Social media use among Australian university students: Understanding links with stress and mental health

Rapid growth in social media use among young adults has raised concerns about its possible impact on mental health and wellbeing, particularly among university student populations where the prevalence of mental health issues is also rising. Using qualitative approaches, this study identified the ways in which social media use may create stress in the lives of Australian university students. Data was drawn from an online health and wellbeing survey undertaken at a large, Australian university. Students were asked about their social media use habits and whether social media creates stress in their lives, with a follow-up question asking them to describe the source of this stress. Participants' free-text responses were examined using thematic analysis, with 3298 students providing a response for analysis (67.0% female; mean age = 24.5 years). Following data saturation, four main themes and twelve subthemes emerged about the ways that social media use was perceived to cause stress. The main themes identified were negative self-reflection, feeling overwhelmed by constant demands of social media, exposure to negativity, and addiction behaviours. Findings highlight the complex relationship between social media use and mental health among young adults, and may be used to inform development of targeted guidelines for university students on awareness and management of the aspects of SMU that appear to be driving university student distress.