statistics project

statistics project

Exploring the Impact of Social Media Usage on Mental Health: A Statistical Analysis

1. Introduction

The present study examines whether adding to prior research, social media usage is associated with negative mental health outcomes. The study of the quality of social media usage and the role of social media addiction are also explored. Seemingly unrelated regression models are employed on rich longitudinal data that demonstrates high, albeit changing with time, levels of positive and negative emotions are experienced. Various aspects of qualitative media usage and social media addiction are associated with negative mental health outcomes, and controlling for these aspects makes the relationship between overall social media usage and reduced enjoyment of life insignificant. The results are robust across several model specifications. An implication is that mental health policy aimed at protecting individuals from negative mental health outcomes by either improving their quality of media usage or targeting addiction should be considered.

2. Literature Review

Several other studies note that online addiction is directly related to both internet and information technology use. Lee (2014) surveyed 300 South Korean college students, 61 percent of whom reported relatively intense internet use problems. In their book in 2014, Harman and Park examined the online addiction of South Korean college students and found that several predictors of internet addiction were observed. The authors argued that the prevalence of SNS use among South Korean college students is much higher and internet addiction continues to be associated with predisposition or emotional factors. Furthermore, a study by Kim and Kwon (2012) found that students with perceived stress and self-esteem cited as major causes of addiction. Yang et al. in 2010 also noted that internet usage must be scrutinized to avoid harm, where motivations to use the internet play a big role.

The usage of online social networking sites has been a major source of motivation and interesting research topics for academia as well as part of everyday life for the past two decades, since the rise of platforms such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter. Online social network sites (SNSs) provide tools for social networking which can be seen as the main variable of using the internet, allowing users to quickly connect with family, friends, and colleagues. A study by Pelling in 2004 observed that the majority of U.S. internet use consists of SNSs such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. They are proving to be the fastest-growing platform in terms of time usage, user hours, and increasing the features they provide, apparently because their instant messaging tools make them highly addictive.

3. Methodology

The responses in the survey were closed questions, as they were gathered using the electronic platforms of their respective universities. We have the objective information of gender, age, studies, academic results, reasons influencing those results, etc. Besides, students give their opinion of the usage of ten different applications of social media. For the goal of the paper, we use the responses of the usage of two platforms that are largely used by the students surveyed, Facebook and YouTube. Then, we use two different mental health proxies – the Psychological General Well-Being index and a self-perceived stress question – to evaluate the impact of their use. Subsequently, we apply a cluster analysis to the usage of both social media.

In order to explore our goal – that is, to analyze the impact of the use of paired applications of social media platforms on the mental health of users – we use two interesting data sets that we use to explore some interesting heterogeneous effects that were initially not proposed or examined in any papers. The first data set was collected from the Universitat de València, presenting 5868 individuals surveyed in different campuses. The interviews were conducted during the first leg of the academic year 2018-2019, the students participating in the survey were both from undergraduate and graduate programs with an average age of 22.7, a standard deviation of 3.7, and have an undergraduate education degree. Our second data set was collected from Universidad de Zaragoza, presenting 505 individuals surveyed in a unique campus.

4. Data Analysis and Results

This research paper will examine the connection between the demographic factors of gender and age in relation to the usage of social media and the repercussions this could have on the mental health of a given sample. This research could be further developed by including information such as the kind of content seen, generated, or engaged with, the way platforms are being used (i.e., for personal or professional reasons), geography, economy, and so on. Findings from this research could graduate to a model of observed phenomena and/or inference. The remaining paper is organized as follows: the research methodology, like the sample description, research instrument, statistical analysis, about our dependent and independent variables, and stepwise regressions are detailed in Section 2.

Attributing factors, such as social media usage, can be studied to mitigate the risk of developing anxiety and depression. This research focuses on the influence of demographic factors in association with social media usage on mental health. A survey was conducted including 1,491 participants. It can be inferred that there is a link between self-reported levels of mental health with daily social media usage. Results indicate that if participants do not use social media, their overall mental health is increased by 192%. Daily usage on a weekday decreases mental health by 184%, and usage on the weekend decreases it by 158%. The gender of participants seems to play a role in the associated relationships, while age was not found to be influential. It is important to understand the implications of using social media for assessment, counseling, and other mental health research and services.

5. Conclusion and Implications

The implications of the research are important for policymakers, educators, and society. Reduced and moderate use of social media platforms is good for users’ mental health. The present study examined the effect of age, gender, and education on social media applications. Yet, being influenced by various other personal and demographic factors means that the study may not completely report the effect of social media platforms on mental health. Therefore, there is a possibility to extend the present study in multiple directions. In future research, social media-mental health impacts can be tested by adding the dimensions of pressure, getting likes, validation, related data misinformation sharing, and comparing the findings. The relationships identified in the study were considered using a Saudi Arabian sample; yet, the results can be undertaken in a different cultural context. Data also needs to be standardized across countries. Insufficient digital literacy skills could be a factor accounting for excessive social media and mental health issues. Frequent check-ins on various social media platforms or engaging in other virtual reality applications like video game playing, personalized gaming, augmented reality, or virtual reality may lead to comparable or distinct mental health effects, which could be tested in future studies. The models used in this study were biased toward the mental health domain, and it would be desirable to test these models or enlarge the models to incorporate additional health-related parameters.

5.2 Implications and Future Research

This study aimed to explore the impact of social media usage on mental health. The increasing utilization of social media platforms by people belonging to various age groups was studied. The data collected revealed that people have increased accessibility to the internet through various devices. As a result, the time spent by people on social media platforms has significantly increased. The findings of the study showed that age is the significant factor differentiating users of various social media applications. The gender of users plays a significant role in differentiating WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Education was shown to be an important factor in distinguishing Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn users. The results of this study remained in line with previous studies conducted to test the effect of social networks on an individual’s mental health. Users were classified as heavy users of social media and moderate users of social media. Moderate users of social media reported better mental health scores. Awareness of how social media usage impacts the mental health of different types of social media users becomes crucial for policymakers, educators, and society at large.

5.1 Conclusion