Social Media’s Relationship to STD Knowledge
Anaiya Cromartie and Ashley Hatcher
Introduction
● Social Media has
transformed into a way to
entertain, gain exposure,
publicize, and gain
knowledge on current
events.
● Now days very few people
use social media as a
platform for health
knowledge particularly
STD knowledge.
Hypothesis
The more HBCU students are engaged
with STD discussion on social media,
the more likely they will get a better
knowledge of STD health.
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
North Carolina A&T State University
Methods
● We posted a survey for participants to
complete anonymously via the Qualtrics
software.
● We utilized a convenience sample to gather
participants (college-age students attending
some form of university preferably an
HBCU).
●
Of the 49 participants 47 people completed
the survey on their knowledge of STD health
and social media engagement (to what extent
they use their social media platforms).
● Because we wanted a majority African
American sample we asked participants their
ethnicity. Of the sample surveyed, 43
(91.5%) were black, 2 (4.3) were
Hispanic/Latino, 1 (2.1%) was Caucasian
and 1 (2.1%) was other.
● We proceeded to ask participants what type
of university they attended and if they used
social media before they proceeded to the
rest of the survey (graph not pictured of
which 100% answered yes). Of the sample
42 (89.4%) attend an HBCU, 4 (8.5%) attend
a PWI, and 1 (2.1%) attend another form
college i.e. trade school or community
college.
Results
● Our hypothesis states the more people
interact on social media regarding the STD
discussion the more knowledgeable about
STD health.
● The results suggested that 43 people
answered questions about STDs. With 4.00
being the minimum score they could receive
and 9.00 being the maximum score they
could receive. On average, they got 7.65 (SD
= 1.19).
● When it came to measuring social media
engagement on STD health. The results
suggested that the mean score was 4.65 with
a Standard Deviation of .83.
● The results suggested that the two variables
are not significantly correlated (r = .01, p = .
94).
● Because our results had such a high
significance value, we can imply that our two
forms of measurement do not correlate.
Discussion
● Disclaimer: Due to the complexity of our
research our sample was only conducted using
a percentage of our actual data .Of the 41
questions asked in the survey only around 7
questions per section were used in finding the
results.
● Because our results had such a high
significance value, we can imply that
our two forms of measurement do not
correlate. Which means our hypothesis
was rejected due to the significant value
being so high (.937) compared to a .15
significance value.
● From this, we can conclude that just
because someone is knowledgeable
about STD health does not mean they
engage in its discussion on social media
or even the reverse. Just because
someone is engaged in social media
discussions does not mean they know
much about STD health.
● What can be taken away from this study
is that STD health is a topic that needs
more awareness on social media,
especially in the African American
community.
● With the results of this survey we can
find ways to collaborate with programs
on STD health and bring more
awareness on the topic to social media;
allowing people the space and
opportunity for open discussions and
engagements