Articles

The Effect of Caffeine Consumption on Teenager’s Mental Health in Bangkok, Thailand

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Nowadays, caffeinated drinks play a significant role not only for adults but also for teenagers. Some teenagers believe that it will help them with their school tasks, such as exams, projects, and more. Many research projects have also claimed that caffeine can help people become more energized and less tired [10]. Along with mental health, indicating that it is important, it is vital to maintain good mental health since it can make a huge impact on our daily lives [7]. We are curious about the relationship between caffeine consumption and teenagers’ mental health. So we decided to conduct a survey on teenagers ages 13-18. The data was collected online using Google Form and by sending questionnaires about the effect of caffeine consumption on teenager’s mental health in Bangkok, Thailand. We have gathered a total of 150 responses from students in grades between 7 and 12 mostly from Bangkok. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 29 was used for data analysis. The results have shown that there is a slight significant effect of caffeinated drinks on teenager’s mental health, which involves the times of the day teenagers prefer to drink caffeinated drinks (p-value = 0.001). Despite the consumption period,  the types of caffeinated drinks teenagers prefer (p-value = 0.163) and the participant’s grade level (p-value = 0.448) may have also affected adolescents too. Moreover, the result of this research came out that caffeinated drinks have nearly no effect on teenager’s mental health, but they do have an effect specifically on the period of time that the teenagers consume caffeinated drinks. From our data, we can conclude that caffeinated drinks, especially tea, will significantly affect teenagers’ mental health if consumed after lunch (afternoon). This research will help raise awareness on the effect of caffeinated drinks on teenagers ages 13-18 on their mental health and also provides us with more information for further research.

The Impact of Using Social Media on the Mental Health of Adolescents

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Social media usage has exponentially risen over the past decade, with about 4.26 billion social media users in 2021, and it is projected to increase to almost 6 billion by 2027. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, leading to a significant increase in social media usage. However, excessive social media use may lead to negative impacts on mental health, such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation. This research aims to investigate the impact of social media on the mental health of Thai teenagers, identify potential correlations between social media use and mental health outcomes, and develop strategies to mitigate the negative effects of social media on mental health. The questionnaires gather the participants’ general information, the effects of utilizing social media, and the social media events that affect their mental health. With a total of 272 respondents, a survey distributed online to high school students from March 26 to May 6 was randomly chosen. According to our study, the type of school has a significant effect on the student’s mental health. This is due to the fact that different high school students use social media in different ways and experience different effects on their mental health in both positive and negative ways. Statistics also reveal that youths in Thailand are more likely to be addicted to social media and use a variety of social media platforms. This study could serve as a guideline for further studies that specifically focus on the kinds of social media platforms used by adolescents and the kinds of content they consume.