ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND DEPRESSION WITH DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AMONG NURSING STUDENTS OF A PRIVATE SECTOR UNIVERSITY, KARACHI

Abstract

Objective: Social media usage has been significantly increased in the twenty-first century. Social media causes different health-related issues and academic decline among students. This study aims to assess the level of social media use and depression and to observe the association between social media use, depression and demographic variables among nursing students. Methodology: A cross-sectional comparative study was performed on 120 nursing students of Sohail University, Karachi. Ethical permission was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee, at Sohail University. Descriptive statistics was performed on demographic variables. Chi-Square was performed to check the association between social media use, depression and demographic variables. Results: The majority of the nursing undergraduates (55.0%) were using social media from 0-4 hours. Most (44.2%) participants have moderate to extreme levels of depression. We found age, marital status, study program and years of study significantly associated with social media use. The association of age, study program and years of study with depression was found significant. Conclusion: The majority of participants use social media from 0-4 hours and mostly have moderate to extreme levels of depression. Age, study program, and year of study were found to be associated with depression and social media use. Educational programs need to be designed and implemented to reduce the use of social media and the level of depression and to increase healthy lifestyle behavior among nursing students.