Impact of Social Media Addiction on Mental Health: Mediating Role of Emotional Dependency and Self Esteem

Abstract

Social media forms an essential part of our life these days especially for the youth but its excessive use may negatively affect one?s psychological well-being. The aim of the present research is to explore social media addiction among students. This study will also review the impact of social media on society. A descriptive cross-sectional design is employed among 200 regular users of social media by convenience sampling. Data collection occurred via a structured questionnaire and frequency and percentage analysis was employed. Results also show that 81.0% experience moderate-to-high addiction. Thus, it can be said that 47.0% have moderate and 34.0% have high levels of social media addiction. In terms of mental health, 34.0% experienced moderate psychological distress, 28.0% mild distress, and 17.0% severe distress, whereas only 21.0% enjoyed good mental health. Emotional dependency is present to a moderate degree in 460 of the respondents and high in 320. Further in 310 of the respondents, self-esteem is low. Findings suggest a relatively high level of social media addiction and psychological distress, with emotional dependence and self-esteem significant psychological factors. The findings of the research stressed the need for proper utilization of social media, healthy emotional modelling, and better self-esteem to facilitate the mental health of young adults.