Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health
Rapid growth in social media use among young adults has raised concerns about its possible impact on mental health and wellbeing, particularly among university student populations where the prevalence of mental health issues is also rising. Using qualitative approaches, this study identified the way...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-05-01
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| Series: | Computers in Human Behavior Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958824000319 |
| _version_ | 1797258662769590272 |
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| author | Emma C. Hurley Ian R. Williams Adrian J. Tomyn Lena Sanci |
| author_facet | Emma C. Hurley Ian R. Williams Adrian J. Tomyn Lena Sanci |
| author_sort | Emma C. Hurley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rapid growth in social media use among young adults has raised concerns about its possible impact on mental health and wellbeing, particularly among university student populations where the prevalence of mental health issues is also rising. Using qualitative approaches, this study identified the ways in which social media use may create stress in the lives of Australian university students. Data was drawn from an online health and wellbeing survey undertaken at a large, Australian university. Students were asked about their social media use habits and whether social media creates stress in their lives, with a follow-up question asking them to describe the source of this stress. Participants’ free-text responses were examined using thematic analysis, with 3298 students providing a response for analysis (67.0% female; mean age = 24.5 years). Following data saturation, four main themes and twelve subthemes emerged about the ways that social media use was perceived to cause stress. The main themes identified were negative self-reflection, feeling overwhelmed by constant demands of social media, exposure to negativity, and addiction behaviours. Findings highlight the complex relationship between social media use and mental health among young adults, and may be used to inform development of targeted guidelines for university students on awareness and management of the aspects of SMU that appear to be driving university student distress. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:57:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-73e2b86ad328489898880147cdbc7560 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2451-9588 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:57:06Z |
| publishDate | 2024-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computers in Human Behavior Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-73e2b86ad328489898880147cdbc75602024-03-18T04:34:12ZengElsevierComputers in Human Behavior Reports2451-95882024-05-0114100398Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental healthEmma C. Hurley0Ian R. Williams1Adrian J. Tomyn2Lena Sanci3Department of Geneal Practice and Primary Care, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, AustraliaDepartment of General Practice and Primary Care, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, Australia; Corresponding author.School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Vic, AustraliaDepartment of General Practice and Primay Care, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, AustraliaRapid growth in social media use among young adults has raised concerns about its possible impact on mental health and wellbeing, particularly among university student populations where the prevalence of mental health issues is also rising. Using qualitative approaches, this study identified the ways in which social media use may create stress in the lives of Australian university students. Data was drawn from an online health and wellbeing survey undertaken at a large, Australian university. Students were asked about their social media use habits and whether social media creates stress in their lives, with a follow-up question asking them to describe the source of this stress. Participants’ free-text responses were examined using thematic analysis, with 3298 students providing a response for analysis (67.0% female; mean age = 24.5 years). Following data saturation, four main themes and twelve subthemes emerged about the ways that social media use was perceived to cause stress. The main themes identified were negative self-reflection, feeling overwhelmed by constant demands of social media, exposure to negativity, and addiction behaviours. Findings highlight the complex relationship between social media use and mental health among young adults, and may be used to inform development of targeted guidelines for university students on awareness and management of the aspects of SMU that appear to be driving university student distress.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958824000319Mental healthPsychological distressSocial mediaSocial networkingStressTertiary students |
| spellingShingle | Emma C. Hurley Ian R. Williams Adrian J. Tomyn Lena Sanci Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health Computers in Human Behavior Reports Mental health Psychological distress Social media Social networking Stress Tertiary students |
| title | Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health |
| title_full | Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health |
| title_fullStr | Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health |
| title_short | Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health |
| title_sort | social media use among australian university students understanding links with stress and mental health |
| topic | Mental health Psychological distress Social media Social networking Stress Tertiary students |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958824000319 |
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