Examining the Impact of Social Media Usage on the Mental Health of Youth in India

AbstractThe advent of social media profoundly transformed communication, self-expression, and information dissemination. While these platforms offer numerous benefits, their impact on mental health has become a significant concern. This paper examines the relationship between social media usage and its outcomes and tries to establish the conventional correlation between social media usage and the psychological well-being of youths. Both positive and negative outcomes associated with social media use, such as increased social connectivity and support versus risks like anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem are highlighted. Establishing an opinion pool for issues of common interest is also addressed. This kind of arrangement is certainly useful for creating a system of sanctions for people who have a sense of responsibility towards the community. The objective of this study is an endeavor to examine the magnitude of social networking’s impact. Furthermore, the purpose of taking youth as a sample is that they will decide the future direction of the country and its culture, as the current central policy of the country is heading in that direction, keeping the youth of the country as the focus. The research is based on structured interviews with 150 individuals from different parts of India, aged 16-28. Data collection has been done on different parameters like demographic information and responses related to social media usage, sleep patterns, and mental health indicators. Correlation analyses were performed to identify relationships between social media use, sleep disruption, and distress levels. The research has revealed that a significant proportion of participants engage in social media use at night, with 50% using it before sleep. A notable correlation was observed between social media usage and sleep disruption (r=0.73, p<0.001), as well as a strong association between social media use and feelings of depression and anxiety (r=0.931, p<0.001). Additionally, 84.66% of participants reported experiencing depressive feelings after using social media. The research study has shown that excessive social media use can negatively impact mental health, particularly concerning sleep quality and stress levels. It points out that people need to use social media in moderation to reduce these negative effects and improve overall well-being. Promoting responsible social media habits and teaching digital literacy is essential to help protect the mental health of young people in different parts of India. For future research, it would be beneficial to focus on creating specific programs or strategies to tackle these issues more effectively.