Social Media Use and its impact on mental health among adolescents: A cross sectional study of Kathmandu
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Numerous studies have highlighted the link between excessive social media use and negative mental health outcomes. Purpose: to identify the impact of use of social media among adolescents’ studying in secondary schools of Kathmandu. Methods: Cross sectional study design was used to identify the impact of use of social media among adolescents’ studying in three secondary schools of Kathmandu. Students of aged 13 to 17 studying in class 8, 9 and 10 who consented to participated and available during time of data collection were selected purposively with the sample size of 327. Self-administered questionnaire developed on extensive literature reviewed consisting of socio-demographic information and social media use information in part one, impact of social media usage on mental health outcome in part two and also part three consisted of standard tool of Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Review Committee (IRC), YHSA (2079-080-281). Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were calculated for descriptive statistics as well as the Chi-square test was used for inferential statistical analysis of data using SPSS version 26.0. Findings: Among 327 respondents participated, more than half were between 13-15 years with almost same percentage of male and female. Participants (43.4%) favour Facebook and 49.5% begin using social media at ages 9-12 years. More than half of the respondents (52.3%) use social media for 1-3 hours, while 34.6% use it for more than 4-6 hours. This study resulted half of the respondents (50.8%) had minimal anxiety, while 30.6% were experiencing mild anxiety. There has a significant relationship between the duration of social media use and sleep alteration, disruption of morning activities, change in behaviour, distraction in work or study, portrayer in certain image and anxiety among secondary level students in Kathmandu at p-value <0.05. Research Limitation/Practical Implication: These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of excessive social media usage on adolescent mental health. Originality/Value: This study explore the association between social media use and its impact in mental health aspects which includes alteration in sleeping patterns, disruption in regular morning activities, distraction in work or study, change in behavior, media portray of image, experience of cyber bullying and anxiety in Nepali secondary level students.
DOI: 10.56580/geomedi50
Authors: Alisha Rijal, Pramila Thapa, Apekshya Sapkota, Sita Rijal
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405829531