about right.

Nearly half of parents with teens (46%) are highly worried that their child could be exposed to explicit content on social media. Parents of teens are more likely to be extremely or very concerned about this than about social media causing mental health issues like anxiety, depression or lower self-esteem. Some parents also fret about time management problems for their teen stemming from social media use, such as wasting time on these sites (42%) and being distracted from completing homework (38%).

Note: Here are the questions used  for this report, along with responses, and its  methodology .

CORRECTION (May 17, 2023): In a previous version of this post, the percentages of teens using Instagram and Snapchat daily were transposed in the text. The original chart was correct. This change does not substantively affect the analysis.

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Emily A. Vogels is a former research associate focusing on internet and technology at Pew Research Center .

Risa Gelles-Watnick is a former research analyst focusing on internet and technology research at Pew Research Center .

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Social Media Bans Alone Won’t Improve Mental Health, Say Student Advocates

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There is a significant perception gap between educators and students when it comes to the impact of social media on mental health. Educators are quick to blame platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat—or at least argue that they have exacerbated students’ mental health problems. But for students, the list of causes is much longer.

“We carry around a lot of emotional baggage. It’s invisible. As an athlete, I can tell you that there is a stigma around [having a] conversation about mental health [in my circle]. We need spaces to talk about mental health, just like our physical health,” said Anjali Verma, a student at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School University Scholars Program in Chester County, Pa.

Verma addressed her comments to a room full of school and district leaders at Education Week’s annual Leadership Symposium , held in Arlington, Va. on May 2.

Verma was joined by Ava Havidic , the president of the National Student Board Member Association and a student at the Millennium 6-12 Collegiate Academy in Tamarac, Fla. Havidic said the stigma around discussing mental health hides the full range of challenges students are dealing with daily.

“Students are part of the hustle culture, where rest isn’t prioritized and taking on more pressure is normalized,” Havidic said.

She and Verma both pointed out that students find it hard to excel at AP classes and coursework alongside family responsibilities or jobs.

When schools don’t give students the space to openly discuss their mental health challenges or aren’t transparent about the resources they have (or don’t have) to help students, young people are more likely to seek TikTok remedies .

“Students should know, from their school leaders, that they don’t have to struggle in silence,” said Verma.

Getting past the social media bugbear

Educators are concerned that apps like TikTok have the potential to contribute to poor mental health in students, but students and teachers disagree on the degree of impact.

In a nationally representative survey of 1,056 high school-age adolescents conducted in February and March, the EdWeek Research Center found that nearly three quarters said that social media either has no impact or a positive impact on their mental health and well-being. The participants pointed to several positive impacts of social media—they can find friends and learn about different cultures, and the platforms offer safe spaces that allow students of color and LGBTQ+ youth to connect with young people like them.

Havidic said social media is also a space where students can have open conversations about their mental health.

“We have to teach students how to use social media well … [and] budget their time. Instead of banning social media tools, there should be positive reinforcement when students use it well,” she said.

In fact, banning social media tools now could hurt students in the future, both student advocates said.

Students need the discipline to avoid social media when they get into higher education or jobs. Learning how to cope with its distractions and developing the ability to distinguish fake news from the truth are skills schools should focus on now so students are equipped to deal with it as adults.

Safe spaces and supportive adults

Schools can also create spaces, both physical and metaphorical, where the mental health conversation can happen without stigma.

Verma said she created a mental health club in her school. Within two weeks of starting, the club had over 50 members. Verma credits that to the fact that student clubs can potentially reach hard-to-reach students who might be more receptive to outreach from peers. She is also part of a national nonprofit that works specifically to remove the stigma among student-athlete communities in addressing mental health challenges.

“Only a third of our students [in our school] knew that we had a psychologist and social worker. Students were made aware of these resources and how to access them,” Verma said.

Such spaces can be created online, too, according to Havidic.

She’s been part of several online conversations that create awareness about mental health challenges, or, in small groups, have students discuss how they feel in school. The advantage with online spaces is that students can dial in from anywhere if they don’t have access to an in-person club or prefer the online option.

“It allows students to decompress,” Havidic said.

Supportive adults are another pillar for this work.

Havidic told the attendees of the EdWeek conference that they need to know who’s representing the students on the school board so that they know how to receive student feedback. Havidic’s school has also created a principal advisory council, which seeks feedback from students on what’s working and what isn’t.

“We had an online career tool that was difficult for all students to navigate. The student council suggested a different tool, which had more inclusive options for those who didn’t want to go to a traditional four-year college. It reduces the stress students have about their future,” Havidic said.

For some mental health challenges, though, students need medical or psychological help that goes well beyond the training and abilities of classroom teachers or student peer groups. That’s where counselors and school psychologists come in.

Schools have long faced a staffing crunch in those areas, with mental health professionals in the system overrun by both their caseload and administrative duties

An attentive classroom teacher can be a backstop here.

“Even if you’ve referred a student to the counselor, you may need to track if the student actually went back. You need to watch out for signs of distress,” Havidic said.

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Empowering Democracy in the Digital Age: Navigating the Challenges and Potential of Digital Activism

Youth Netizens as Global Citizens: Digital Citizenship and Global Competence among Undergraduate Students Provisionally Accepted

• 1 De La Salle University, Philippines

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The digitalization of everyday life among young people exposed them to knowledge and cultures from societies outside their own. Digital citizenship, characterized by online respect and civic engagement, can facilitate students’ positive interactions within the global community and enhance their global competencies, including self-awareness, intercultural communication, and global knowledge. However, empirical studies linking digital citizenship and global competence are limited.. Drawing from an online survey sample of 698 Filipino undergraduate students, this cross-sectional study examines the relationship between digital citizenship and global competence. Findings indicate that online civic engagement and being a working student positively predict all domains of global competence. Online respect positively correlated with intercultural communication. Certain demographic and education-related variables were significant predictors of at least one domain of global competence (p<0.05). The findings underscore the importance of educational institutions fostering online social participation to cultivate globally competent students.

Keywords: Cross-Sectional Studies, Digital citizenship, Global Competence, undergraduate students, Youth

Received: 08 Mar 2024; Accepted: 09 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Cleofas and Labayo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Jerome V. Cleofas, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

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Social media has a counterintuitive effect on teen socialization, study suggests

R ecent research published in Computers in Human Behavior explores how adolescent social media usage is related to social skills and time spent with friends offline. The study finds that increased social media activity does not adversely affect social skills and is associated with more offline interactions with friends. This challenges the common concern that digital platforms might hinder adolescents’ social development.

“Socializing with peers outside of the family is crucial to adolescents’ (socioemotional) development and well-being,” said study author Silje Steinsbekk , a professor of clinical child and adolescent psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

“Therefore, as young people have increasingly turned to social media for interpersonal interactions, concerns have been raised that social media use may displace time adolescents spend with friends offline and may negatively impact the development of social skills. If so, their mental health and psychosocial functioning could be harmed. Knowledge is needed on how this new social landscape affect adolescents.”

For their study, the researchers analyzed data from the Trondheim Early Secure Study (TESS) . TESS is a longitudinal study involving children born in Trondheim, Norway, during 2003 and 2004, designed primarily to explore mental health outcomes but adapted to investigate social behaviors as well.

The initial sample recruitment targeted all children born in the specified years, with their participation beginning at age 4. Parents received an invitation and a behavioral screening questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which they completed and brought to a mandatory health check-up.

Based on the SDQ scores, children were stratified into groups, with higher scores indicating more pronounced emotional or behavioral issues. A total of 1,250 children were ultimately drawn from those who consented, with follow-up assessments every two years up to age 18, covering eight data waves.

From age 10, participants were assessed for their social media usage through semi-structured interviews conducted by trained personnel. These interviews, conducted at ages 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18, collected data on the frequency of specific social media behaviors such as liking, commenting, and posting content across various platforms.

Social skills were evaluated using parent-reported instruments: the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS-P) and the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales (SSIS-RS). These tools helped quantify social behaviors like cooperation, assertion, self-control, and responsibility. The assessments provided a total social skills score, which was analyzed for its relationship to social media usage.

Steinsbekk and her colleagues found no evidence to suggest that social media use impairs the development of social skills over time. This finding contradicts the commonly held fear that social media might replace more meaningful face-to-face interactions that are crucial for developing complex social skills. Social media might serve as an additional platform for social interaction, not necessarily at the expense of traditional interactions.

“The findings suggest that social media use may neither harm nor benefit the development of social skills and may promote, rather than displace, offline interaction with friends during adolescence,” Steinsbekk told PsyPost.

Increased social media use was associated with an increase in time spent with friends offline, particularly from the ages of 12 to 14. This finding supports the “social enhancement hypothesis,” which posits that social media can enhance users’ social lives by providing additional avenues for interaction that complement face-to-face encounters.

“I was a bit surprised that social media use was linked to more time spent with friends offline,” Steinsbekk said. “However, research has shown that online interactions may fuel existing relationships and enhance the initiation of new ones.”

While the general findings were positive, the study also highlighted that the effects of social media are not uniform across all individuals. Specifically, increased social media use was found to predict a decline in social skills among adolescents with higher levels of social anxiety. This suggests that for socially anxious individuals, social media may exacerbate certain challenges, potentially because these platforms can offer overwhelming stimuli or foster comparisons that may heighten anxiety.

As with any study, there are some limitations to note. The reliance on self-reported data may not perfectly capture actual social media usage. Rapid technological advancements and the ever-changing landscape of social media platforms may also affect the generalizability of the findings over time.

“It should be noted that the effect revealed was small,” Steinsbekk noted. “Further, the rapid pace of technological developments makes it challenging to study social media use. It is impossible to know if the results would be the same if we studied today’s 10-year-olds and followed them until they turned 18 in 2032.”

Future research should explore these dynamics further, examining how different types of social media interactions influence various social outcomes and how these effects may vary among individuals with different personal or psychological characteristics.

“Our aim is to generate knowledge about how social media use affect adolescents’ development, health, and wellbeing – identifying who is at risk and who may benefit from social media use, and what kind of social media use is harmful and beneficial, respectively – and for which outcomes (e.g., mental health, self-esteem, social relations),” Steinsbekk explained.

The study, “ The new social landscape: Relationships among social media use, social skills, and offline friendships from age 10–18 years ,” was authored by Silje Steinsbekk, Oda Bjørklund, Patti Valkenburg, Jacqueline Nesi, and Lars Wichstrøm.

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• How can we stop and reverse the loss of brain capital?

The impact of escalating environmental and social challenges on our brains and the planet

Posted on: 09 May 2024

A new research paper explores how the ‘brain economy’ can contribute to harmonise and improve the health of humans, animals, and the environment.

A team of neuroscientists have studied the impact of escalating environmental and social challenges on both our brains and the sustainability of the planet. The expert team is led by Dr Agustin Ibáñez from the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) and a perspective paper from the group is published  in the journal NEURON. The paper explores the ways in which the ‘brain economy’ can contribute to the objectives of the One Health framework, a long-established United Nations priority that seeks to harmonize and improve the health of humans, animals, and the environment.

'One Health' is a World Health Organisation (WHO) integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment.

Brain health is a critical aspect of human well-being, affecting cognitive abilities, socioemotional stability, and overall quality of life (World Health Organization, 2022). However, the growing prevalence of brain disorders is taking a steep economic toll. Every year, dementia costs the global economy more than $1.3 trillion, a value that is set to increase to $2.8 trillion by 2030 (World Health Organization, 2023b).

The brain economy is a global goal to stop and reverse the loss of brain capital, an asset integrating brain health and brain skills. This concept advocates for a transformative societal change that benefits humans, the economy, and nature. The brain economy would allow us to create a stronger, more resilient future.

Led by Agustin Ibáñez, faculty member and Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at Trinity College and Director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute ( BrainLat ) at University Adolfo, Ibáñez, Chile and an international team of experts from academia, NGOS, and the private sector, this paper proposed a framework that brings a roadmap on the physical and social exposomes—encompassing everything from air and water pollution to socioeconomic disparities—and their significant impact on brain health.

Dr. Ibá ñ ez, said:

  “The findings reveal that pollutants like fine particulate matter, heavy metals, and social factors such as stress and inequality have profound implications for brain health across the lifespan. For instance, exposure to air pollution has been linked to neurodevelopmental delays in children and an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases in adults.”

The paper underscores the necessity of understanding environmental impacts on earth and physical health and global populations' neurological and mental well-being. The framework advocates for a One Health approach, integrating human, animal, and environmental health strategies to tackle these complex challenges holistically. 

Dr Ibáñez and his team propose a comprehensive roadmap for future research, policy development, and technological innovation to enhance health resilience against environmental and social hazards. Key recommendations include advancing biomonitoring technologies, integrating exposome data into public health strategies, and fostering global cooperation to effectively implement environmental and health safeguards.

Burcin Ikiz, a co-author and the Founder and Chair of the Neuro Climate Working Group, said:

“We recently launched the Neuro Climate Working Group a s a global multi-disciplinary team of neuroscientists, neurologists, psychologists, epidemiologists, and public policy experts dedicated to understanding and addressing the impacts of climate change on brain health. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, innovative research, and informed advocacy, we aim to integrate neuroscience and environmental science to enhance public health outcomes globally. ”

The team will present their paper on September 18 th , 2024 at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit on this topic.

“The paper provides us with a strong science and technology policy platform leading into our United Nations General Assembly Science Summit, noted Harris Eyre, lead of the Brain Capital Alliance and senior fellow with Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

The perspective paper: ‘Neuroecological links of the exposome and One Health,’ published in Neuron, can be viewed at this link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.016  

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Media Center 5/1/2024 10:00:00 AM Corbin McGuire

How the NCAA is prioritizing mental health

New resources, initiatives and research driving actions focused on student-athletes.

The NCAA continued its commitment to advancing mental health for its more than 520,000 student-athletes in the 2023-24 academic year. Check out a few ways the NCAA has made progress in this area, including new resources, initiatives and research.  

Mental Health Best Practices

In early 2024, the NCAA released an updated  Mental Health Best Practices  document. The best practices, developed by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, reflect a consensus of the Mental Health Advisory Group, which includes representatives from science, medicine, sports medicine organizations and the NCAA membership.  Under the NCAA constitution adopted in January 2022, each member school — regardless of division — must facilitate an environment that reinforces physical and mental health within athletics by ensuring access to appropriate resources and open engagement with respect to physical and mental health.  Schools across all divisions are legislatively required to provide student-athletes mental health resources and education consistent with the Mental Health Best Practices. Additionally, as part of its holistic student-athlete model, Division I is requiring schools to attest to providing services and support consistent with the best practices beginning Aug. 1, 2024. The first attestation deadline is November 2025

"The updated Mental Health Best Practices reflects the highest standards of excellence and evidence-based practice and of comprehensive and up-to-date guidance on supporting mental health in collegiate athletics," NCAA Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline, who announced his retirement in March, said after a  February meeting of the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports . "The NCAA recognizes the importance of promoting and protecting the mental wellness of student-athletes, who face unique challenges and pressures in their pursuit of excellence."

The document's four best practices  have been updated to recognize the importance of creating healthy environments as a first step in promoting mental health, as well as to provide membership increased flexibility in implementation. The best practices are: 

• The creation of healthy environments that support mental health and promote well-being. 
• Procedures, including mental health screening tools, for identifying student-athletes with mental health symptoms and disorders. 
• Action plans that outline referral pathways of student-athletes to qualified providers.
• Licensure of providers who oversee and manage student-athlete mental health care.

To support NCAA members in implementing mental health best practices, the NCAA Sport Science Institute recently hosted a  series of webinars  featuring membership-based examples of ways to support and promote student-athlete mental health. 

Sports betting

Protecting student-athletes from the pitfalls of sports betting, ranging from addiction to harassment, quickly became a priority of NCAA President Charlie Baker after he started his role in March 2023. Since then, the NCAA's advocacy and efforts in this space have been impactful . 

The national office is continuing to aggressively pursue advocacy in states that have or are considering legalized sports betting to incorporate antiharassment measures. This includes calling for a ban on player-specific prop bets. As a result, several states have taken positive steps to protect student-athletes from sports betting harassment. Four states have implemented restrictions on prop betting, and another four states have introduced bills that protect student-athletes from harassment. 

The NCAA has expanded its educational efforts with EPIC Global Solutions, designing specific curriculum that discusses handling abusive content. Over 50,000 student-athletes have been educated through the program, the largest of its kind globally. The NCAA also has launched a sports betting e-learning module designed to educate current and prospective student-athletes on problem gambling harms and the risks sports betting poses to the integrity of sports.

The NCAA  is also working with Signify Group  to pilot an initiative targeting social media harassment for the 2023-24 championship season. The initiative focuses on select championships with a heightened risk for harassment and abuse directed at championship participants, particularly student-athletes. This initiative is intended to further promote the mental health and well-being of the college sports community through data collection and analytics.  

In March, the NCAA launched a campaign called " Draw the Line ," prioritizing student-athlete education on the effects of sports betting. Draw the Line is aimed at college students and will run across social media channels. It will include a membership toolkit for member schools and conferences to access resources that extend the campaign to their campuses.

"Sports betting is everywhere — especially on college campuses — so it's critical student-athletes get the real story about how it can impact them and their ability to play," Baker said. "We know some bettors are harassing student-athletes and officials, so that's why we are advocating for policy changes at the state level and launching monitoring tools around championships to refer serious threats to law enforcement. The NCAA is doing more than ever to protect the integrity of the game and arm student-athletes with the truth about sports betting." 

The NCAA has continued to get direct feedback from student-athletes on their experiences, especially on mental health concerns. 

In December, the NCAA  released results  from a nationally representative survey of more than 23,000 student-athletes. The findings, drawn from the  NCAA Student-Athlete Health and Wellness Study , indicated student-athletes are reporting fewer mental health concerns than they did during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, although the improvements are smaller in some demographics.

Similar to findings from  online studies conducted in 2020 and 2021 , self-reported mental health struggles were more common among student-athletes of color, those identifying on the queer spectrum and those identifying as transgender or nonbinary — population subgroups that commonly display higher rates of mental distress. 

"Getting an accurate understanding of what student-athletes are experiencing — directly from them — is vitally important to help member schools better serve the students on their campuses," said Tom Paskus, NCAA managing director of research. "The NCAA and our research partners, including NCAA faculty athletics representatives, devote substantial time and energy to conducting student-athlete well-being surveys because they allow us to examine important issues such as mental health trends over time. Having tens of thousands of respondents allows us to really dig deep into concerns we see in particular sports or within particular demographic groups."

In addition to sharing findings from the Health and Wellness Study, the NCAA Wagering and Social Environments Study is currently in the field, and the NCAA research team anticipates sharing preliminary results early this fall. The study represents the first comprehensive national examination of how NCAA student-athletes are being impacted by the proliferation of legal sports wagering options in the U.S. after the Supreme Court's 2018 overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Additionally, the survey examines how student-athletes interact with campus and community groups and deal with various issues that arise in their social environment. The study will expand the NCAA's understanding of the sports betting landscape and its direct impact on student-athletes, including whether rates of problem gambling behaviors in this population have changed as sports betting has become legal in many states, whether student-athletes are experiencing fan abuse related to sports betting, and how social media use is impacting student-athlete mental wellness. 

Post-eligibility insurance — mental health coverage 

In August 2023, the NCAA Board of Governors approved the creation of the  NCAA Post-Eligibility Insurance Program  for all student-athletes, which will begin Aug. 1. For up to two years (104 weeks) after student-athletes separate from school or voluntarily withdraw from athletics, the program will cover excess medical expenses for athletically related injuries sustained on or after Aug. 1 during participation in an NCAA qualifying intercollegiate sport. The coverage will provide benefits in excess of any other valid and collectible insurance. The policy will have a $90,000 excess limit per injury, with no deductible.

The program includes coverage for mental health services stemming from an eligible, documented athletic injury sustained during participation in an NCAA qualifying intercollegiate sport. Of the $90,000 available, a sublimit of up to $25,000 will be available for mental health services related to an eligible, documented athletic injury.

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Graduate College

Advocating and advising at hawkeye caucus.

Hawkeye Caucus is a unique day where graduate students from the University of Iowa head to the state capitol to meet with legislators and discuss the impact of their research on the people of Iowa. This year, alongside Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate College, Dr. Amanda Thein, students from the School of Planning and Public Affairs, Computer Science, and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program presented research related to public safety, consumer data protection, urban and regional planning, housing and community development, and public health. 

“Hawkeye Caucus is a great opportunity for graduate students to talk to our state legislators and share the ways that the complex research that they conduct has real world impact for people living in Iowa communities,” Dean Thein says.

Armando Bryson is a second-year graduate student in the Public Affairs program. This was his first year attending Hawkeye Caucus.

“ It is extremely important for students to share their research with members of Congress,” Bryson says. “These legislators have a special love for students who are placing civic engagement at the core of their education. ”

Affecting and advising policy

Ben Kreitlow is a sixth-year MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program, earning his PhD in neuroscience. One point of interest for Kreitlow is communicating the scientific intricacies of his research to policymakers who might not be familiar with the medical field.

Kreitlow was able to speak with several representatives, including two alumni of the UI Carver College of Medicine. “Getting to talk to representatives with a medical background as well as representatives who are less familiar with the science was very rewarding,” Kreitlow remarks.

Specifically, Kreitlow’s research focuses on Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). “Over 30,000 people in Iowa live with epilepsy,” Kreitlow explains. “Hopefully my work can help prevent epilepsy deaths so that people living with the diagnosis and their families can feel more comfortable.”

Alongside advocating for research which improves human health and prevents disease, students spoke to the importance of safeguarding one’s data. Maaz Musa is a doctoral student in computer science whose research focuses on consumer data protection.

“My research surrounds developing frameworks and tools that can facilitate lawmakers in auditing compliance of entities that consume user data,” Musa explains. 

Musa’s research is integral in advising legislators on the Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act (ICDPA) that will become effective in 2025. One senator expressed particular interest in Musa’s research. 

“One legislator I spoke with was on the same page as me regarding the privacy issue,” Musa says. “They were really interested in knowing what we do in the lab and how our work can act as an advisory to the Iowa data privacy law that's coming soon.”

While Kreitlow and Musa’s research has clear local impact, their work makes a global difference as well. “My research impacts everyone because it affects the privacy of all the users and how they can protect their data,” Musa says. 

Into Iowa communities

Connecting with legislators is a pivotal skill for students in the School of Planning and Public Affairs (SPPA) as they conduct research in various cities across Iowa. Kaylynn Sieverding is a second-year graduate student in SPPA whose research focuses on urban and regional planning and housing and community development. 

“My work attempts to bridge the gap for individuals and families burdened by housing costs by identifying strategies feasible for Dubuque,” Sieverding says.

Similarly, Bryson’s research is based in the city of Bondurant. “ My current research focuses on public safety, examining alternative policy solutions for cities interested in establishing their own dedicated police force,” Bryson explains.

Sieverding and Bryson’s advocacy and community development projects highlight the tangible effects of student research. 

“The research that students at Iowa conduct not only has implications for national and international issues,” Dean Thein says, “but it also has impact on our communities and the way people live every day.”

“Per my discussion with state members of Congress at Hawkeye Caucus, legislators find it extremely refreshing to talk to students who are utilizing their education to make a true difference in the world,” Bryson says.

Hawkeye Caucus continues to be an important day for graduate students to demonstrate that the research done at the University of Iowa has current and lasting impact.