Social media and its relationship to depressive symptoms and sleep quality at King Abdulaziz University students

Abstract

       This study aimed to assess the impact of abusive use of social media websites among university students on psychological disorders (burnout and depression). As well as identify the ability to predict the associations of psychological disorders with the number of hours spent by students on social media websites, taking into consideration the gender variable (male and female)

The results show a sig correlation between the use of social media and depressive symptoms. That is, the more the use of social media increases, the greater the depression. As well as a negative relationship between the use of social media and the quality of sleep, meaning that the more the use of social media the less of quality of sleep, as well as the results. It can be predicted that students will suffer from insomnia, sleep problems, and some mental disorders such as depressive symptoms when continuing and excessive use of social communication. The results also showed that there are statistically significant differences in the use of social media, depending on the gender variable, and it was for males. The study recommends the importance of educating university students on how to use social media safely and positively and activating counselling and awareness programs to protect students from depressive symptoms and sleep disorders resulting from the use of social media.