Master of Education Research Theses
Date of Successful Defense
8-2013
Date Degree Awarded
12-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
School/Department
Education
Advisor
Timothy Heaton, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Stephen Gruber, Ed.D.
Third Advisor
Merlin Ager, Ph.D.
Keywords
social media, relationships, chi square test, honesty, young adults
Abstract
This non-experimental study examines the online behavior of young adults versus their face-to-face interactions. A social media survey was sent to undergraduate students of two private universities in the Midwest via e-mail. A total of 1,365 undergraduates participated in the survey. Analysis of the surveys found that 99% of the undergraduates considered themselves honest people. A chi square test comparing male and female responses revealed that honesty does not depend upon gender. A question of whether a person would say mean things to or about a person in a face-to-face encounter was compared with the question of whether a person would say mean things to or about a person through social media. The results were significant for both male and female responses. A question of whether a person flirts more through social media than face-to-face was compared to whether the respondents thought they represented themselves the same online as in the real world. The results were significant for both male and female responses. The research shows that young adults’ behavior online differs from their face-to-face interactions.
DOI
10.15385/tmed.2013.2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Caldwell, Andrea L., "An Exploration of Young Adult Online Behavior Versus Their Face-to-Face Interactions" (2013). Master of Education Research Theses. 64.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/education_theses/64
