Prolonged Social Media Use and Its Association with Perceived Stress in Female College Students

ABSTRACT

Background

Extensive use of social media is well-documented as being associated with poor mental health in college students. Evidence of its association with perceived stress in this population is inconclusive.

Purpose

To examine the association between daily time spent on social media and perceived stress among U.S. college students.

Methods

Participants were 412 students (274 females, 138 males) from the Get your Fruits and Vegetables (GetFRUVED) project in a northeastern U.S. college. Students completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) questionnaire and reported daily minutes spent on social media. Linear regression was used to examine the association between social media use and self-reported stress.

Results

Female college students who used social media for >2 h per day reported higher stress levels than students who used social media for only 0–20 min daily.

Discussion

Our findings demonstrate an association between prolonged use of social media and higher stress levels among female college students. The impact of excessive social media on the stress response and psychological wellbeing should be further investigated in this population.

Translation to Health Education Practice

Campus efforts toward educating college students on the positive correlation between social media use and stress are warranted, with priority given to female students.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research is based upon work that was supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number [2014-67001-21851]. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.