Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

This is a partial replication of a previous study examining the relationship between media-use among college students and several psychological correlates, including ego-control, ego-resiliency, anxiety, and loneliness. Measures were: Student Technology and Media Use Survey, Ego-Control and Ego-Resiliency Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults. Subscales were created, such as phone use, social networking, and multitasking. Important findings regarding ego-control and media-use were replicated. Overall media use and multitasking were negatively correlated with ego-control. Subjects with less ego-control engaged in more social networking, specifically on a cellphone. Ego-resiliency and loneliness were strongly negatively correlated, regardless of levels of multitasking, and students who multitasked less and considered lonely, appeared to use more social networking. This suggests that those who are not consuming multiple forms of media at once may utilize social networking sites to compensate for their lack of social connectedness. The strong relationship between ego-control and numerous variables suggests that impulse-control might be the underlying factor influencing media and technology use, and therefore emerges as an important predictor of individuals’ social networking, multitasking, and phone use. Surprisingly, correlation between media-use and loneliness did not emerge, but it may be that the need for social connectedness is associated with certain types of media. Future research should explore different types of social networking, where time spent and specific reasons and motivations for using each site are addressed. This will offer additional insight regarding the uses and gratifications of social media, in addition to bringing us closer to understanding increasingly prevalent media and technology and its relationship to psychological constructs.