Impacts of Social Media on Mental Health : A case study with students at Oulu University of Applied Sciences

Abstract

Social media has become an integral part of human beings in the present era. It has influenced them in many ways. On the one hand, numerous benefits of social media such as online chatting, audio/video calling, opinions sharing, posting images, reading the real-time news, and advertising is attracting users rapidly. On the other hand, excessive use of social media is causing negative impacts on mental health like an increase in anxiety, depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem.

The purpose of the thesis is to promote safe social and motivate students to use social media platforms in a balanced way. Many studies have shown that the balanced use of social media can help to increase the well-being of a person. The thesis intended to aware OUAS students about the positive and negative impacts of social media on their mental health to increase their focus on study, to expand their skills, and to increase productivity.

In the empirical part, a questionnaire survey was conducted in a small group of BIT and DIB students in OUAS. The objective of the survey was to know the time consumption of students by using social media and how is social media helping or affecting students. The result showed that female students are more active in social media than male. The students spend a significant amount of time on social media. While most of the students are aware of the impacts of social media on mental health, there were also some students who aren't. For the students who do not know the effects of social media on mental health, the thesis provides enough knowledge to understand the situation.