The effect of social media use on psychological wellbeing among students in a medical school
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20220256Keywords:
Social-media, Screen time, Psychological well-being, Adolescent health, Medical studentsAbstract
Background: These days, mobile technology plays a key role in influencing the impact of social media and screen time. The sheer number of hours spent on social media and how potentially harmful it is for students' psychological well-being; little research has been done on the subject. The research aims at finding out how social media use impacts the mental health of medical college students.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 553 students from January to June 2021 using purposive sampling. Rescue time mobile applications, SNSQ, and PWB scale were used to collect data. The average screen time was measured in minutes, and descriptive statistics were analyzed. A p=0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A total of 553 medical students participated in this study. There were 547 (98.6%) students use smartphones, the average internet cost was 282.5±167.1 rupees Maximum number of study participants is fond of using WhatsApp at regular intervals in a day 3.17±SD (0.9), followed by Instagram 2.45±SD (1.2). Social media usage screen time in minutes was observed for a week and it was found that around 123 participants (22%) spent more time, i.e., >3000 minutes, which is severe according to Munnaji et al.
Conclusions: Our research showed that screen time almost always exceeded the permissible limit, but it had little effect on psychological well-being. Managing excessive screen time is important. Limiting it is ideal. Parents and students need to be educated and restricted from using screens and social media.
References
Social Media Reports-Social Stats. Internet World Stats. Available at: https://www.internet-worldstats.com/social.htm. Accessed May 12, 2021.
Internet usage in India-Statistics and Facts 2020. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/ 2157/internet-usage-in-India/. Accessed on 3 April 2021.
Masthi N. Comparative Study on Social Media Usage and Health Status among Students Studying in Pre-University Colleges of Urban Bengaluru. Indian J Comm Med. 2018;43:3.
Bhaskara N, Nandanur B, Chakraborty A, Ghosh S. The effect of social media usage on the mental well-being of medical college students in Bangalore, Karnataka. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2020;9(11):5731.
Gladius JH, Sowmiya K, Vidya DC, Archana LPA, William RF, William RF. A study of mobile phone usage on sleep disturbance, stress and academic performance among medical students in Tamil Nadu. Int J Community Med Public Heal. 2017;5(1):365.
Manjunatha S. The Usage of Social Networking sites Among the College Students in India. Int Res J Soc Sci. 2013;2(5):15-21.
Singh MM, Amiri M, Sabbarwal S. Social media usage: positive and negative effects on the life style of Indian youth. Iran J Soc Sci Humanit Res UCT J Soc Scien Human Res. 2017;5(3):123-7.
Al-Dwaikat TN, Aldalaykeh M, Ta’an W, Rababa M. The relationship between social networking sites usage and psychological distress among undergraduate students during COVID-19 lockdown. Heliyon. 2020;6(12):e05695.
Munnaji VM. A cross sectional study on social media usage and health status among under graduate medical students studying in Government medical college Telangana. Int J Community Med Public Heal. 2019;6(7):2959.
Ali I, Danaee M, Firdaus A. Social networking sites usage and needs scale (Snsun): A new instrument for measuring social networking sites’ usage patterns and needs. J Inf Telecommun. 2020;4(2):151-74.
Duration A, Level R, Format A, Autonomy T, Mastery TE, Growth TP et al. Psychological wellbeing (18 items). 2006;(2010):2004-6.
Prabhakararao S. Overuse of Social media Affects the Mental Health of Adolescents and Early Youth. Int J Indian Psychol. 2016;3:2.
Sharma A, Sharma R. Internet addiction and psychological well-being among college students: A cross-sectional study from Central India. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2018;7(1):147.
Ostic D, Qalati SA, Barbosa B, Shah SMM, Galvan Vela E, Herzallah AM, et al. Effects of social media use on psychological well-being: a mediated model. Front Psychol. 2021;12.
Dhir A, Yossatorn Y, Kaur P, Chen S. Online social media fatigue and psychological wellbeing-A study of compulsive use, fear of missing out, fatigue, anxiety and depression. Int J Info Manage. 2018;40(40):141-52.
Lowe-Calverley E, Pontes HM. Challenging the concept of smartphone addiction: an empirical pilot study of smartphone usage patterns and psychological well-being. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Network. 2020;23(8):550-6.
Choi DH, Noh GY. The influence of social media use on attitude toward suicide through psychological well-being, social isolation, and social support. Informat Communicat Soc. 2019;1-17.
Tariq K, Tariq R, Hussain A, Shahid M. Smartphone usage and its applications among school going children (5-16 years) in Lahore, Pakistan. J Ecophysiol Occupation Health. 2018;18(1-2):52-8.
Orben A. Teenagers, screens and social media: a narrative review of reviews and key studies. Soc Psychiat Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2020.
Bilgin O, Taş İ. Effects of perceived social support and psychological resilience on social media addiction among university students. Universal J Education Res. 2018;6(4):751-8.
