Prevalence Of Social Media Addiction And Its Predictive Role On Mental Health Of Undergraduates In a Nigerian University

Abstract

The present study examined the prevalence of social media addiction and its predictive role on mental health of undergraduates in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. Participants consist of 275 undergraduates from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka where 141 of them are females, and 134 of them are males. A convenience sampling technique was used to selects participants within the campus. Participants’ age ranged from 18 years to 35 years with the mean age of 21.95 years and standard deviation of 2.35. Three research instruments were administered to the participants and they include, the Social Media Addiction Scale – student form (SMAS-SF) developed by Sahin (2018), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) developed by Spitzer et al., (2006), Becks Depression Inventory (BDI) developed by Beck et al., (1996). Hypothesis was tested using the linear regression statistical method. Findings reveal a 43.3% prevalence of social media addiction among undergraduates in Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Additionally, findings show that social media addiction significantly predicts general anxiety among study participants, accounting for 15.5% variation in general anxiety of respondents. Similarly, findings also reveal that social media addiction significantly predicts depression among study participants as it accounts for 16% of variance observed in depression. Based on research findings, the researcher recommends that students should set healthy boundaries with social media use and prioritize offline activities. Additionally, there is need to create awareness about the potential negative effects of excessive social media use on mental health.