Susan Richey

Author: Susan Richey | Major: Human Development and Family Science | Semester: Spring 2025

My name is Susan Richey and I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS) within the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. I am researching the relationship between active and passive screen media design, engagement, and user motivation, as well as its impact on mental health in emerging adults. My mentor, Amanda Terrell, teaches within the HDFS program. My research began in Spring 2025, and I am excited to continue researching in Fall 2025 as I begin to work with focus groups.

As a future mental health professional, I knew that I wanted my research to focus on mental well-being. As an emerging adult, I also knew that cellphones, screens, and social media have played a prominent role in my age group’s development. My topic examines the relationship between active and passive screen media design, engagement, user motivation, and its impact on mental health in emerging adults. I found my mentor through Human Development classes, and we shared common interests in adolescent and emerging adult health, specifically relating to digital landscapes.

I have learned so much throughout this process, from concepts of human development to research methods. My favorites have been discovering the concept of emerging adulthood, the social constructivist framework, and the different types of media interaction. Arnett’s (2000) developmental theory of emerging adulthood identifies the significance of this unique, independent, and personalized life stage beginning in late teens through the twenties. Other theories, such as those by Erik Erikson, Daniel Levinson, and Kenneth Keniston, have similarly presented adolescence and emerging adulthood as a distinct developmental time. This theory is important because the lifestyle of late teens through their twenties looks different today, even compared to our generation’s parents and their experiences. Additionally, I had never considered that there were different types of media interaction, but this idea made so much sense once I read about it. Active screen time refers to high user interaction and increased engagement, compared to passive consumption that requires little user involvement. I am excited to further research how active and passive platform designs, as well as active and passive user behaviors, impact mental health. I also learned about the social constructivist framework, where individuals construct significance as they interact with the world they are understanding (Creswell, 2003). As a Human Development and Family Science major, I would be lying if I said I didn’t nerd out about this!

This process has taught me to trust myself, my abilities, and the overall research process. While my previous experiences with research left me frustrated and unconfident, this time spent working on my thesis has been encouraging and inspiring. It has reignited my desire to ask questions, be curious, and contribute to the field of mental health. My supportive professors have helped me learn to value my ideas, and one that I am particularly excited about is the model I created to evaluate intended platform engagement versus actual user engagement. This quadrant-chart scatterplot will allow focus groups to visually evaluate themselves and their media interactions.

My research topic has changed its trajectory throughout the process. While I knew I wanted to evaluate social media and mental health, I wanted to contribute something new to the field. I originally wanted to evaluate how binge-watching and the genre of media consumed affected mood and mental health, but I wanted something deeper than that. Then I shifted towards our motivation behind media usage, because many of us know that social media has negative effects on us but choose to doom scroll past our bedtime or compare ourselves to others on our feeds. My topic finally evolved to identify discrepancies between a platform’s intended use, whether active or passive, how and why emerging adult users choose to engage, and the impact of the design, engagement, and motivation on users’ mental health. My research canvasses multiple screen media platforms, varying from Netflix to Snapchat among others. I also struggled to decide how I would evaluate the intended use of platforms, but with the help of my mentor and committee, we came up with the idea to assess each platform with a survey that determines its active and passive qualities by assessing its features.

My mentor was incredibly helpful and supportive as I began this process. She encouraged me to pick any topic I felt passionate about, letting me have creative freedom while offering guidance and direction with her experience. Each of our meetings felt like a conversation, not a lecture or an obligation, and we walked away feeling energized and excited. Dr. Whitehead was also an extremely helpful resource. Her class, Honors Proposal Development and Research Methods, provided me with meaningful, quality feedback that challenged me to push myself and ask questions. She was always willing to go above and beyond for her students, and it truly makes a difference! Her course gave me confidence and clarity for this process, and I am grateful for her guidance.

Now that I have significantly refined my research topic, as well as established suitable methods, solidified a course of action, and addressed potential setbacks, the next steps for my research are gathering participants and conducting the research itself. I am excited to research more about screen media in hopes it can work with our society, not against it.