Social Media and Mental Well-Being: Between Social Support and Psychological Risks

Authors

  • Muhadjir Anwar
  • Virginia Mandasari Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jawa Timur, Surabaya 60294, Indonesia
  • Aga Widyah Perdana Putra Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jawa Timur, Surabaya 60294, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11594/nstp.2025.47138

Keywords:

Social media, mental well-being, social support

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between social media usage, social support, and mental well-being. The aim of this research is to identify the impact of social media usage on mental well-being, as well as the role of social support and the type of content consumed in influencing mental health among social media users. A survey design was employed to collect data from [number of participants] active social media users. The data analysis revealed that excessive social media usage is negatively correlated with mental well-being and positively correlated with stress levels. In contrast, higher levels of social support were found to contribute positively to mental well-being and reduce stress. Furthermore, a greater frequency of social interactions was associated with better mental well-being. However, the type of content consumed on social media did not have a significant impact on mental well-being. These findings suggest that while social media can serve as a valuable platform for social interaction, excessive use poses significant psychological risks. Social support remains a strong protective factor in maintaining mental health among social media users. The study is limited by a small sample size and a cross-sectional approach, which prevents causal inferences. Therefore, further research using longitudinal designs and a more diverse sample is needed to confirm these findings.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bessière, K., Pressman, S., Kiesler, S., & Kraut, R. (2010). Effects of Internet use on health and depression: A longitudinal study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12(1), e6. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1149

Boursier, V., Gioia, F., Musetti, A., & Schimmenti, A. (2020). Facing loneliness and anxiety during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of excessive social media use in a sample of Italian adults. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 586222. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.586222

Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310

Dienlin, T., & Trepte, S. (2015). Is the internet bad for mental health? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(11), 694-699. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0151

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002

Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202

Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2015). The impact of daily stress on adolescents’ depressed mood: The role of social support and social comparison. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 34(3), 198-217. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2015.34.3.198

Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851

Kowalski, R. M., Giumetti, G. W., Schroeder, A. N., & Lattanner, M. R. (2018). Bullying in the digital age: A critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 1073–1137. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000172

Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Demiralp, E., Park, J., Lee, D. S., Lin, N., & Ybarra, O. (2013). Facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e69841. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069841

Levenson, J. C., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., Primack, B. A., & Miller, E. (2017). Social media use before bed and sleep disturbance among young adults in the United States: A nationally representative study. Sleep Health, 3(6), 486–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2017.08.013

Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U

Naslund, J. A., Bondre, A., Torous, J., & Aschbrenner, K. A. (2020). Social media and mental health: Benefits, risks, and opportunities for research and practice. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 5(3), 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-020-00134-x

Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. L., Whaite, E. O., Lin, L., Rosen, D., Colditz, J. B., Radovic, A., & Miller, E. (2017). Social media use and perceived social isolation among young adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.010

Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841–1848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014

Santarossa, S., & Woodruff, S. J. (2017). Instagram use, well-being, and body image in young women. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0256

Seabrook, E., Kern, M., & Rickard N. (2016). Social networking sites, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review. JMIR Ment Health, 3(4): e50. doi: 10.2196/mental.5842

Statista (2023). Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of January 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Prev Med Rep.., 18, 12:271-283. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003.

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Okdie, B. M., Eckles, K., & Franz, B. (2014). Who compares and despairs? Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.026

World Health Organization. (1998). WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Retrieved from http://www.who-5.org

Zhang, T. (2021). Chinese parents’ perception of emergency remote K-12 teaching-learning in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 16(1), 16-30. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4567480.

Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2

Downloads

Published

26-05-2025

Conference Proceedings Volume

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Anwar, M., Mandasari, V., & Putra, A. W. P. (2025). Social Media and Mental Well-Being: Between Social Support and Psychological Risks . Nusantara Science and Technology Proceedings, 2024(47), 918-925. https://doi.org/10.11594/nstp.2025.47138

Share

Similar Articles

1-10 of 520

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.