Impact of Use of Social Media on Adolescent's Mental Health in a Tier 2 City—A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background Social media has been defined as a form of electronic communication that is used for communication and expression of thoughts. It is a boon for the young generation as it has a lot of positive impacts like global connectivity, easy/inexpensive communication, and sharing of information; however, it is associated with serious adverse effects/imprints on the mental health of adolescent's developing brain.Method This was an observational, cross-sectional study on 200 students from two government schools. After obtaining consent from parents and teacher, students were asked to fill a preprinted form containing a 12-point survey questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory for assessment of depression, and a 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (12-item GHQ) for the assessment of common mental health disorders. Obtained data was analyzed among social media users and nonusers.Results The study included 200 adolescents, 84 (42%) were of 11th standard and 116 (58%) were of 12th standard. Eighty-five adolescents (42.5%) were males and 115 (57.5%) were females; median age was 14 years. The mean Beck Depression Inventory score among users was 11.47 +7.54 as compared with 6.702 +6.67 among nonusers, p = 0.0005, significant. The mean 12-item GHQ score among users was 7.631 + 5.37 as compared with 7.05 + 5.79 among nonusers, p = 0.5589, insignificant. About 82.8% students used WhatsApp, 39.8% used Facebook, 40.4% used Instagram, 26.9% used Snapchat, and 17.17% used YouTube.Conclusion Majority of adolescents are using social media nowadays and are found to have various mental health problems in this study. This highlights the importance of awareness among parents, teachers, and adolescent health-care providers.