Effect of social media use on family contentedness of school children in Colombo District using structural equation modelling approach

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of social media use for family connectedness of school children in Colombo district. Social media refers to online platforms and tools that facilitate the creation, sharing, and exchange of information, ideas, content, and interaction among users. Social media has grown exponentially over the past decade, becoming an integral part of everyday life for billions of people around the world. Consequently, Children are spending more time on social media than ever before. Social media can lead to isolation and less face-to-face communication, leading to decreased family connectedness. The research was conducted using a questionnaire- based survey that collected primary data from 310 of school children in Grade 6 to Grade 13 in Colombo District. As the study is based on a conceptual model that the researcher has developed, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed. Findings showed that ease of use with new technologies significantly affect social media use, which further affect family connectivity. Consequently, as the proposed model in this study illustrates, it can be concluded that Social media use has a considerable negative impact on family connectedness of school children. It is also recommended that awareness is created about the detrimental effects of social media usage on family connectedness of school children and interventions are introduced to improve family relationship.