The Impact Of Social Media On Psychological Well-Being Among University Students Of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Almost, there are 2.5 billion social media users in the world with 68.3% of users active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Social media use is turning into addictive behavior that might be prompting a decrease in other social activities, exercises, studies/work/job, relational connections, and mental prosperity. The objectives of this study are to identify the pattern of social media use among university students of Karachi and to determine the effect of the addictive use of social media on the psychological well-being of university students.

Methodology: Cross-sectional survey was carried out on a sample of 353 university Students of the business management department of SZABIST, University, Karachi, Pakistan. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling technique in which questionnaires were sent through a link to the targeted population. The questionnaire included information on demographics, social media use, quality of life, and sleep disturbance, and a section on standard tools for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress [DASS-21]. The data were analyzed by using Excel and SPSS.

Results: Most study participants were male 231 (65.4%), 223 (63.2%) were in their final year and 186 (52.7%) were in the BBA program. The majority used WhatsApp 336 (95.2%), followed by Facebook used by 276 (78.2%), Instagram 253 (71.7%), Twitter 145 (41.1.%), and Games 131 (37.1%). A mean score of 14.76 indicated “extremely severe” was suffering from depression, a 13.77 mean score indicated “extremely severe” of the total participants had anxiety, and a 15.14 mean score indicated “Severe” was suffering from stress.

Conclusion: Our study showed a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress among university students. It is also observed that anxiety, stress, depression, and disturbance in sleep quality are influenced by students’ use of various social media platforms.