Background: Social media is an online community that shares information and ideas, which involve personal messages. The age between 18 and 34 years is the crucial phase for psychological and emotional development. The current study aimed to assess the impact of social media content on mental health and well-being among students of King Khalid University (KKU).
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students from KKU from February 2020 to December 2020 using five scales.
Results: This study included 385 participants with a mean ± SD age of 22.5 ± 2.6 years. The mean ± SD of Social comparison scale (SCS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWL), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ- 9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) scores were 71 ± 17, 25 ± 6, 22 ± 3, 10 ± 6, and 7 ± 5, respectively. A significant positive correlation between age and RSES scores (R = 0.136, p = 0.008) and a significant negative correlation between age and GAD scores (R = −0.116, p = 0.023) were found. The time spent on social media was significantly correlated with the mean score of SWL (p = 0.001), PHQ-9 (p = 0.001), and GAD (p = 0.04).
Conclusion: The use of social media has a significant negative influence on the mental health of students.
Key words: Impact, social media, students, mental health, Saudi Arabia
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