Children’s Usage of Social Networking Sites and Family Relationship

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue IX, September 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Children’s Usage of Social Networking Sites and Family Relationship

Ying-Leh Ling¹, Byington Kua Tze Li^2
1Politeknik Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia
²Wawasan Open University, Malaysia

Abstract: The proliferation of social networking sites has changed the instrument people use to communicate with one another. Nowadays, individuals are using social networking sites more than ever to network with friends and family members. At the same time, many studies have been conducted on the use of social networking sites with family relationships. Therefore, researchers want to identify whether there is a need to study both the variables in future studies. Specifically, this research aimed to identify whether there is a significant and positive relationship between children’s usage of social networking sites and family relationship. The research also looked into the relationship between children’s daily usage (hours) of social networking sites with the quantity of time spent and the quality of face-to-face communication with family members. The researcher conducted a study with 40 teachers. The researcher uses structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data pertaining to the research. The analysed data shows that there is no significant relationship between children’s usage of social networking sites and family relationship. Therefore, children’s usage of social networking sites does not affect family relationship. Therefore, as a suggestion to future research, researchers may relate other variables in the in-depth look at the relationship between children’s usage of social networking sites and family relationship.

Keywords: Social networking, family relationship

I. INTRODUCTION

Family members thrive on feelings of belonging and affection that come from having warmth and supportive families. Warmth families produce an atmosphere of trust, understanding and compassion, enabling family members to reach their full potential in a secure environment (Caughlin, Schrodt, Koerner, & Fitzpatrick, 2011). The very essence of a strong and warmth family depends greatly on the quantity of time spent and the quality of face-to-face communication among family members. Individuals who cherish their family members understand the importance of spending time communicating with one another, thereby strengthening interpersonal relationship among family members. Interpersonal relationship among family members is the most important and genuine social relationship an individual can cultivate and maintain.

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