Problematic social media use among school-going adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Correlates with depression, anxiety and loneliness

During the COVID-19 period, online activities such as internet browsing, online gaming, social media use became increasingly popular sources of entertainment for adolescents. However, excessive engagement in social media platforms may lead to problematic social media use (PSMU), which has been associated with negative mental health outcome. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PSMU and examine its association with the psychological factors, including depression, anxiety and loneliness among school going adolescents in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. A paper-and-pencil cross sectional survey was carried out between August and September 2021 comprising 543 school-going adolescents (61.0% males; mean age: 16.13 ± 1.83 years; age range: 9-18 years) recruited through convenience sampling from four selected secondary and higher-secondary schools in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. The self-reported survey included informed consent and questions concerning socio-demographics, lifestyle-related information, and four Bagla version of psychometric instruments (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7], University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA] Loneliness Scale, and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale [BSMAS]. The prevalence of PSMU in the sample was 26.70%. In the hierarchical regression analysis, the higher mean score of BSMAS (the score indicates the higher severity level of the PSMU) was significantly associated with being unmarried (β = 0.11, p < .01), having depression (β = 0.16, p < .01), anxiety (β = 0.11, p ≤ .05), and loneliness (β = 0.19, p <.01). The model accounted for 17% of the variance in PSMU, indicating moderate effect sizes and meaningful associations. The findings reflected that excessive social media use was significantly connected with depression, anxiety, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, preventive measures including school-based digital literacy programs, peer support initiatives, and awareness sessions need to be initiated to support school-going adolescents in Bangladesh to reduce excessive social media use.