Social media use as a coping mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multidimensional perspective on adolescents' well-being

Maftei, Alexandra; Merlici, Ioan-Alex; Dănilă, Oana

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1062688

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Similar findings have been reported by several studies across different countries (Branquinho et al, 2020;Chen F. et al, 2020;Ellis et al, 2020;Asanov et al, 2021). In other studies, it is reported that as a coping mechanism others turned to social media, especially first year students who relied more on these social networks as compared to postgraduate students to help them cope with isolation (Maftei et al, 2023). The availability of supportive structures and systems was found to be critical for building resilience among youth during and post COVID-19 lockdowns (Masten and Motti-Stefanidi, 2020).…”

Section: Figuresupporting

confidence: 84%

Learning and institutional support for youth in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Dukhi,

Sewpaul,

Zungu

et al. 2024

Front. Educ.

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IntroductionAs higher education institutions (HEIs) moved from in-person to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, various challenges were presented. Using a large online survey conducted during the pandemic, this paper investigates the impact of COVID-19 on learning and institutional support offered to students in HEIs in South Africa.MethodsThe study utilized a closed-ended questionnaire on a data-free online platform. The study sample included South African youth aged 18–35 years who were enrolled for some type of educational training or in higher education institutions (including private colleges). Data was benchmarked to the 2019 estimates of the youth population in educational institutions. Descriptive statistics are presented.ResultsAmong the 7011 student participants, the main challenges experienced during lockdown were loss of study time (57.9%), insufficient money for essential personal items for studying (55.8%), loss of social contact (42.2%) and insufficient money for food (40.1%). Overall, 47.0% of students reported having free access to the internet, 49.5% used personal internet or paid for internet access and 3.5% indicated having no access to internet. The majority rated their institution’s eLearning portal as good or excellent, and 23.4% thought their eLearning portal was of poor quality. Significantly fewer (38.1%) technical and vocational education and training (TVET) college students indicated that their institution provided the capacity to conduct virtual learning compared to those enrolled at other types of institutions. Almost two thirds of students (66.2%) from TVET colleges experienced difficulty in communicating with their institutions. Half of the students (49.9%) reported that they had a suitable place to study during lockdown, while 78.6% had regular access to electricity during lockdown. Significantly more TVET and University of Technology students received transport to return home and fee refunds.ConclusionWhile it was encouraging that most HEIs had capacity for online learning and made provision of internet access for students, it was concerning that students who are enrolled at TVET colleges faced more learning challenges during the lockdown. This highlights the inequality in learning support at different types of institutions, and that effective support from HEIs to students during the COVID-19 pandemic was not fully implemented.

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Section: Figuresupporting

confidence: 84%

Learning and institutional support for youth in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Dukhi,

Sewpaul,

Zungu

et al. 2024

Front. Educ.

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“…In particular, it may be that patients with mental disorders use social media and Internet to overcome social isolation and discrimination experienced during in-vivo interactions ( 54 ). Another possible reason is that people with pre-existing mental disorders—already reporting high levels of anxiety and stress symptoms—more frequently searched information online to overcome uncertainty and fears ( 55 ). It would be important to explore the relationship between use of social media and Internet and the levels of personal functioning of people with severe mental disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of social media and infodemic on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the COMET multicentric trial

et al. 2023

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On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the status of pandemic due to the COVID-19 infection. The initial phases of the pandemic were characterized by uncertainty and public fears. In order to cope with such unexpected conditions, people adopted different coping strategies, including search for information, accessing Internet, and using social media. The present study based on the COMET collaborative research network aims to: (1) assess use of Internet and of social media among the Italian general population; (2) explore differences in web usage between people with pre-existing mental disorders and the general population; (3) identify changes over time in social media usage along the phase 1 of the pandemic; (4) identify the clinical, socio-demographic and contextual predictors of excessive use of social media. A significant increase in time spent on Internet, with an average time of 4.8 ± 0.02 h per day, was found in the global sample of 20,720 participants. Compared with the general population, Internet use was significantly higher in people with pre-existing mental disorders (5.2 ± 0.1 h vs. 4.9 ± 0.02; p < 0.005). According to the multivariate logistic regression model, the risk of excessive use of social media and Internet was significantly higher in people with moderate levels of depressive symptoms (OR: 1.26, CI 95%: 0.99 to 1.59, p < 0.0.005); while protective factors were being students (OR: 0.72, CI 95%: 0.53 to 0.96, p < 0.0029) and living in central Italy (OR: 0.46, CI 95%: 0.23 to 0.90, p < 0.002). The evaluation of social media and Internet use by the general population represents a first step for developing specific protective and supportive interventions for the general population, including practical suggestions on how to safely use Internet and social media.

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“…The present study also found that frequent use of social media (> two hours per day) for personal purposes was more common among depressed than non-depressed students. It has been shown that there may be a mutual relationship between depression and using social media because excessive social media use appears to be associated with depressed mood and depressive symptoms predict increased frequency of social media use 37 . According to a systematic review, although there are contradictory results in regard to the effect of time and frequency of using social media platforms on young adults' mental health, most studies have reported a positive and signi cant correlation between social media use and depression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological distress, social media use, and academic performance of medical students: The mediating role of coping style

Shiraly

Roshanfekr

Griffiths

2023

Preprint

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Background Given that social media use is an increasingly widespread activity among university students, more information is needed to evaluate its potential implications for students’ mental health. Objective The present study assessed the effect of interaction between coping style and social media use on psychological distress and academic performance among medical students. Methods A total of 400 undergraduate students from a large Iranian medical university participated in the study. A self-administered survey was used to collect data on demographics, negative emotional states (DASS-21), coping strategies (Brief COPE scale), academic performance (by grade point average) and estimated average time spent on social media per day. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine relationships between the study variables. Results Psychological distress was common among medical students, with depressed mood being the most common (44%). Based on DASS-21 scores, students with higher levels of psychological distress were more likely to be engaged in frequent social media use. More than two hours per day social media use showed positive association with maladaptive coping (p < 0.001) (particularly with self-distraction and behavioral disengagement components) but no significant association with adaptive coping (p = 0.876). No significant associations were found between psychological distress and average time spent on social media use with students’ academic performance. Mediation analysis showed that the effect of social media use on students’ psychological distress was totally mediated by maladaptive coping. Conclusion The findings suggest that social media use influences students’ emotional states indirectly through their coping style. It may act as a maladaptive approach to cope with mental distress mostly via self-distraction and behavior disengagement.

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Social media use as a coping mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multidimensional perspective on adolescents' well-being

Cited by 14 publications

References 72 publications

Learning and institutional support for youth in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Learning and institutional support for youth in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

The effect of social media and infodemic on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the COMET multicentric trial

Psychological distress, social media use, and academic performance of medical students: The mediating role of coping style

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