How does Social Media Affect the Psychological Well-Being of High School Students Attending Jose Marti MAST 6-12 Academy?

Abstract

Social media is arguably the most influential force the 21st century has to offer more than the economy, politics, or anything in between; social media has greatly influenced everyone more than once. With a network of interconnected people so large over multiple platforms the force social media exerts over people has never been greater than now; social media has become the place where people share their opinions with the world for others to read, see, and hear. One example of its influence is the public perception on Covid-19, it increased the general fear of it and also decreased mental health among several users of social media; panic mostly spread among younger users, who expressed their concerns over social media (Ahmad & Murad, 2020). While social media applications have a positive influence, they also have a negative influence on their users, especially teenagers. A study conducted by Dr. Ghulam Shabir, Chairman of the Department of Media Studies at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, found that out of 279 participants, 139 agreed and 85 strongly agreed that social media has a bad influence on the participants; however, they also found that 110 of the agreed and 63 strongly agreed that social media positively influenced them (2014). With many children trying to find who they are, this study stands to find whether social media has a positive or negative effect over the psychological well-being of students in Jose Marti Mast 6-12 Academy.