Introduction
This paper examines the relationships between social media use, loneliness, and depression among college students. Social media has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with most college students spending a significant amount of time engaging with platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and others each day. Research has also found potential negative impacts of excessive social media use, including increased feelings of loneliness and depression. This paper will review previous studies that have explored these relationships and present an original research study investigating social media use, loneliness, and depression among students at a large public university.
Literature Review
Several studies have found correlations between increased social media use and feelings of loneliness. A study by Primack et al. (2017) surveyed over 1,000 undergraduate students and found that time spent on social media each day was positively associated with feelings of loneliness. Another study by Wood et al. (2019) that included over 1,500 college freshmen found social media use predicted increased loneliness over time. The mechanism appears to be that excessive social media use displaces face-to-face social interaction, which is more fulfilling and prevents loneliness, leading to greater loneliness over time as online interaction replaces offline interaction (Wood et al., 2019).
Increased social media use has also been linked to higher levels of depression in college students and other young adults. A longitudinal study by Lin et al. (2016) found that increased Facebook use over the first semester of college predicted greater depressive symptoms by the end of the semester, even after controlling for pre-college depressive symptoms. The specific functions on Facebook that are most depression-inducing appear to be passive behaviors like viewing others’ content rather than actively posting one’s own updates (Lin et al., 2016). Twenge et al. (2019) conducted a meta-analysis of studies of technology use and depression and concluded that digital media use, including social media, has played a substantial role in increasing depressive symptoms among youth in recent decades.
Not all research has found clear negative effects of social media use. For example, one study found social media use was only associated with increased depression for individuals who already had low self-esteem, not for those with high self-esteem (Frison & Eggermont, 2016). And another found positive effects of some dimensions of Facebook use, such as maintaining existing social connections, not necessarily leading to worsened mental health (Chou & Edge, 2012). So the impacts appear nuanced and dependent on individual characteristics as well as the specific types and intensities of social media use.
This literature provides grounds to hypothesize relationships between increased social media use and greater loneliness as well as depression among college students. More research directly exploring these associations is still needed, particularly research utilizing original data collection from college students themselves to investigate potential links between social media behaviors and mental health outcomes. The current study aims to contribute to filling this gap.
Methods
The current study surveyed undergraduate students enrolled at a large public university. An online questionnaire was distributed to students via classroom announcements and the college email listserv. The questionnaire included demographic questions as well as measures of social media use, loneliness, and depression.
Social media use was assessed with questions developed for this study modeled after prior research (e.g. Woods & Scott, 2016). Students reported the number of hours per day spent using eight major platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok. They also rated how often social media is used to compare themselves to others, pass time when bored, etc. on five-point Likert scales.
Loneliness was measured with the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996), a 20-item scale assessing perceptions of social isolation and connection to others. Depression was assessed with the PHQ-8 depression screener (Kroenke et al., 2009), including eight items assessing depressive symptoms experienced over the past two weeks. Both scales have demonstrated validity and reliability in prior research.
The online questionnaire was distributed during weeks 6-8 of the spring semester. The study was approved by the university IRB. A total of 304 responses were received and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Data was cleaned and incomplete responses removed, yielding a final sample of 293 students. Descriptive analyses characterized levels of social media use, loneliness, and depression in the sample. Correlations and regression models tested hypothesized relationships between the variables while controlling for demographic factors.
Results
Descriptive analyses found students reported spending on average just over 2.5 hours per day on social media. Facebook remained the dominant platform at just under 1 hour daily. Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube were the next most used platforms. On average, students’ loneliness and depression scores fell in the normal to mild range based on established clinical cutoff scores.
Bivariate correlations revealed weak but statistically significant positive associations between daily social media use and higher loneliness scores (r = 0.13, p < 0.05) as well as depression scores (r = 0.17, p < 0.01). Regressive further controlling for demographic covariates found daily social media use was a significant predictor of both loneliness (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.15, p < 0.01). Usage of specific platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat also predicted higher scores in adjusted models, although YouTube was not significantly associated. Additional regression analyses found specific behaviors on social media also predicted mental health outcomes. Comparing oneself to others more frequently via social media significantly predicted both higher loneliness (β = 0.19, p < 0.01) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.22, p < 0.001). Using social media passively to pass time when bored also predicted greater depressive symptoms (β = 0.14, p < 0.05) but not loneliness. Discussion The current study provides new evidence that increased social media use is positively associated with greater feelings of loneliness and depression among college students, even after controlling for demographic factors. These findings are consistent with past research linking digital media engagement to worsening mental health over time in youth and young adults. The specific relationships observed between outcome variables and amount of daily social media use as well as certain behaviors like comparing oneself to others’ posts are notable.
These results suggest college students may be uniquely vulnerable to negative mental health effects from extensive social media engagement. The transition to university life is already a time of increased stress and changes in social support networks. Using large amounts of time on platforms focused around cultivated self-presentation risks exacerbating feelings of isolation or inferiority during this developmental period for some students. The self-oriented nature of specific social media behaviors could displace more supportive social bonds. Limitations include the cross-sectional survey design, which precludes determining causality. Self-report measurement may involve response biases. Factors like pre-existing mental health conditions could influence relationships between variables. Future research should utilize longitudinal and experimental designs when feasible to clarify directionality. Observed effect sizes were modest, so impacts may depend partly on individual characteristics still needing examination as moderators. Overall, these findings point to social media use as a potential risk factor worth considering in college student mental health promotion efforts. Students could benefit from education on mindful social media engagement and developing balance with in-person social interaction. Limiting comparison-focused behaviors and passive social media use may help prevent potential worsening of mental well-being. Of course, social media likely affects different individuals in complex and varying ways depending on a host of contextual influences meriting ongoing investigation. But for at least some students, conscientious use may prove protective for mental health. Conclusion This research adds to evidence that increased engagement with social media correlates with greater feelings of loneliness and depression in college students. Specific behaviors focused on comparing oneself to others’ social media presentations predict poorer outcomes. Promoting moderation and balance in social media use through campus mental health programming could help address this emerging issue facing many students. Continued inquiry into social media’s impacts on youth mental health remains important as technologies and usage patterns continue to rapidly evolve.
Andrew Stroud