ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON MENTAL HEALTH

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Social media use is an important part of daily life. Its use is particularly widespread among young people including university undergraduates and can have positive or negative impacts on the mental health status of individuals. University undergraduates form an important part of the economic capital of every society and their mental health status is integral to the progress of any nation. Relatively little is known about the prevalence of mental health disorders among them and their association with social media use. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we sought to ascertain the knowledge and attitude of undergraduates at the University of Benin towards social media use, the prevalence of social media use and the types of social media platforms commonly used by them. We also sought to determine their mental health status and the effects that social media use can have on them. We provided a general review of the literature on the knowledge, attitude towards, and prevalence of social media use, the mental health status of university undergraduates and the psychological effects of social media use. METHODOLOGY:A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The study was conducted from July 2021 to June 2023 among undergraduates at the University of Benin. A multi stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents in this study. The sample size was calculated using Cochran’s formula for descriptive studies. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics and Research Committee, University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The BSMAS and K10 were used to assess social media addiction and mental health status respectively. Data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 25.0 and the level of significance was set at p <0.05. Data was presented using prose, frequency tables and graphs.