THE EFFECT OF PROBLEMATIC SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH DEPRESSION AMONG THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OF ASSAM

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of social media use and its relationship with depression among university students. An analysis was carried out to find whether there is a link between excessive use of social media and depression. The study was conducted by purposive sampling of 110 university students aged 18-25 living in the city of Guwahati, India. A quantitative correlational research design was adopted for the study. A questionnaire was developed to obtain Social Media Addiction (SMAS) scores, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores, and demographic information from participants. The study revealed a positive significant correlation between excessive social media use and depression. The results of the Pearson's correlation analysis showed a significant positive association between the scores for social media addiction and depression, with the following values: r =.50, n = 110, p .01. It was determined that
more consideration has to be paid to what social media is doing to each individual user given its increasing widespread use. The style of thinking and how information is grasped is changing as a result of the easy availability of social media's limitless communication and interaction opportunities.