The Impact of Social Media on Young Jordanian Users Language and Identity - Research Proposal Example

The Impact of Social Media on Young Jordanian User’s Language and Identity Name Institution Course Date Executive Summary The world has experienced immense growth of social media over the last two decades. The last few decades has seen the emergence of a variety of social media platforms that people use to connect and interact with friends from across the globe. However, there is a growing concern that the use of social networks is impacting negatively on languages and identities of people in some societies because English happens to be the dominant language used in the Internet as reports shows that at least 80% of the international Websites written in English. This research examines the impact of social media on the language and identity of young Jordanians with a focus on Facebook. Using qualitative study design, 50 undergraduate students from universities in Jordan were used as respondents in the study. Data was collected by issuing questionnaires some of which were emailed to the responds while others were delivered through the Facebook accounts of the respondents. Data will be analyzed using two-tailed ANOVA. However, the research has certain limitations that need to be addressed in further research that include use of small sample size, and the fact that the researchers used personal contacts instead of random sampling in recruiting the respondents, as well as the fact that the researchers failed to evaluate the fluency of the respondents in English and Jordanian Arabic language. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Research Questions 5 3.0 Significance of the Study 5 4.0 Research Methodology 5 4.1 Research Design 5 4.2 Population and Sampling Design 6 4.3 Recruitment Procedure 6 4.4 Instrumentation 7 4.5 Data Collection 7 4.6 Data Analysis 7 4.7 Limitations 8 5.0 Timeline 8 6.0 Budget 9 References 10 1.0 Introduction Language is a very powerful cultural element that helps not only form part of human identity, but also facilitates interactions among people. It is through understanding of language that people are able to interact in any society and any society has a language that they identify with and use for interaction purposes. Language can be acquired naturally or through teaching. Formal teaching has been found to have a profound effect on language development and identities. Al-Saleem (2011) observed that formal teaching can strengthen or weaken the relationship between languages and identities. For instance, through teaching, the link between natural language and national identity can be strengthen or weakened. Nonetheless, because language and identities are dynamic, Ellison (2007) noted that new languages and identities are acquired by individuals throughout life. This implies that a person can develop a new language at any stage of life through learning and this also has an impact on cultural identity. Young people, in particular are adept at new language acquisition and this results in a situation where they easily move from one social situation to another, and in the process they end up becoming plurilingual (Castells, 1997). However, the proliferation of the Internet technology as has been witnessed over the last few decades has had a huge impact on language use (Castells, 1996). By March 2017, there were about 3.7 billion Internet users globally and this number continues to grow by each passing day. The increased propagation of the Internet has resulted in the emergence of social networking cites that have become major platforms for interactions. Statistically, by the end of 2016, there were about 2.34 billion social media users globally and this number is projected to reach 2.67 billion in 2018 (Statista, 2017). Today, a lot of young people spend most of their time interaction on various social media platforms, such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp among others (Hughes & Morrison, 2014). However, there is a growing concern that the use of social networks is impacting negatively on languages and identities of people in some societies. This is linked to the fact that English is the dominant language used in the Internet with at least 80% of the international Websites written in English (Crystal, 2001; Crystal, 1997). Therefore, there is a growing concern that the more young people use English language on the Internet as a language of communication; this damages the languages and the identities of non-English speaking users of the Internet (Bulut, 2013). This study examines the impact of Facebook social media platform on language and identities of young Jordanians. 2.0 Research Questions To understand the impacts of Facebook usage on language and identity of young Jordanians, a given set of questions related to the study will be asked, which include: How often do you use Facebook for interactions? How often do you use code switching by changing or mixing Arabic and English language in your social media interactions? Has code switching affected your ability to write and communicate effectively in your native language? Has the use of social media changed you view your religion Do you consider yourself a Jordanian or a global citizen? 3.0 Significance of the Study It is important to begin by recognizing that the Internet and social media in particular is having a huge impact on people’s lives both positively and negatively. Language and identity are some of the areas, where the greatest impact of social media is being felt. Therefore, this study is significant not only because it contributes to the field of linguistics, but also because it will highlight how social media is affecting language development and social identity. Besides, because social media has been around not for so long, the study finding will help linguists to understand how to make use of the social media for the benefits of language development and to address the negative impacts that social media is having on language development among young people in Jordan. Additionally, this study finding will be of significant to the government and policymakers in addressing the negative impacts that social media is having on the youths as this has been an issue of debate not only in Jordan, but globally. 4.0 Research Methodology 4.1 Research Design This research will adopt a qualitative study design. Qualitative study design will be used in this study because it will help the researchers understand the views and perceptions of Jordanian university students regarding the impacts of social media language and identity (Maxwell, 2012). Jordan is predominantly an Arab speaking nations and the increased social media usage among the young people raises concern that increased exposure to English language on the Internet is affecting users’ languages and identity in Jordan particularly among the younger population. Qualitative study design will, therefore, assist deconstruct and understand from the respondents the impacts that social media usage has had on their languages and identities (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). 4.2 Population and Sampling Design The research will be conducted by using 50 undergraduates in the Jordanian universities as respondents in the study. The undergraduate students at the Jordanian universities have been chosen as the respondents of the study because they are extensive internet users. The Internet World Stats (2017), there were about 5.7 million Jordanians with an access to the Internet by June 2016. Lenhart et al. (2010) study found that about 72% of university students have social media accounts. As such, undergraduate students are appropriate subjects in the study will be appropriate as they have more exposure and experience with the Internet and social media impacts. In Jordan, in particular, undergraduate students represent the majority of the present day Internet users. For purposes of this research, undergraduate students will consist of people aged 18 to 24 years learning in the various universities in Jordan. The undergraduate students to be used in this study will be selected through personal contacts. The respondents in this study will be fairly and even distributed between male and female respondents. In this respect, a representative sample of 25 boys and 25 girls will be engaged in the study. Additionally, the researchers will ensure that the undergraduate students are those who are taking their studies in English and partly in Arabic language. 4.3 Recruitment Procedure The research will be conducted by adhering to high ethical standards. To achieve this, respondents will be invited on voluntary participation. Only the undergraduate students willing to participate in the study will be involved as there would be no coercion when recruiting the respondents for this study. This implies that the respondents will be recruited through consent. In addition, the information obtained from the respondents in this study will be maintained confidential. This means that the information gathered from the respondents will be used only for the purposes for which they are meant and not divulged to third parties (Mertler, 2008). Assuring the respondents confidentiality is important as it would make the respondents become more sincere and open in responding to the questions being asked. 4.4 Instrumentation This study will be collected by issuing a questionnaire to all the 50 respondents in the study. The questionnaires will consist of closed-ended and open-ended questions that will be posed to the respondents to get their views on the impacts of social media on Arabic language and identity among undergraduate students in Jordanian universities. Closed-ended questions will be used in the study for purposes of ensuing uniformity of the responses received from the respondents in the study (Babbie, 2016). Open-ended questions will be included in this study for purposes of giving the respondents the opportunity to provide detailed response to the subject matter under investigation (Babbie, 2016). 4.5 Data Collection Data to be used in the study will be collected emailing the questionnaires to the respondents. To make this easy, the researchers will get the email addresses of all the 50 respondents to be engaged in this study by having personal contacts with the targeted respondents to obtain their email addresses. Emailing the questionnaires to the respondents will be appropriate method of reaching the respondents as it would give them the opportunity to respond to the questions at their appropriate time. Because the targeted population is techno-savvy and have social media accounts, the respondents will be given the option to have the questionnaires delivered to them through their Facebook accounts as this would also give the respondents a good platform to respond to the questions considering that the issue under investigation pertains to the influence of social media on their language and identity. To ensure clarity, the respondents will be explained to the purpose of the study, and it’s significant and how it would benefit them and the society as a whole to encourage positive response to the issue under investigation. 4.6 Data Analysis Data gathered will be analyzed to understand why the participants use Arabic and English interchangeably and other dialects online. The analysis also focused on understanding the frequency with which the respondents used Jordanian Arab online alongside English language in online communication and their view regarding how code switching is affecting their identity. Data collected with the help of questionnaires will then be analyzed with the help of two-tailed ANOVA, which will help understand the perception of the respondents as regards the influence of social media usage on their language and identity. 4.7 Limitations Although the study will contribute to the field of linguistics, our study has certain limitations that need to be taken into consideration when using this finding. The major limitation has to do with small sample size. The sample size of 50 respondents chosen for use in conducting the study is small and might not serve as a true representation of all the undergraduate students in the universities in Jordan. The second major limitation is that the data to be used in this research will be collected through direct contact with the undergraduate students instead of random sampling. Using personal contacts when recruiting respondents has the limitation in that it can result in bias and this might distort the credibility of data. Additionally, the study has shortcoming as not attempt will be made to evaluate the fluency of the respondents in English and Jordanian Arabic language. For this reason, further research that addresses these limitations would be recommended in future research. 5.0 Timeline The study will be collected for a period of two months beginning May 2, 2017 to June 30, 2017. The time duration set will enable the researchers to design the questionnaires, conduct field work, right a report and present it for use. Below is the proposed timeline for the study and the activities that will be conducted represented in the form of Gantt chart. Activity May Jun Jul Aug Sep Act Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Onwards Proposal Fieldwork Data Collection Data Analysis Report Writing Report Presentation 6.0 Budget In order to conduct the research, significant amount of resources and money will be spent to make the research a success. The resources will facilitate data collection, analysis and report writing. Below table is a summary of the budget estimates for the research. Item Amount (AU$) Transport $10,000 Questionnaire Design and production $8,000 Internet Access $10,000 Refreshments $3000 Phone calls $5,000 Contingency provisions $10,000 Total $46,000 References Al-Saleem, B. I. T. (2011). Language and identity in social net working sites. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(19), 197-202. Babbie, E. R. (2016). The basics of social research. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Bulut, M. (2013). Study on the use of social media and its reflections on Turkish regarding language teaching . Journal of Foreign Languages, Cultures & Civilizations, 1(2), 18-27. Castells, M. (1996). The rise of the network society. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Castells, M. (1997). The power of identity. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ellison, J. (2007). Language variation on Internet relay chat: A social network approach. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 5(2), 180-213. Hughes, J. M., & Morrison, L. (2014). The Impact of Social Networking and a Multiliteracies Pedagogy on English Language Learners’ Writer Identities. Writing & Pedagogy, 6(3). DOI: 10.1558/wap.v6i3.607 Internet World Stats. (2017). Internet usage statistics the internet big picture. Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Lenhart, A., Purcell, L., Smith, A. and Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media and young adults. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Social-Media-and-Young-Adults.aspx Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. London: SAGE Publications. Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Hoboken: John Wiley & sons. Mertler, C. A. (2008). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Oxford, NY: SAGE. Statista. (2017). Number of social media users worldwide from 2010 to 2020 (in billions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/ Read More