IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIAL LIFE OF TEENAGERS IN INDIA: A CASE STUDY

Social media is playing an important role in every sphere of life now days. Computers and internet has contributed a lot in this field. Smart phones have put the entire world on a common platform. We can connect with anybody throughout the world with the help of social media. There are many social media networks to choose for the people. In this study I have selected Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google as the popularity of these social media networks is more among Indian youth. Other social media networks were excluded from the study. To find out the impact of media on youth we have look in to both negative and positive impacts, because everything have positive and negative aspects. The study was conducted in Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. A sample of 200 respondents was selected having smartphone with them. The sample age group was from 15-19 years old. In this age group most of the parents allow their children to use the mobile phones. The samples were selected with the help of random-cum-purposive sampling. The study was carried out with the aim to examine the use pattern of social media by the youth of Himachal Pradesh. To conduct this study a well-structured questionnaire was developed. The collected data was analysed on percentage and average bases. The study found that there was a negative impact of social media on social life of teenagers.