Measuring the Impact of Social Media on Young People’s Mental Health: Development and Validation of the Social Media-Induced Tendency Scale

Abstract

Social media use has been linked to adverse health outcomes such as depression. To facilitate interventions, understanding the varied causes of depression is necessary. The authors developed a social media-induced depression tendency (SMIDT) scale for use with young people and aimed to validate it for young people in Nigeria. The study was conducted in three parts using an online survey (Google Forms) with purposive sampling targeting young people. Study 1 was an exploratory study that developed the SMIDT scale with 361 young people aged 16 to 26 years (mean age=22.81). A concise measure of SMIDT was obtained. In study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the SMIDT with young people aged 17 to 25 years (mean age=23.61). Construct, discriminant, and concurrent validities were established, and three factors were identified (sensitivity/attention seeking, worthlessness, and escapism/reality avoidance), which explained 55.87% of the variance. Study 3 tested the predictive validity of the scale. The results showed that the 15-item SMIDT scale had high internal consistency and satisfactory validity. The SMIDT scale can enable the assessment of factors associated with social media-induced depression tendency. The three factors identified in the scale provide insight into the factors contributing to depression associated with social media use. The SMIDT scale has the potential to help identify at-risk individuals and in-developing interventions to prevent or reduce social media-induced depression tendencies. However, this study only focused on young people in Nigeria. Additional studies using the SMIDT scale are required to assess its generalizability and applicability in evaluating other factors, such as quality of life among young people. Moreover, while social media use has been associated with adverse health outcomes, it is crucial to recognize that it can also positively affect mental health. Further research is necessary to explore the complex relationships between social media use and mental health outcomes.