Laurian Victor on , "The Impact of Facebook Usage on SAUT Youth Moral Behavior"

ST. AUGUSTINE UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA
Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication
The Impact of Facebook Usage on SAUT Youth Moral Behavior
Research Paper on Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Bachelor
Degree of Art in Public Relations and Marketing Submitted in the Department of Public
Relations and Advertising
Laurian Victor
June, 2013

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CERTIFICATION
The undersigned certifies that this research paper titled, “The Impact of Facebook on
SAUT Youth Moral Behavior” qualifies for submission in department of public relations
and advertising of St Augustine university of Tanzania for the award of BA Public
Relations and Marketing.
Signed …………………………………………….Date …………………………………
Mr Denis Mpagaze (Research Supervisor)

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DECLARATION
I, Laurian Victor, declare that this research paper is my original work and has not been
submitted for Bachelor Degree or its equivalent in any other university or any other
Higher learning institutions.
Signature………………… Date……………………
Name LAURIAN Victor

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COPY RIGHT
All rights of this research paper are reserved hence no one is allowed to reproduce or
duplicate in one way or another without the permission of the author or St. Augustine
University of Tanzania.
©Laurian (2013)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, my thanks and appreciations are due to the Almighty God for the gift of life
he bestowed onto me throughout this work. I will always sing His praises. My sincere
gratitude should also go to my supervisor Mr. Denis Mpagaze for his tireless efforts and
constructive guidance he offered to me.
Many thanks go to the District Administrative Secretary of Nyamaganafor; he provided
me permission to carry out this research.
I do also appreciate Mrs. C. Mwidima for teaching me research methodology skills
which enable be to fully engaged me in this study. Finally much appreciation is upon my
friends; Peter, Melvin, Rose, James, Shaweji, Vienigan, Jackson, Karim, Chapile and
others for their academic support during the research.

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DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to my beloved parents, Mr. and Mrs. L, Sanday for financial and
moral support during my academic life.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
1. SAUT - St. Augustine University of Tanzania.
2. HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
3. AIDS - AcquiredImmuneDeficiencySyndrome
4. TSHs – Tanzania Shillings

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ABSTRACT
The focus of this study was to find out the impacts of Facebook usage on youth moral
behavior of SAUT. It was guided by the following key questions; what are the factors
that influence youth to join Facebook? What kind of messages the youths are consuming
in Facebook?
Social cognitive theory which states that we learn behaviors through observation,
modeling, and motivation such as positive reinforcement guided the researcher into this
study
Interview was used to collect data from 50 respondents studying at SAUT. The results
revealed that friends, love affairs and mobile phone devices are the most influential
things for students to join Facebook. The messages they consume include love affairs,
political issues, religious, dressing style, abusive languages.
The researcher recommends that; youth should use facebook constructively like in
academic purposes.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION........................................................................................................... i
DECLARATION............................................................................................................ ii
COPY RIGHT............................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................. iv
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................ vi
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................. vii
CHAPTER ONE..............................................................................................................1
Problem Setting...............................................................................................................1
1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................1
1.1.1 Background of the study......................................................................................1
1.1.1.Historical Background of Facebook.....................................................................1
1.3Statement of problem ..............................................................................................3
1.4. Research objectives...............................................................................................3
1.5 Research Questions ................................................................................................3
1.6. Limitation of the study ..........................................................................................4
1.7.Significance of the study ........................................................................................4
1.8. Scope of the study.................................................................................................4
1.9. Definition of the key terms....................................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................6
Literature Review ............................................................................................................6
2.0 Introduction............................................................................................................6
2.1Theoretical Arguments............................................................................................6
2.2. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................12
2.3 Empirical Literature .............................................................................................13
2.4 Research Gap .......................................................................................................14
CHAPTER THREE.......................................................................................................15
Methodology .................................................................................................................15
3.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................15
3.1 Research Design...................................................................................................15
3.2Population of the study..........................................................................................15
3.3 Sampling techniques ............................................................................................15
3.3.1Sample size ........................................................................................................15
3.4 Data collection techniques....................................................................................16

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3.5 Validity and Reliability ........................................................................................16
3.6 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................17
CHAPTER FOUR .........................................................................................................18
Findings ........................................................................................................................18
4.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................18
CHAPTER FIVE...........................................................................................................24
Discussion.....................................................................................................................24
5.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................24
5.1 Discussion............................................................................................................24
5.2 Recommendations................................................................................................27
5.3 Conclusion...........................................................................................................28
REFERENCE................................................................................................................29
APPENDIX I.................................................................................................................31
Interview Guideline .......................................................................................................31
APPENDIX II ...............................................................................................................32
Mwongozo wa Dodoso..................................................................................................32

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CHAPTER ONE
Problem Setting
1.0 Introduction
This chapter contains background of the study, statement of the problem, research
objectives, research questions, limitation of the study, significance of the study, scope of
the study; and definition of the key terms.
1.1.1 Background of the study
Increase in peer cruelty, high taking of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, extramarital sex,
abortions, riots in universities and streets, disrespect of elders by the youth is an indicator
that moral behavior of the youth is deteriorating. For example it hardly passes a year
without witnessing riots from high learning institutions in Tanzania. False love among
the youth has become common and abortion as its results has become fashion.
Dressing styles also among the youth leaves a lot to be desired. Going half naked is the
day of many youth in Tanzania. . Should we associate these increase in moral behaviors
among the youth with the advancement of social media (Facebook). This doubt moved
the researcher into this study.
1.1.1.Historical Background of Facebook
Facebook started when a young Harvard psychology student, Mark Zuderberg, thought of
a mechanism to bring all young Harvard students into knowing each other on February 4,
2004 the guy’s dream came into existence and facebook become popular. After few
months Zuckerberg and his friends Dustin Moskowitz and Chris Hughes dropped out of

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Harvard and moved to Polo Alto, California to run the website as their sole occupation
that is www.facebook.com. .Today Facebook has more than 845 million active members.
The Website is the most popular for uploading photos, with 50 billion uploaded
cumulatively. Among these users mostly are youth and most of youth are still studying in
high schools, colleges, universities and other are employed to different organizations
Table of Facebook users by age
AGE PERCENTAGE (100%)
13 -17 20%
18 - 25 26%
26 -34 26%
35 -44 15%
45 -54 08%
55 -64 05%

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1.3Statement of problem
The moral behavior of most of today’s youth is not pleasing for, most of them are
engaged in drug abuse, abortion, abusive languages, disrespect to their parents, teachers,
authority, riots and burglary .Worse, such immoral behaviors keep on increasing as the
world keeps on witnessing the development of new technology. Such new technology
facilitates youth interactions to such an extent it becomes easily for the youth to copy. For
example today more than 52% of Facebook users are youths. So the researcher wanted to
know whether facebook has any impact on youth moral behavior.
1.4. Research objectives
1.4.1. General objective
To find out whether Facebook contributes to moral behavior of youth
1.4.2. Specific objectives
1) To find out the factors that influence youth to join and use Facebook.
2) To determine the kind of messages the youths consume in Facebook and how such
message influence behavior change of the youth.
1.5 Research Questions
1) What are the factors that influence youth to join and use Facebook?
2) What kind of messages the youths are consuming in Facebook and how much do such
messages influence their behavior change?

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1.6. Limitation of the study
The major limitation the researcher faced was that most of respondents were reluctant to
engage in interview recording.
1.7. Significance of the study
This research is important to the society because it insists on good behavior within the
society especially youth. Also the research is useful to the youth because they will know
what to take and what to leave when engaged with Facebook.
1.8. Scope of the study
This study was conducted in Nyamagana District at Malimbe area. The researcher
assessed the impact of Facebook on youth moral behavior at St. Augustine University of
Tanzania.
1.9. Definition of the key terms
a) Youth – is a time when a person is young especially the time before a child
becomes an adult. (Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary7th edition)
b) Moral – is the standards of behavior considered acceptable and right by group of
people.(Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary7th edition )
c) Facebook – is a social networking website intended to connect friends, family,
and business associates. It is the largest of the networking sites, with the runner up
being MySpace. It began as a college networking website and has expanded to
include anyone and everyone (www.wisegeek.com)
d) Behavior – is the way somebody behave especially towards other people(Oxford
Advance Learner’s Dictionary7th edition)

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e) Moral behavior – is action or actions that produce good outcomes for individual
as member of community or society. (www.answers.com)

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CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
2.0 Introduction
This chapter of the study represents the literature review, theoretical framework,
theoretical argument, empirical literature and research gap.
2.1Theoretical Arguments
The rising youth violence, peer cruelty, coarsening of language, a declining work ethic,
diminished personal and civic responsibility; escalating dishonesty, growing ethical
illiteracy, and growing disrespect for parents, teachers, and other legitimate authority
indicate the decline in moral behavior among the youth in Tanzania. Coles (1997) claims
that at one time society takes for granted its responsibility to help children develop a
conscience or moral compass instead social media especially Facebook has assumed this
crucial role. Today Facebook allows youths to "find" friends of their interests without
knowing their backgrounds. One of my favorite features of Facebook is that when
someone joins the network and they have mutual friends of yours, Facebook posts these
friends in the upper right hand corner of your page. It allows youths to see their pictures
and decide if they can establish friendship (Shawna, 2009)
Facebook makes it easy to upload and share photo albums with the world or just your
"friends list" if you prefer. You never have to worry about misplacing your digital photos
again and can organize them perfectly in the photo area. You can also instant upload
pictures from your cell phone and make a comment (Shawna, 2009)

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Recurrent incidents of uncaring, harmful and, often, violent behavior have caused many
to wonder about a decline in morality in society (Zuckerman, 1994). Reports of unethical
behavior are not limited to any one group. People from all levels of socio-economic
classes, ages and prominence have been found to be involved in unlawful behavior
(Beach, 1991; Halman, 1995). However, the concern over the increase in violence
between youth, and the general decline in ethical behavior has forced people to question
the moral development of youth and to try to find ways to discourage negative behaviors
and encourage ethical, positive behavior from youth.
It is believed that the more time spent on Facebook is related to a greater tendency toward
narcissistic behaviors among teenagers. Also, it has been discovered that young adults
that spend excessive amounts of time on Facebook show more signs of other
psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies.
Additionally, studies have revealed that excessive daily use of social media can
negatively affect the health of children, preteens and teenagers alike as they are more
prone to anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders as well as more
susceptible to future general health problems.
The study by (Rosen, 2011) reports that school grades will suffer when spending too
much time on Facebook as valuable study time is lost.
Multiple negative psychological effects could result from spending too much time on
Facebook and other social media sites. The study by Rosen (2011) reports the negative
impacts of Facebook on youths

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1. Teens that use Facebook frequently may become narcissistic. If you are not already
familiar with that term, dictionary.com describes narcissism as an, "inordinate
fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity." Most likely these are not the
character traits you desire for your child.
2. Teens who have a strong Facebook presence may display psychological disorders,
such as anti-social behaviors, and mania & aggressive tendencies. An anti-social child
often does not consider the effects their actions have on others. This can be quite
dangerous, especially during the already-volatile teen years. Perhaps this should be
termed the anti social media effect.
3. Educational Effects although this pretty much goes without saying, being connected
to technology on an ongoing basis can seriously impact a teens and young adult's
education. The negative educational impacts of regularly checking Facebook during
Rosen's 15-minute observation of kids during study time.
4. Middle and high school students, as well as college students, who checked their
Facebook once during the 15-minute study time, had lower test grades. Perhaps this is
similar to being a distracted driver. During the 15-minute studying time research,
those students who checked their Facebook most often also had the lowest rates of
reading retention. This probably is not too surprising, but now it is a proven fact, in
case you need to tell your kids.
5. The Facebook effect is real, but teens who "overdose" on technology daily, and this
includes video games too, have higher absenteeism from school and are more likely
to get stomach aches, have sleep issues, and feel more anxious and depressed.

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Using Facebook takes time. Often, a lot of time! The greatest motivating factor for
children to use technology in grades 7 and up is to connect to others; to socialize. Their
irresistible need to connect with their peers, coupled with the development of 24/7
accessible technologies, can make the use of sites like Facebook all consuming. We have
concerns for children and teens today growing up in a world where they are wired 24/7
without a break. For many of our kids there is little or no "down time." Some have
difficulty disengaging from their social life. For some, it even raises their anxiety level to
be without their cell phones for a few hours! We don't believe this is healthy for them.
(Doug Fodeman & Marje Monroe, 2009).
To our students using Facebook, there is a false sense of privacy. Couple this false sense
of privacy with the feeling of anonymity and lack of social responsibility that often
develops from using text-centered telecommunications, and we see that many students
post embarrassing, humiliating, denigrating and hurtful content in both text, photos and
videos. We need to teach them that nothing is private online, especially their social
networks. We need to show them examples of the serious consequences that have
occurred to those whose egregious online behavior has been made public. Students have
been expelled from high schools and colleges. Students have been denied acceptances to
intern programs, admission to independent high schools, colleges, and jobs at summer
camps. Students, and their families, have been sued for slander and defamation of
character (Doug Fodeman & Marje Monroe, 2009)
We need to acknowledge that screens act as a moral disconnect for many of our students.
Every day online there are thousands of kids who say mean and hurtful things because
they can. They are increasingly living their social lives in a world without caring, loving

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adults watching out for them, without expectations for their behavior, and without
boundaries. Research shows that children grow up healthiest in a world with love,
communication, structure and boundaries. These qualities hardly exist online for our
children/teens. Instead, harassing language is normalized, and the lack of supervision
creates an "anything goes" wild-wild-west. Here is a simple case in point. Would Texas
Longhorn lineman, Buck Burnette, have said the same thing about President-Elect
Obama if handed a microphone at a school assembly in front of hundreds of students?
Would he have written his posted statement on a large poster and held it up in downtown
Houston for a few hours? (Doug Fodeman & Marje Monroe, 2009)
Symptoms of Facebook Addiction
According to Thurs some symptoms of Facebook addiction are given below to help users
in realizing whether they are really addicted to Facebook.
1. Users and their siblings communicate through Facebook wall and messages, even if
they stay in same house.
2. Users check Facebook for updates and comments after every hour at their workstation
or on their cell phone.
3. Users wake up in the morning, and log onto their Facebook account first.
4. Users’ Facebook wall is full of status updates, comments, and applications that they
just used.
5. Users give priority to Facebook over their commitments in professional and personal
life.

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6. Users spend over an hour on Facebook at a stretch or in short episodes over regular
intervals.
7. Users look forward to get home in the evening so that they can see what is happening
in cyberspace. (on Facebook to be precise)
8. Users can not go for a day without using Facebook, and even this thought makes them
go into sort of depression.
9. Users’ day ends with checking Facebook for that one last time bidding people 'good
night' through their Facebook status update.
If users are facing any of these activities, then they are suffering from Facebook addiction
disorder. Facebook addiction disorder contains the tendency to affect some serious
problem of their mental health and social life. Therefore they need to throw away this
habit as soon as possible (Thurs 2011)
Crime reports of crimes allegedly involving facebook have increased by 346 per cent in
less than a year, and 540 percent in the last three years. At the end of 2010, crimes linked
to facebook reached a staggering 100,000. Everyone knows about the husband who killed
his wife for changing her relationship status to single on Facebook. (Thurs 2011)
Concluding Thoughts about the Impact of Facebook on Teenagers Dr. Rosen's insights
into the psychological and educational effects of Facebook, other technologies, and
media on children is invaluable. Perhaps attentive parents have already noticed these
impacts and have taken action. But, for those that have not, it is time to wake up to the
consequences social media & technological devices and their overuse can have on our
children and combat it.

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2.2. Theoretical Framework
2.2.1 Social Cognitive Theory
This study was guided by “social cognitive theory” which states that we learn behaviors
through observation, modeling, and motivation such as positive reinforcement. Some
influential psychologists of this theory were N.E. Miller and Albert Bandura. They found
that this type of social learning was strengthened if the observer identified with their
"model." This meant that children were more likely to repeat behaviors they had seen
other children their age do, although they might model adults as well. Learning is also
strengthened if someone models a behavior he or she has seen rewarded. This leads to a
motivation for the person to model the behavior in order to get a similar reward.
Bandura Social cognitive theory defines learning as an internal mental process that may
or may not be reflected in immediate behavioral change. Bandura suggest Social cognitive
learning theory highlights the idea that much of human learning occurs in a social environment.
By observing others, people acquire knowledge of rules, skills, strategies, beliefs, and attitudes.
Individuals also learn about the usefulness and appropriateness of behaviors by observing models
and the consequences of modeled behaviors and they act in accordance with their beliefs
concerning the expected outcomes of actions.
Social cognitive theory is a direct response to Behaviorism. Bandura began building his
theory of social learning by identifying 3 areas of weakness of Behaviorism:
Assumptions / Basic Principles
1. People learn by observing others: Modeling (3 types of modeling).
Generally, cognitive modeling involves modeled demonstrations, together with verbal
descriptions of the model's thoughts and actions.
2. Learning is internal.

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3. Learning is goal-directed behavior.
Scope and application
The “social cognitive theory” tries to show that people may learn behaviors through
observation, modeling, and motivation such as positive reinforcement. Through the using
of Facebook youth consume different messages. So this theory can help to find out if the
youth consuming messages from Facebook lead to the changes of their behavior or not as
theory state learning as an internal mental process that may or may not be reflected in
immediate behavioral.
2.3 Empirical Literature
The study by Sana Rouis, Moez Limayem and Esmail Salehi-Sangari Sweden-USA about
“Impact of Facebook Usage on Students’ Academic Achievement: Roles of Self-
Regulation and Trust” indicate that extensive use of Facebook by students with
extraverted personalities leads to poor academic performance. However, students who are
more self-regulated control their presence on these platforms more effectively. Trust in
people does not influence their presence and interaction on the platform. Students’
cognitive absorption with Facebook is regulated only by their self-control and personality
traits, which determine how much time they spend on Facebook. Multitasking skills
moderate the effect to cognitive absorption on academic achievement, but they do not
impede the time spent, frequency, or nature of use or their effect on academic results.
Although students’ satisfaction with life significantly decline due to cognitive immersion
with Facebook, it does not play a role for students’ academic achievement. However their
performance goal orientation is a crucial determinant of university accomplishments,
which would limit the critical effect of their presence on the Facebook platform.

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Also the study by Fengshu Liu on “The norm of the ‘good’ netizen and the construction
of the ‘proper’ wired self: The case of Chinese urban youth” report that young people’s
relationship with the internet has become a major concern in China over the past years.
The internet cafe has come to be seen as a ‘negative influence’ on the young. Both
academic and lay discourses view internet addiction as a serious and widespread
problem.
2.4 Research Gap
The literature reviewed shows that most of the youths spent much of their time doing
unnecessary activities and has different impact to them. Such studies did not show if this
can lead to changes of their moral behavior. This study is therefore sought to fill in this
gap.

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CHAPTER THREE
Methodology
3.0 Introduction
This chapter presents research design, population of the study, sampling techniques and
sample size, data collection techniques, reliability and validity and data analysis.
3.1 Research Design
The researcher used a case study design to conduct an in depth investigation of an issue at
a specific instance and location and normally focused on small units.
3.2Population of the study
The researcher dealt with SAUT student’s population which consist about 15,000
students. Students from different programs were picked and provided a reliable data for
the research.
3.3 Sampling techniques
The researcher was used a snow ball technique to select his sample from SAUT students.
Snow ball technique is the one where by a researcher gets data from one respondent and
that respondent names other respondents who can give the same data that the researcher
is seeking for. Through this a researcher was able to know students who have Facebook
accounts.
3.3.1Sample size
The researcher picked 50 students from different programs. The researcher used this
technique in order to reduce bias and to make every unit in the target population to have

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an equal chance of participating and providing information. The researcher here did so to
get views from youth around SAUT.
3.4 Data collection techniques
3.4.1 Interview
The researcher used interview with 50 students at SAUT. This research needs the deep
information and its concern the personal behavior so interview was better when
communicated with respondent because they gave an opportunity for the researcher to
understand what respondents explained in relation to the topic and asked question for
more elaboration. Also this gave respondents freedom and a relaxed mood in shared ideas
with the researcher and be able to gave reliable information. Through interviews the
researcher was also able to obtain different information from SAUT students.
The interviews were structured and unstructured because it was an effective way for the
researcher to communicate with the respondents. This gave a respondent an opportunity
to be free and responded in a relaxed mood hence provided reliable information. The
researcher interviewed 50 students from different programs SAUT and all interviews
were recorded.
3.5 Validity and Reliability
Data of this topic was reliable and valid because instruments used match with the
principles of research. Data was relevant with that of literature concerning my topic.

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3.6 Data Analysis
The researcher used qualitative method that involves explanation and description of the
findings. This is because my interview guide is open ended, that requires the respondents
to be free to express what they have regarding the use of Facebook.

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CHAPTER FOUR
Findings
4.0 Introduction
This chapter consists of the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the
research findings.
4.1 Demographic Characteristics
An in-depth interview was conducted with 50 students who are using Facebook at St.
Augustine University of Tanzania about “the impact of Facebook on youth moral
behavior”. 31 respondents were male and 19 were female. Those respondents have been
used Facebook for at least two (2) to five (5) years.
4.2.1Reasons for joining Facebook among the students
Establishing Friendship
Most of the respondents said that they joined Facebook because their friends also use
Facebook. During in-depth Interviews, one respond said:
“Ni marafiki zangu walikuwa wamejiunga Facebook ikanibidi na mimi nijiunge
pia” (My friends joined Facebook so I also decided to join).
Love affairs

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The findings of this study show that most of youth joined Facebook because they heard
about forming love relationship between women and men. During interview, one
respondent said:
“Ni vitu nilivyokuwa nikiviona Facebook, wanawake wazuri sana na kwa kuwa
mimi ni kijana nikaona angalau nijipatie hata wawili” (I saw various things in
Facebook including beautiful ladies, that is why I decided to have at least two
beautiful ladies).
Accessible through mobile phones
During interviews with students, respondents said that it has become easier to access
internet since there are varieties of mobile phones which can access internet, this mostly
influenced them to join Facebook because through those mobile phones any time any
where they can use Facebook. One respondent said
“Nilijiunga baada ya kurahisishwa kutumia facebook kupitia simu ya mkononi”
(the accessing facebook through mobile phone influence me to be a member).
4.2.2 Kinds of messages consumed by youth in Facebook;
False love messages
The findings show that most of the massages youth consume from Facebook are based on
love affairs. This means that Facebook is like a place where youth feel to do anything
because they think that their parents are not using Facebook so no one can control them
and as the Facebook status goes, “what is on your mind” One respondent said:

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“Unajua Facebook huwa watu wanatabia ya kutongozatongoza alafu ni usumbufu
sababu mtu hakujui haumjui” (In Facebook there are some people who even
seduce others and it is a disturbance because these people they even don’t know
each other).
Posting of naked pictures
The respondents said that in Facebook it is common thing to find the naked pictures.
There are some pages which are posting these pictures and you find out that most of
people like those pages, when they like means they are always updated every time about
that page. One respondent said;
“Kuna peji ambazo zipo facebook, watu mbalimbali wamezifungua kama vile
“utamu unakuja utamu unakata,” utamu remix and peji zingine zinazoonyesha
wanawake wako uchi’’ (People opening various pages on Facebook such as
“utamu unakuja utamu unakata, utamu remix” and such other pages which show
naked pictures).
Abusive language (insults words)
The study shows that the youth are using abusive language in expressing their stresses
and anger. People use words which are not ethical to our society. One respondent said;
“lugha za matusi zinatumika na zinachochea ugomvi baina ya watu kitu
ambacho mi sikipendi” (There is flux use of abusive language ans insults which in
one way or another incite conlicts in society members).
Cheating and deceptions

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The findings show that most of the youths provide false identify on their profile. One
respondent said:
“Unaweza kukuta mtu anachukua picha ya msanii kama Diamond akajiweka pale
yaani yeye ni Diamond mtu akipritend, sababu Facebook mtu hawezi kuthibitisha
kuwa huyu ni mtu fulani hivyo anaweza kudanganyika” (Yoo can find a person
putting the photo of other celebrity Diamond on his profile picture).
Politics and religions
During interview respondents said that they use the Facebook for religious and political
issues. They try to concentrate on some quotable scriptures from Holly Bible and political
issues. One respondent said;
“Napenda kufungua peji kama jamii forum na TB Joshua katika Facebook” (I
When I brown on Facebook, I prefer to go to TB Joshua page and Jamii Forum).
The TV Joshua deals with spiritual words of God and Jamii Forum deals with social and
political issues.
4.2.3 Influences of messages consumed in Facebook to youths
Influence on dressing code
The findings show that dressing style of youth nowadays is affected by the use of
Facebook. Face boo users adapt to every dressing code from Facebook Pictures. One
respondent said

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“Ninapotaka kuweka picha Facebook ama ninapopiga picha nawaza sana naona
wacha nivae kama wale ninaowaona Facebook” (Because of the influence from
the others whenever I want to upload a picture on Facebook I need to think twice
as in order for my pictures to look nice like those I normally see on others’
Facebook).
These pictures also influence a person dressing style. One respondent said;
“Facebook imenibadilisha kimavazi, kuna picha naziona kule nami ninaiga hayo
mavazi na kweli huwa hazipo kimaadili” (Facebook have changed my dressing
styles)
Influence on sexual behavior
The findings show that because most of the youths are consuming most of messages
concerning love affairs they engage themselves on relations with more than one person
and they said this behavior is because they control their life rather than before when they
were controlled by their parents. One respondent said;
“Mwanzoni nilikuwa na msichana moja ila baada ya kuingia Facebook
nimeshapata wasichana wengine wawili (Before I joined Facebook I had only one
girl friend but after joining Faicebook I have more than three girl friends).
These sexual behaviors also result to some sort of problem like spread in HIV/AIDS, un
planned pregnancies, which lead to abortion or increase in street children.

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Influence on conflicts
The findings show that most of users of Facebook are engaged in conflicts especially
with their partners. One respondent said:
“Facebook imeniletea utofauti na mpenzi wangu, watu wananitag kwenye picha
zao hasa wanaume ile inamuuzi yeye (Facebook has created misunderstanding
with my boy friend because of tagging unlovely pictures on my wall which hurt
my boy friend).
Influence on poor academic performance
This study finds out that the uses of Facebook leads to poor academic performance
academics. Students use Facebook even in class through mobile phone devices and others
use Facebook during the time for home works. One respondent said.
Since I started using Facebook my academic time has become so low. I spent
much of my time with Facebook. When I came to compare my academic result
before I joined and now, my performance is not good and this is because I am
using Facebook even at class.
Influence on Facebook addiction
During interview respondents said that they use most of time on Facebook day to day. It
hardly passes a day without visiting Facebook. One respondent said;
“Facebook inanifanya niwe addicted mwisho wa siku siwezi kulala bila kutumia
Facebook japo hata kwa saa moja” (I am addicted with facebook and sometimes I
cannot even sleep without visiting facebook for at least a single hour).

24
CHAPTER FIVE
Discussion
5.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the discussion of the findings from interviews. The researcher
interprets the findings and gives out obtained number of recommendations.
5.1 Discussion
One of favorite features of Facebook is that when someone joins the network and they
have mutual friends of yours, Facebook posts these friends in the upper right hand corner
of your page. It allows you to see their picture and decide if you should add them to your
friends. This seems similar because most of youths who are using Facebook said that
their friends are influential for them to join Facebook because in Facebook. This shows
that for the coming days the uses of Facebook will increase more and more because as
you get new friend who also has friends automatically they will get notification about
your friendship in Facebook so there others who will possibly become your friends.
Also Shawna, 2009) find out that Facebook has a great cell phone application that text
you anytime you get an email or someone comments/writes on your wall. You can also
reply directly to them from your cell phone and stay in touch no matter where you are.
This study has relations whereby among the reason for youth to join Facebook is an
easier accessibility of internet through mobile phone. Youth are enjoying to see what was
posted on Facebook and other social networks so the device which is easily to carry,
portable and able use anytime, everywhere. Youth seems that it is cheap to use cell phone
because through they got multi-functional on air time whereby through TSHs 500/= they

25
will get talking minutes, text messages and mega byte. This shows that five years to come
more people will use Facebook because now smart phones are increasing so it will be
able for people to access internet wherever are they through cell phones.
People also join Facebook because of some interesting things personally like love affairs.
This is because they have been told that in Facebook or if they have Facebook account
they will easier get beautiful girls or men who have a lot of money. In this situation it
seems that there some pages link in Facebook which promote these love affairs and
others use that opportunity to search for people who will fulfill their needs. For example a
person of 18 years old because he/she know is not possible for his/her parents to be in
Facebook they start to seduce their friends on Facebook especially boys and the bad thing
is that he seducing more than three girls at the same time. If this situation will continue
for five to ten years diseases like HIV/AIDS and other STDs will cost the life of youths
to death.
According to the study by Sana Rouis, Moez Limayem and Esmail Salehi-Sangari
Sweden-USA about “Impact of Facebook Usage on Students’ Academic Achievement:
Roles of Self-Regulation and Trust”. Their findings indicate that extensive use of
Facebook by students with extraverted personalities leads to poor academic performance.
This study is alike because findings show that most of youth or student use their most of
time on Facebook. They use it even in class during lecture hours and not able to
concentrate on studies hence lead them to poor performance in academic. Finding shows
that comparing the performance of a person before and after using Facebook there is huge
different the recent result is poor due to bad use of Facebook even at class, library or even

26
in group discussion. This shows that if this situation will not be handed, in five to ten
years we will lose the professional experts because they did not concentrate during
training.
On the addiction of Facebook by (Thur, 2011) on the symptoms of Facebook addiction
find that Users and their siblings communicate through Facebook wall and messages,
even if they stay in same house. Also users wake up in the morning, and log onto their
Facebook account first. This study is alike whereby findings show that most users of
Facebook are addicted a person when is offline feels like something missing want to
comment things on Facebook or want to see update on Facebook. The finding shows that
the addicted users want at least single hour per day to surf on Facebook other mostly
using night time. So if this continues the individual performance and development will be
affected because during day hours you will fill tired you disturb your schedules and
postpone some important things.
According to (Rosen, 2011), use of Facebook allows children to develop their self-
identity. Choosing a profile photo, listing likes and dislikes, favorites of this and that,
quotations, and the like, all "force" your child to become more self aware. But from the
findings show that youths are using false identity something which enables them to do
wrong things without being identified. These people are encouraging riots, using abusive
language against their teachers, leaders even other people who aged as their parents. So if
the use false identity will continue the really meaning of Facebook will disappear and it
will not be easily to find the good friends.

27
Under the “Social Cognitive Theory” which states that we learn behaviors through
observation, modeling, and motivation such as positive reinforcement. They found that
this type of social learning was strengthened if the observer identified with their "model."
This meant that children were more likely to repeat behaviors they had seen other
children of their age do, although they might model adults as well. From findings youth
observes some pictures which are uploaded on Facebook are not ethical, there some
naked pictures, girls wearing short skirts and using abusive language. Other users are
tries to practice what they saw but after time you got a person was totally affects the
behavior of concern person. As Bandura in Social cognitive theory defines learning as an
internal mental process that may or may not be reflected in immediate behavioral change.
There some youth who changed due to consuming such messages from Facebook like
wearing short skirts, engaging in improper love affairs (sexual behavior), using abusive
language, disrespect teachers, leaders and to other peoples and the bad result is that
engaging in sexual behavior leads to diseases like HIV/AIDS, STDS, pregnant, abortion
and risk their life to death. So if this situation will not controlled five years to come the
coming generation will lean bad behavior from their sister and brothers so that problem
will increase more and more.
5.2 Recommendations
i. The users of Facebook should use it in a positive way rather than doing negative
things.
ii. Students should use Facebook at right time and right place rather than using it
during class hours.
iii. Parents should protect their children against Facebook usage.

28
iv. The University should provide education on proper use of social networks like
Facebook so that they will know what to avoid.
5.3 Conclusion
From the data collected from the field and how the author has explained about the study it
shows that Facebook does have effects on youth moral behavior. Youths are practicing
what they see from Facebook especially dressing style, false love affairs, abusive
language and naked pictures hence this lead to changes of their behaviors. Societies have
to accept the technological changes like Facebook, believing that is a way of socialization
and communication not for destruction of their culture. This might be only possible in
the presence of Facebook control.

29
REFERENCE
Beach, W. (1991) Ethical education in our public schools: Crisis and opportunity
Clearing House from www.ca4h.org/files/1334.pdf on 14/09/2012 17:47:00
Browne, B. A. (1998). Gender stereotypes in advertising on children’s television in the
1990s: a cross-national analysis. Journal of Advertising from
www.idjrb.com/articlepdf/idjrb8n5.pdf on 09/10/2012 11:17:00
Fodeman D. & Monroe M. (2009) The Impact of Facebook on Our Students, article
targets Facebook users from www.nais.org on 11/09/2012 09:20:00
Graves, S. B. (1999). Television and prejudice reduction: when does television as a
vicarious experience make a difference? Journal of Social Issues from
www.uned.es/472074/papers/Gomez on 20/10/2012 15:16:00
Halman, L. (1995). Is there a moral decline? A cross-national inquiry into morality in
contemporary society. International Social Science Journal from
www.ca4h.org/files/1334.pdf on 14/09/2012 18:20:00
Pechmann, C. and Shih, C. (1999). Smoking scenes in movies and antismoking
advertisements before movies: effects on youth. Journal of Marketing from
www.partnershipforbetterhealthanokacounty.com/.../uploads on 23/10/2012 22;
02:00
Saffer, H. & Dave, D. (2003). Alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption by
adolescents from www.nber.org/reporter/winter04/saffer.html - 38k on
28/11/2012 12:13:00

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Sinha, D. N. (2005). Gutka advertisement and smokeless tobacco use by adolescents in
Sikkim, India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2784621 08/11/2012 23:01:00
Thurs Hub Pages (2011) negative effects of Facebook addiction from
www.thurs.hubpages.com › ... › Social Networking › Facebook on 13/10/2012
21:37:00
Zuckerman, M.B. (1994,). Where have our values gone? U.S. News & World Report
Coles, R. (1997). The moral intelligence of children: How to raise a moral child. New
York: Dutton/Plume.
Rosen, L. D. (2011). Effects of Facebook on Teenagers: Positive and Negative from
www.ktrapp.hubpages.com › ... › Health › Mental Health on 12/09/2012 21:28:00
Shawna.S (2009) Reasons Why You Should Join Facebook from voices.yahoo.com/10-
reasons-why-join-facebook-3984950.html - 40k on 29/08/2012 13:42:00
Kothari, C.R (2004), research methodology; methods and techniques, New Delhi.
Damesh printer’s education, SAGE publication. California.
SAUT, (2010-2011), prospectus; St. Augustine university of Tanzania
Stephen F. D. Fostering Moral Behavior in Children from
www.foreverfamilies.byu.edu/Article.aspx%3Fa%3D31 on 15/04/2012 09:28:00
Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary7th edition
www.wisegeek.com data retrieved on 21st
Aug. 2012
www.foreverfamilies.byu.ed/article.aspx data retrieved on 08th
Aug.2012

31
APPENDIX I
Interview Guideline
1) For how long you use Facebook?
2) What inspire you to use Facebook?
3) Can Facebook change a person?
4) How can Facebook changes’ you?
5) Why are you still using Facebook?

32
APPENDIX II
Mwongozo wa Dodoso
1) Una muda gani toka uanze kutumia mtandao wa Facebook?
2) Ni nini kilikushawishi wewe kutumia Facebook?
3) Facebook inaweza kumbadilisha mtu kitabia?
4) Je Facebook imekubadilishaje wewe kitabia?
5) Kwa nini bado unatumia Facebook?

Laurian Victor on , "The Impact of Facebook Usage on SAUT Youth Moral Behavior"

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