THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ISE ON ADOLESCENT DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY.

Abstract

Teenage life is saturated by social media, which do provide teens with instantaneous connection with one another but also are proving to undermine well-being. It has also been associated with depression, anxiety and sleep problems when used too liberally. Better understanding of these links is critical to inform preventative strategies and promote responsible digital media use in vulnerable youth.

Objectives: to explore the association between SMU and depression and anxiety among adolescents, focusing on sociodemographic factors that are widely associated with mental health consequences.

Study Design: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Place and Duration of study: Department of psychiatry Nowshera Medical College One year.

from Jan 2024 to june 2024

Methods This cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, Nowshera Medical College, over a one-year period from January 2024 to June 2024, and included Colorado adolescents aged 13–19 years. Validated instruments, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, were used to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms. Social media use was categorized by average daily duration. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 with chi-square and independent t-tests; significance was set at p<0.05. High social media use (>3 h/day) was associated with higher depression (48% vs. 21%; p=0.01) and anxiety (54% vs. 26%; p=0.02). Females demonstrated higher mean depression scores than males (12.4 ± 3.6 vs. 10.1 ± 3.2; p=0.04).

Conclusions: The study shows that there is a correlation between social media use by youth and feelings of anxiety and depression. The researchers also show that having a social media account and a particular style of using it is correlated with a certain level of well-being. Repressive approaches aimed at promoting e-literacy and a realistic understanding of the ratio of the online and offline time could also alleviate the psychological strain of digital abuse and better responsiveness to RL-PPSs when RL-PPSs are needed. We still lack the required number of people—parents and educators to policy level decision-makers—who view the repercussions of their work through the prism of mental health.