Social Media Excessive Use and COVID-19 Related Stress in Young Adults

Authors

  • Ahmad Bilal Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Psychology, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3229-6534
  • Huma Fatima BS (Hons) Scholar, Dept of Applied Psychology The Islamia University of Bahawalpur
  • Aqsa Usman BS (Hons) Scholar, Dept of Applied Psychology The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52700/assap.v3i2.113

Abstract

Social media use significantly increased during the novel pandemic. The problems of infodemic associated with uncontrolled social media usage added to COVID-19 related stress in young adults. This study was aimed at finding the relationship between problematic social media usage, COVID-19 related stress and time spent on social media. A cross-sectional research design with a survey method was applied to the population of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The data of 412 participants of age 18 to 35 (38% males and 62% females) was analyzed for results. Statistical analysis showed that COVID-19 related stress is positively and significantly (r =0.40, p < .01) associated with social media excessive use but not with the time spent on social media. The R2 value of 0.16 revealed that the predictor variable (social media excessive use) explained 16% variance in the outcome variable (COVID-19 related stress) with F (1, 410) = 76.79, p < .001. The study confirms the negative effects of excessive social media consumption on mental health during the pandemic. The benefits of findings for policymakers, government and health psychologists are discussed.

Published

2022-12-29