Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Pediatr. Sep 9, 2024; 13(3): 97501
Published online Sep 9, 2024. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v13.i3.97501
Perception, use of social media, and its impact on the mental health of Indian adolescents: A qualitative study
Vishnu V Taddi, Ravshish K Kohli, Pooja Puri
Vishnu V Taddi, Ravshish K Kohli, Pooja Puri, Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity University, Noida 201313, India
Author contributions: Taddi VV was responsible for study design, information and data collection, and draft writing; Kohli RK was responsible for data collection and draft writing; Puri P was responsible for design, supervision, writing and editing; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: Approval was provided by the Institutional Review board.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was included in the structured questionnaire used for data collection and was a mandatory field that had to be completed in order to submit the form online. All efforts will be made to conceal the identity of participant(s).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Pooja Puri, PhD, Assistant Professor, Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity University, Sector 125, Noida 201313, India. pmalik1@amity.edu
Received: June 1, 2024
Revised: July 18, 2024
Accepted: August 5, 2024
Published online: September 9, 2024
Processing time: 89 Days and 22.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Mental illness is a health challenge faced by adolescents that has grown worse after the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Research on social media and young people’s mental health has recently increased, and numerous studies have examined whether frequent use of social media is linked to issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, frustration, feeling alone, and externalizing problems among adolescents. This influence of social media on adolescents’ lives is clear, with many platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube playing an important role in daily interactions and self-expression. Even though social media offers numerous benefits, such as connectivity and information sharing, excessive usage can have detrimental effects on mental health, particularly among adolescents.

AIM

To study the impact of social media on the mental wellbeing of adolescents, and the associated potential dangers in India.

METHODS

A total of 204 adolescents aged 14 years to 23 years were included in the study. This study explored the intricate relationship between social media usage and adolescent mental health in India. The study employs a cross-sectional survey design to capture a snapshot of adolescent mental health and social media usage patterns. Data collection involved administering structured questionnaires and the analysis utilized quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Excessive use of social media is correlated with increased stress, anxiety, and depression. Adolescents engage in compulsive behaviors such as scrolling in the middle of the night, which negatively impacts their mental and physical health, and leads to significant sleep disruption. Findings from the study aim to provide insights into the current state of adolescent mental health and inform strategies to promote positive wellbeing in the Indian population.

CONCLUSION

The study underscores the need for further research to better understand the complex interplay between social media and adolescent mental health, and need for effective strategies to combat online harassment.

Keywords: Adolescents; Anxiety; Cyberbullying; Depression; Mental health; Social media

Core Tip: Mental illness is one of the health challenges that adolescents face these days, and it has grown worse after the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Research on social media and regarding the metal health of young people has increased recently. Numerous studies have examined whether frequent use of social media is linked to issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, frustration, feeling alone, and externalizing problems among adolescents. The pervasive influence of social media on adolescents’ lives is evident, with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok playing a central role in daily interactions and self-expression. While social media offers numerous benefits, including connectivity and information sharing, excessive usage can have detrimental effects on mental health, particularly among adolescents. This study explores the intricate relationship between social media usage and adolescent mental health in India. The study employs a cross-sectional survey design to capture a snapshot of adolescent mental health and social media usage patterns. Data collection involved administering structured questionnaires and the analysis utilized quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics. Findings from the study aim to provide insights into the current state of adolescent mental health and inform strategies to promote positive wellbeing in this population. Additionally, the study underscores the need for further research to better understand the complex interplay between social media and adolescent mental health.