THE IMPACT OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA ON MENTAL HEALTH AMONG

STUDENTS IN STEM STRAND

A Research Presented to
The Faculty of the Senior High School Department
Urdaneta City National High School
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

In Partial Fulfillment
For the Requirement of the Subject
RESEARCH AND DAILY LIFE 1

By:
GONZALES, THRESHA MAE T.
BALANGUE, ELIZABETH G.

2ND Semester 2023-2024

 Chapter 1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The widespread influence of social media in this generation has raised big
worries about how it affects mental health, especially for students pursuing
the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) strand. Social
media sites are now a big part of our daily lives, helping us communicate,
share information, and connect with others worldwide. But along with the
good stuff, they also bring challenges that can make people feel bad mentally.
Especially for young adults, social media often shows perfect images and
makes them compare themselves to others, leading to feelings of not being
good enough, stress, and sadness. Research by Levenson et al. (2016) has
shown that higher levels of social media use significantly increase the chance
of poor sleep, which can further exacerbate mental health issues.

As researchers, it's important to acknowledge the significant findings

indicating a correlation between excessive social media usage and various
mental health issues, such as anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and diminished
self-esteem. This phenomenon is particularly relevant for students in the
STEM field, who may already face considerable academic pressure. Despite
the extensive research in this area, there remains a notable gap in
understanding how social media impacts STEM students specifically. While
existing knowledge sheds light on its broader effects, further investigation
into its implications for science and math learners is essential. Enhanced
comprehension of these dynamics can inform the development of targeted
interventions to bolster their mental well-being and foster healthier online
environments.

Besides, social media is always changing and becoming more a part of our
lives, so we need to keep studying it to understand what is happening. New
features like filters, live videos, and the way content is shown to us are
always coming up, changing how we use social media. These changes can be
good or bad for mental health, as they might make people compare
themselves more, seek more approval, or see harmful things. So, it's
important to keep learning about these changes to make sure we can help
people use social media in a way that keeps them feeling good about
themselves and their lives.

The evolving nature of social media and its increasing integration into
daily life underscore the importance of ongoing research to comprehend its
impact on mental health. As social media platforms continue to introduce new
features and functionalities, such as augmented reality filters, live streaming,
and algorithmic content curation, the dynamics of online interaction are
constantly evolving. These changes bring both opportunities and challenges
for mental well-being, as they offer new avenues for social comparison,
validation-seeking behavior, and exposure to potentially harmful content.
Therefore, it is imperative to stay abreast of these developments and their
implications for mental health to inform evidence-based interventions and
support strategies. By maintaining a proactive stance towards research, we
can better understand and address emerging issues, empowering individuals
to navigate social media in ways that promote psychological resilience and
overall well-being.

Similarly, Levenson et al. (2016) measured social media use and its impact
on sleep and found that higher levels of social media use significantly
increased the chance of poor sleep. Social media also impacts anxiety as
Fathima et al. (2019) found that 40% of the users expressed symptoms of
anxiety when they were unable to access social media, and 38% of
participants felt more comfortable talking with others through social media.
Woods and Scott (2016) found a significant link between night-time social
media use and poor sleep. Ramzan et al. (2019) suggested using social media
to compare oneself with others was a major source of depression. Finally,
Brunborg and Andreas (2019) found a correlation between time spent on
social media and depression.

Social media usage has increased significantly globally. Recent studies on

social media usage report about three billion people globally are currently
using social media. The increase in the population of social media usage has
also increased the amount of time spent on social platforms, with statistics
indicating that people spend an average of 2 hours a day on different social
media platforms, sharing messages and pictures, tweeting, updating status,
liking, and commenting on different social updates (Abbott, 2017). According
to Gudelliwar et al. (2019), social media platforms enable teachers and
students to collaborate, interact or communicate with others and access
online resources. There are several social media applications now a days. The
largest platform of global village is manifested through Instagram, Twitter,
WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, and Tik-Tok. Social media sites such as
Facebook provide the best environment for social comparison. People have
more time to present themselves in more ideal ways than reality would dictate
(Verduyn et al., 2017).

Charoensukmongkol (2018) supported this finding by determining that the

global population could be risking a great deal of its mental health and well-
being through social use. Social media is taking part in many online
networking is an everyday habit that questions about the children and
teenagers through improved communication. Mental health can be defined as
the presence of mental wellness and the absence of mental disorders
(Beyens, etal., 2020). Social media platforms are a virtual community that
connects friends, including students, in sharing information and
communication (Balakrishnan, Teoh, Pourshafie & Liew, 2017). Social media is
also viewed as a form of social support for most students, but it can also have
an adverse effect on their mental health, especially for those who already
have high levels of anxiety and depression (Drouin, Reining, Flanagan,
Carpenter & Toscos, 2018). Initially as observed by Charoensukmongkol
(2018), individuals used social media as a platform for relieving stress, where
they could meet with friends to chat their stresses and concerns away.
Additionally, social media platforms remain a foremost source of mood change
for most people, whereas an individual could be passively lurking around a
social media platform but end up with a changed mood based on the nature
of the content being viewed (Chukwuere & Chukwuere, 2017) Subsequently,
bad and low moods are easily spread amongst people using social media
platforms. This is proving to be problematic students have been observed
increasing their usage of social media applications as it has become central to
everyday life.

Social media has become a vital and integral part of peoples’ lives in
today’s digital age. Although social media provides significant benefits in
many aspects, it is crucial to understand the negative impacts that it causes
as well (Sriwilai & Charoensukmongkol, 2016). Social media usage became an
important driver to spread information in every field of life. While this domain
affects social interaction, emotional consequences, and psychological
processes (Guazzini, et al., 2022) The prevalence rates of social media
influence the consequences of psychological disorders (Andreassen et al.,
2017). Psychological issues such as anxiety, over-possession, narcissism,
frustration, anger, and verbal violence are open truths (Abi-Jaoude et al.,
2020; Guazzini, et al., 2022) Aalbers, McNally, Heeren, de Wit, and Fried
(2018) found that those who spent more time passively using social media
experienced higher levels of loneliness, depressed mood, hopelessness, and
feeling inferior. Yet, Halston, Iwamoto, Junker, and Chun (2019) found that
the level of social interaction when using social media platforms were too
superficial to influence a person’s mood positively. Subsequently, social media
platforms were found to be to have no relationship with one is feeling of deep
and meaningful social connectedness. Students can use different forms of
social media to connect, share, and view a myriad of content. When
influenced by posts, social media can have a significant impact on their lives.
With the increase in use, social media can provoke individuals to begin self-
comparing or gain an unrealistic expectation of themselves and other
individuals. This can lead to lower self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-
worth. This exploratory study attempts to determine the relationship between
social media use and its impact on stress, anxiety, and depression amongst
students in higher education. This is a follow-up study to the findings from
Iwamoto and Chun (2019) Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: An Analysis of
21st Century Higher Education Students that recommended a deeper analysis
into the relationship between social media usage and emotional well-being.

The challenge is that social media offers one to be exposed to several

exciting activities and happenings, especially for the younger generation. This
may attract and keep them logged into different social media platforms for
hours just enjoying their time away. This typically results in lower productivity,
lower academic performance, and dependency for constant stimulation
(Alahmar, 2016). Furthermore, there is also another dimension of social media
use that has been found to increase social anxiety in some individuals. Social
media platforms remain important platforms for connecting people with their
friends, families, and the world around them (Rad, Jalali, & Rahmandad,
2018). However, when the happenings spreading in social media are negative
or produce feelings of jealousy or envy, levels of stress, anxiety, and
depression tend to increase (Iwamoto & Chun, 2019). Adolescence (10–19
years) is a period of change in attitude/behavior, development of heightened
emotionality/outlook/ interests’ pattern/roles, which is highly influenced by
the social media due to a prominent participation among adolescents.
Theoretical /Conceptual Framework

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the communication and media effects
theories that may serve as the foundations for research into the effects of
social media use on adolescents. To define social media, I follow the definition
of Bayer et al., (2020) social media are “computer-mediated communication
channels that allow users to engage in social interaction with broad and
narrow audiences in real time or asynchronously.” Social media use thus
entails the active (e.g., posting) or passive (e.g., browsing), private (one-
toone) or public (e.g., one-to-many), and synchronous or asynchronous usage
of social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok,
WeChat, and WhatsApp.

In this chapter, we define media effects as the deliberate and

nondeliberate short- and long-term within-person changes in cognitions,
emotions, attitudes, and behavior that result from media use (Valkenburg et
al., 2016). And we define a (social) media effects theory as a theory that
attempts to explain the uses and effects of (social) media use on individuals,
groups, or societies (Valkenburg & Oliver, 2019). To be labeled a (social)
media effects theory, a theory at least needs to conceptualize media use, and
the potential changes that this use can bring about within individuals, groups,
or societies (i.e., the media effect). Over the past decades, dozens of media
effects theories have been developed. These theories differ substantially in
how they conceptualize the media effects process. Some theories, particularly
the early ones, focus primarily on unidirectional linear relationships between
media use and certain outcomes. Other, more comprehensive theories pay
more attention to the interactive effects of media use and nonmedia factors
(e.g., dispositions, social contexts) on certain outcomes. Valkenburg et al.
(2016) argued that media effects theories can be organized along five
paradigms that specify the conditions under which media effects can (or
cannot) occur.
 For one, Aalbers et al. (2018) reported that individuals who spent more
time passively working with social media suffered from more intense levels of
hopelessness, loneliness, depression, and perceived inferiority. According to
Iwamoto and Chun (2020), anxiety and depression are the negative emotions
that an individual may develop when some source of stress is present. In
other words, when social media sources become stress-inducing, there are
high chances that anxiety and depression also develop Charoensukmongkol
(2018) reckoned that the mental health and well-being of the global
population can be at a great risk through the uncontrolled massive use of
social media. These researchers also showed that social media sources can
exert negative affective impacts on teenagers, as they can induce more envy
and social comparison. Finally, as Alahmar (2016) described, social media
exposes people especially the young generation to new exciting activities and
events that may attract them and keep them engaged in different media
contexts for hours just passing their time. It usually leads to reduced
productivity, reduced academic achievement, and addiction to constant media
use.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 in the next page described the significant difference and

relationship between the independent and dependent variable. The
independent variable includes Frequency of Social Media Usage, Duration of
Social Media Usage, Type of Social Media Platforms Used and Engagement
Level with Social Media Content. The dependent variable composes of Level of
Stress, Anxiety Symptoms, Depression Symptoms and Self-esteem Perception.

STEM Student Social Media Patterns of Social Media

Factors: Engagement among STEM
Students:

a. Frequency of Social Media

 IV DV

IMPACT OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA ON

MENTAL HEALTH AMONG STUDENTS

Figure 1

Conceptual/Research Paradigm

Statement of the Problem

The study was conducted to determine how social media affects the
mental health of STEM students.

Particularly, the study aimed to provide answers to the following questions:

1. What are the potential moderating factors?

a. Gender,

b. Academic performance,

c. Offline social support,

2. What are the types of social media sites that are most commonly used?
3. How frequently do STEM students use social media?

4. What are the common mental health issues experienced by STEM students,
and how do they perceive the impact of social media on their mental well-
being?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The result of this study, The Impact of Using social media Among
Students in the STEM Students will be significant to the following;

Students. The result of this study can raise awareness of risks and
promote healthy online habits among students.

Teachers. The study can help teachers understand how social media
usage impacts students’ academic performance and behavior. This can assist
them in formulating plans to lessen negative impacts of this study.

Parents. This study can help parents understand the impact of social
media on their children’s lives and take proper steps to protect their safety
and well-being.

Researchers. This study can help researchers understand the impact of

this study so they can also manage and make a plan for using social media.

Future Researchers. This study may serve as valuable source of data

and as basis for further study.

CHAPTER 2
 This chapter provided information on the procedures and methods of
this study. It presented how the researchers made this study possible. It
consisted of the following sections: Research Design and Strategy, Population
and Locale of the Study, Data Gathering Tool, Data Gathering Procedure and
Treatment of Data.

Research Design and Strategy

This study was conducted at Urdaneta City National High school (UCNHS),
one of the schools in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. The researchers chose as the
participating school due to the existing connections that made the process of
this study easier and smoother. The target sample consisted of the eleven
grade STEM students. The researchers believed that these participants would
be sufficient to provide the necessary information to answer the research
raised in this study.

This study investigates the impact of using social media on mental health
among STEM Students at Urdaneta City National High School. Descriptive
research design was used by the researchers. Descriptive research aims to
accurately and systematically describe a population, situation or phenomenon.
It can answer what, where when, and but not why questions. With the help
of descriptive data, researchers will be able to investigate the impact of using
social media on mental health among STEM students. Through survey
questionnaires that will be answered by the respondents, the result will help
researchers conclude what the impact of using social media on mental health
are.

According to Welman (2016), the interview is a data-collecting method that

usually involves personal. It meant that interview is a kind of conversation by
asking the participant about the social world in their lives. A questionnaire is a
tool to collect the information with the way to give a nonverbal question to
answer written Margono (2017).
Population and Locale of the Study

The population will include a total of twenty-five (25) STEM students of

Urdaneta City National High School.

The researchers used a convenience sampling. Convenience sampling is a

non-probability sampling method where researchers use subjects who are
easy to contact and obtain their participation. Researchers find participants in
the most accessible places, and they impose no inclusion requirements.

Data Gathering Tool

A questionnaire will be created by the researchers served as the main

instrument for collecting the required data. Only twenty-five (25) Urdaneta
City National High School Students in Grade 11- STEM are the target sample
for this survey questionnaire. The questionnaires consist of four parts: the
first part of the questionnaire focuses on three potential moderating factors:
a.) gender, b) academic excellence, and c.) offline social support. The second
part deals with the types of social media sites that are most used by STEM
students. The third part focuses on the frequency of social media usage
among STEM students. The fourth part deals with the common mental health
issues experienced and how they perceive the impact of social media on their
mental well-being.

Data Gathering Procedure

The research procedure begins with the development of a tailored

research design and tools to investigate the impact of social media on the
mental health of students in the STEM Strand. Seeking approval from relevant
authorities, the researcher proceeds to assess the pre-existing mental health
status of participants through pretest evaluations. Following this, social media
interventions are integrated into the study based on outlined timelines and
strategies. Throughout the designated period, the researcher monitors
participants' social media usage and its potential effects on their mental
health. Subsequently, a post-test examination is administered to gauge any
changes in mental health compared to the pretest baseline. Participants are
also provided with questionnaires to gather insights into their experiences,
emotions, and understanding of social media usage. Finally, collected data are
retrieved and analyzed to interpret the impact of social media on the mental
health of students in the STEM Strand.

Treatment of Data

This study aimed to assess the impact of social media usage on the mental
health of students in the STEM Strand. Data analysis involved statistical
methods tailored to the study's objectives. Responses to questionnaires from
STEM Strand students were statistically analyzed to understand the
relationship between social media usage and mental health outcomes. The
data collected included responses from questionnaires completed by students,
with tallies used to quantify the number of participants providing opinions and
insights relevant to the study. The Thematic Analysis Formula was used to
assess the performance of the STEM strand by analyzing students' qualitative
responses regarding their experiences with social media and its impact on
mental health.

Thematic Analysis=

CodeGeneration+Theme Development + Interp retation

Total Number of Responses ×100 % ¿
¿

Where:

Code Generation: Identifying and labeling patterns or themes within the data.

Theme Development: Grouping similar codes into broader themes.

Interpretation: Analyzing the themes to derive insights and meaning from the
data.
Total Number of Responses: The overall number of qualitative responses or
data points.