Exploring the Impa ct of social Media use on Mental Health among college students Duringcovid-19

Abstract

The current study aimed to explore the effect of social media use on mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression, relationship satisfaction) and academic achievement during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, important demographic variables (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status) were examined as important to the current study. I hypothesized that self- reported social media usage during the Covid-19 pandemic would have a statistically significant impact on student mental health and academic achievement. Specifically, I aimed to determine if social media usage positively or negatively impacted the academic achievement and mental health of college students during the Covid-19 pandemic. To test the hypothesis, a sample of 130 college students (at least 18 years of age) was recruited, but out of the 130 respondents, only 107 responses were used. College students were recruited using the Augusta University research pool, SONA, in addition to social media and email listservs. Participants completed an online survey using the Qualtrics Survey Platform. The survey included a demographic questionnaire, measures of mental health outcome (e.g., anxiety, depression, relationship satisfaction), Covid-19 questionnaire, self-report of academic achievement, and social media usage questionnaire. Survey responses were collected confidentially. Statistical analyses followed data screening and cleaning, and included correlational analyses, regression modeling, multivariate analyses, and examination of mean differences based on demographic variables. The study's objective was to focus on the role social media consumption continues to have on the mental health and academic achievement of college students during the Covid-19 pandemic.