PreDiKT‐OnOff: A complex adaptive approach to study the impact of digital social networks on Pakistani students' personal and social life

Abstract

SummaryThe growing popularity of Digital Social Networks (DSNs) among young students demands an introspection of its impact across different dimensions, such as students' academic performance and daily life. The results of the existing literature on the issue vary across societies due to differences in cultural and religious values. This research aims to examine the social network usage among students to analyze their bonding within their social and personal lives. As a case study, we selected Pakistani students as a convenient sample. Multiple social aspects like in‐person interaction of students with their family members, physical activities, religious knowledge, social capital, and level of students' trust in DSNs are considered. Considering the complex nature of the network, a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) approach is used to model the relationships between different nodes of the network. In addition, Linear Regression models are created to predict a node from the combination of different nodes based on their relationships.