The Influences Of Social Media On Young Adults' Mental Healt

2 the Influences Of Social Media On Young Adults Mental Healthjailya W

The complex link between social media use and young adult mental health is examined in this research. Social media's extensive influence in today's culture makes it essential to study its effects on mental health, especially in adolescents. This study uses multiple regression to determine whether social media usage predicts depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. This research has significant implications for public health initiatives to promote responsible and healthful social media usage among young individuals.

Hypotheses

The hypothesis examines how social media use affects mental health. Excessive social media usage may harm young people's mental health. Our hypothesis is: Null Hypothesis: Social media will harm mental health. We expect despair, anxiety, and self-esteem to worsen as social media use rises. Alternative Hypothesis: A mediator variable like social comparison or cyberbullying may partially moderate the association between social media use and mental health. Mediator factors may mediate the harmful impacts of social media on mental health.

Results

Multiple regression analysis has shown the relationship between social media use and mental health. It revealed that social media use negatively affects mental health markers such as depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. This implies high social media use leads to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. A Mediation Analysis was also performed to see whether an intermediate variable was crucial to this association. This research found that social media use positively predicted the mediator variable, "social comparison." Significantly, this mediator variable positively correlated with mental health outcomes.

Social comparison is increasingly common among social media users, which might affect their mental health. This mediator variable showed a statistically significant indirect influence of social media use on mental health. This supports the Mediation Hypothesis, implying that social comparison mediates social media's effect on mental health. Thus, social media consumption impacts mental health directly and indirectly via social comparison, confusing the link.

Interpretation

The results show a complicated interaction between social media and young adult mental health. Social media use is initially linked to despair, anxiety, and low self-esteem. However, additional investigation shows that not all of these detrimental impacts are caused by social media use (Longest & Kang, 2022). This research reveals that intermediate variables like social comparison considerably contribute to these negative mental health consequences. Thus, how people use social media and compare themselves to others affects their mental health.

Implications

The study has significant social ramifications. It says public health interventions should go beyond social media restrictions. Instead, these initiatives should address root causes like the social comparisons that cause unfavorable results. Examining and controlling social comparison's influence on self-esteem might help young people have a healthy relationship with social media (Zubair et al., 2023). Digital literacy and mental health awareness must be emphasized in schools. Teaching kids how to use social media properly and keep a healthy self-image is crucial.

Through responsible use features and mental health assistance, social media companies should take on more accountability (Karim et al., 2020). They can make the internet safer by doing so. Encouraging online and offline mental health talks and peer support networks may help people deal with social media's negative consequences. Building supportive networks helps solve digital-age mental health issues. In conclusion, social media use and young adult mental health are closely linked. The data support the direct negative impact of social media on mental health and the intermediate role of social comparison. Public health measures, educational interventions, responsible platform changes, and supportive peer networks are needed to address these findings. These methods may encourage appropriate social media use, improving adolescent mental health.

References

  • Karim, F., Oyewande, A., & Abdalla, L. (2020). Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Cureus, 12(6).
  • Longest, K., & Kang, J.-A. (2022). Social Media, Social Support, and Mental Health of Young Adults During COVID-19. Frontiers in Communication, 7.
  • Zubair, U., Khan, M. K., & Albashari, M. (2023). Link between excessive social media use and psychiatric disorders. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 10.1097/MS9.
  • Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Whaite, E. O., Lin, L., Rosen, D., & Flanagin, A. J. (2017). Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), 1-8.
  • Vannucci, A., Flannery, K. M., & McCauley Oliver, J. (2017). Social media use and anxiety in emerging adults. Journal of Affective Disorders, 207, 163-166.
  • Schäning, V., Hjetland, G. J., Aarø, L. E., & Skogen, J. C. (2020). Social Media Use and Mental Health and Well-Being Among Adolescents – A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
  • Schønning, V., Hjetland, G. J., Aarø, L. E., & Skogen, J. C. (2020). Social Media Use and Mental Health and Well-Being Among Adolescents – A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.
  • Primary source on social media and mental health link. (Year). Journal/Source details.
  • Additional scholarly sources discussing social comparison, cyberbullying, digital literacy, platform responsibility, and mental health interventions.
  • Supporting data from governmental and health organization reports on social media impacts on youth mental health.

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