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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM67251
Volume:
10 |
9 |
Sep 2026
Pages:
1-10
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
School of science
KK MODI UNIVERSITY
Head of Department,
K.K. Modi University
Social media has become a normal part of everyday life, especially for students and young adults. It provides opportunities for communication, entertainment, learning, self-expression and social connection, but frequent or unplanned use may also affect mood, sleep, attention, self-esteem and feelings of social comparison. This study examines how people perceive the relationship between social media use and mental health, with attention to both helpful and challenging effects. A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted using Google Forms. The available dataset contained 15 valid responses from participants belonging to different age groups and occupational backgrounds. Descriptive percentages were used to summarize social media use patterns and responses to mental-health-related statements. The findings show that 60% of respondents spend 2–4 hours per day on social media, while 13.4% reported spending more than four hours daily. Instagram and WhatsApp were the most commonly mentioned platforms. Although 46.7% of participants described the overall effect of social media on their mental health as positive, 53.3% chose a neutral response, suggesting that the relationship is not simply positive or negative. A large majority reported that social media affects their mood, while many also reported difficulty stopping use and feeling left out when seeing activities they were not part of. At the same time, most respondents felt that social media helps them stay connected and can provide emotional support. The study therefore suggests that the mental-health impact of social media depends strongly on how, why and how long it is used. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for mindful and balanced social-media use and highlights the need for larger studies with more diverse samples.
KEYWORDS
This study shows that social media occupies an important place in participants' everyday lives and has a mixed relationship with mental well-being. In the present sample, social media was strongly associated with connection, emotional support, entertainment and learning, but participants also reported mood changes, difficulty stopping, sleep effects and feelings of being left out. The overall responses were not strongly negative: 46.7% described the effect as positive and 53.3% selected neutral. This suggests that participants generally recognize social media as useful while remaining aware of its possible drawbacks. The central message of the study is therefore not that social media should be avoided, but that it should be used intentionally. Healthy digital habits involve knowing why one is opening an app, noticing how content affects one's mood, taking regular breaks, protecting sleep and maintaining meaningful offline relationships. A future study with a larger sample, validated mental-health measures and objective usage data could provide stronger evidence about which patterns of social-media use are most closely related to well-being.
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Publication Date
9/13/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this research work.
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No funding information available for this research.
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