Social Media as a Danger to Mental Health: The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Anxiety Among Selected College Students

Abstract

In 2022, the Philippines ranked second on the list of nations whose citizens spend the most time on the internet and social media. A growing number of studies have found that social media use is positively associated with anxiety. This study sought to verify this among a selected group of college students. An equal number of male and female volunteers from a university in Manila and who are social media users were the participants of this study. The Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents and the GAD-7 test by Pfizer were administered among the respondents. The findings revealed a low positive relationship between social media use and anxiety. Keywords: social media, social media engagement scale, anxiety, GAD-7