Articles

Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Mental Health from a Psychological Perspective: A Review of the Contemporary Literature

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Social media has become deeply embedded in society, with most individuals spending several hours on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter each day. While social media provides opportunities for connection, entertainment, and information, increasing research indicates use can negatively impact mental health. This paper reviews literature examining the psychological effects of social media on wellbeing. Key areas explored include social comparison and its links to depression and anxiety, exposure to idealized self-representation and impacts on body image, online harassment and cyberbullying, associations between social media addiction and mental distress, fear of missing out (FOMO), and sleep issues. The complex bi-directional relationship between social media and mental health is discussed, acknowledging both potential benefits and drawbacks. Recommendations are provided for individuals aiming to use social media in a psychologically healthy way, as well as areas needing further research. Ultimately, moderate usage paired with conscious digital habits may allow society to harness social media’s upsides while minimizing its risks to well-being.

The Relationship between Intensity of Gadget Use with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Students in Metro, Lampung, Indonesia

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The number of gadget users (smartphones) globally is increasing yearly. Gadgets are also used as learning media and entertainment for students, so the possibility of negative impacts from using gadgets cannot be avoided. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the intensity of gadget use and depression, anxiety, and stress in students. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 461 students recruited using a multistage random sampling technique, from six public high schools (SMAN) in Metro, Lampung, Indonesia, from February to May 2023. The instruments used were the gadget usage intensity questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)—analysis with a Chi-Square correlation test. The results of the study show that there is a significant relationship between the intensity of gadget use and depression (ρ-value < 0.001), anxiety (ρ-value < 0.001), and stress (ρ-value < 0.001). This study concludes that the intensity of using gadgets is related to depression, anxiety and stress in high school students in Metro City, Lampung, Indonesia. It is recommended that schools carry out outreach and education to students to be wiser in using gadgets and to follow up on respondents who experience health problems with depression, anxiety, and stress by coordinating with parents so that they can receive further treatment at health care facilities.

A Survey on the Perceived Impact of the COVID 19 Pandemic on Dental Undergraduate Students in the North Gujarat Region, India

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Aim: This study aimed to assess and compare the perceived impact of covid 19 pandemic on dental undergraduate students in the north Gujarat region.

Objective: To assess & compare the percentage difference in impact of covid 19 on dental undergraduate students based on their academic year.

Material and method: This questionnaire study utilized a validated 28 questions survey. The questionnaire distributed to 200 dental undergraduate students. The questions were divided into categories : demographic and academic information, study career, knowledge about covid 19 infection, risk perception and psychological reactions. The survey was administered through online google form and all the responses kept confidential. The impact of covid 19 on students were recorded.

Result: The questionnaire was completed by 160 students (80%). Responses were from all the academic years in which majority of respondents were interns. Most of the students experienced difficulties in clinical training during and post COVID-19 emergency due to lack of patients’ OPD and reduced training hours. For over half of them online teaching could  replace traditional face-to-face lessons. The negative impact on the study career was particularly high by interns. The level of concern of contracting COVID-19 during clinical activities were higher among students. Most of the students showed symptoms related to high to moderate levels of fear and anxiety. Conclusion: The data showed that the students perceived the COVID-19 pandemic as a negative impact on their study career and their future practice with higher impact on interns compared to other years. Most of the students showed  high to moderate levels of fear and anxiety related to effect of pandemic on their study career. This data could help universities to implement communication modalities to reduce students’ fear and anxiety.

A Questionnaire Based Study to Evaluate the Prevalence of Mental Stress among Undergraduates in an Engineering College in South Gujarat, India

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Background: In the last few years, there has been an increase in mental stress and consequently mental illness and suicide rates worldwide. Young adults entering college are one of the most vulnerable population due to the major transition from teenage to adulthood. This study evaluates the prevalence of mental stress among the engineering college students.

Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey conducted in an engineering college after obtaining approval from the institutional ethical board and the Dean of the college. The questionnaire was distributed online via Google form links using a non-probability sampling approach. The questionnaire contained two parts – first part contained questions regarding the demographic details of the students and the second part contained ten multiple-choice questions to assess the mental health of students. The questions were inspired from the questionnaires available online from previous studies on similar topics as well as by patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) which is used for screening and diagnosing individuals with anxiety, stress and depression. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze and report results.

Results: A total of 246 completely filled questionnaires were evaluated. The age range of study population was from 17 to 26 years with mean age being 20.85 ± 3.16 years. 61.79% were male. Approximately half of the study population showed some symptoms of mental stress and depression such as little interest in doing things, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, change in eating habits and being fidgety or slow. 48.78% students felt bad about themselves and 19.51% had thoughts of self-harm several days a week. Majority of the students believed that mental health awareness programs will be beneficial for their psychological well-being.

Conclusion: The prevalence of stress among the engineering college students was quite high. Various measures such as awareness, counseling, and mentorship program, as well as reducing their academic burden may help them to cope with stress in a better way.

Social Media Addiction Effects on Well-Being among Tertiary School Graders an Empirical Study in Viaskhapatnam

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Psychological well-being has become one of the crucial aspects of modern psychology. It has attracted not only psychologists but also medical practitioners in compliance with the mental health, emotions, depression, stress, etc. of the individual’s academic and social life. Right from the existence of behavioral sciences, efforts have been made by researchers of different disciplines to get a deep understanding of the various and different dimensions and correlates of psychological well-being. Social media platforms are an online association site where individuals cooperate to construct, offer and change their thought and remarks concerning any data. Over the past decade, online long distance social networking communication has brought significant changes in the way people communicate and collaborate.

The study aimed to determine the impact of social media’s early health issues such as student depression and anxiety.

A descriptive study was conducted among Tertiary level educated students in Visakhapatnam with a sample of 130 respondents. It included questions on demographical information, the pattern of social networking usage, social relationship, and health effects.

Results: Present study results found that there is a significant association between time spent on social media and the number of social networking apps. There is a positive correlation between Depression feelings with serious active on social networking apps than in real life.

Conclusion: This study concludes that more usage of social networking sites is affecting the Tertiary school student’s well-being such as depression and anxiety.

Sleeping Disorders as a Symptom of Depression

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Recently, people pay less attention to their sleep since there are a lot of stimulants to keep them awake more than sleeping. According to many reports, the results have shown that many are facing a serious condition, which is sleeping disorder.  This condition is related to sleep and affects the ability to sleep well on a regular basis. It is a serious problem that if left untreated, the condition can lead to many more severe problems. There is a significant correlation between sleeping disorder and depression which is called “bidirectional relationship”. The studies show that sleeping disorders are a “symptom” of almost all types of depression such as Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder and so forth. On the other hand, depression itself can also be a cause of sleeping disorders. In addition, the studies show chronic sleep deprivation can cause the changes in Serotonin, which is the brain’s neurotransmitter, and will have a chance to lead to depression greater than acute sleep deprivation. As a result, people should raise awareness in sleeping and usually examine their sleep. To have less chance of depression, a person requires a healthy sleep period and effective care.