THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS IN

ALCANTARA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

CHAPTER I

Introduction

Human beings are social creatures that require the companionship of others to make

progress in life. Thus, being socially connected with other people can relieve stress, anxiety, and

sadness, but lack of social connection can pose serious risks connection to mental health

(Mohamad M, et al., 2017).

Social media has recently become part of people’s daily activities; many of them spend

hours each day on Messenger, Instagram, Facebook, and other popular social media. Thus, many

researchers and scholars study the impact of social media and applications on various aspects of

people’s lives (Bartosik-Purgat M, et al., 2017). Moreover, the number of social media users

worldwide in 2019 is 3.484 billion, up 9% year-on-year (Newman N, et al., 2019). In today’s

world, many of us rely on social media platforms. While each has its benefits, it’s important to

remember that social media can never be a replacement for real-world human connection. It

requires in-person contact with others to trigger the hormones that alleviate stress and make you

feel happier, healthier, and more positive. Ironically for technology that’s designed to bring

people closer together, spending too much time engaging with social media can actually make

you feel lonely and isolated – and exacerbate mental health problems such as anxiety and

depression.
 Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which people understand their

abilities, solve everyday life problems, work well, and make a significant contribution to the

lives of their communities (The World Health Organization, 2020). There is debated presently

going on regarding the benefits and negative impact of social media on mental health. According

to the Pew Research Center, 69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media. This

puts a large amount of the population at an increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill

over their social media use. This systematic review has found that social media envy can affect

the level of society and depression in individuals. In addition, other potential causes of anxiety

and depression have been identified, which require further exploration.

Social media is a new study that is rapidly growing and gaining popularity. Thus there are

many unexplored and unexpected constructive answers associated with it. However, the extent to

which the use of social media impacts the public is yet to be determined. The important of such

findings is to facilitate further research on social media and mental health. In addition, the

information obtained from this study can be helpful not only to medical professionals but also to

social science research.

Research Questions

This research has a chief concern regarding the effect of social media on the mental

health of students of Alcantara National High School. To obtain all the essential knowledge, data

and information, the research sought to answer the questions as follows;

1. How many students from Alcantara National High School experiencing mental health

problems because of social media?

 2. What is the difference between males and females who experiencing mental health

problems because of social media usage.

3. What is the relationship between social media and mental health problems?

Objectives of the Study

This study on The Effect of Social Media on the Mental Health of Students of Alcantara

National High School seeks to attain the following objectives:

1. To determine how many students from Alcantara National High School are experiencing

mental health problems in using social media.

2. To find out the difference between male and female who experiencing mental health problems

in using social media.

3. To describe the relationship between social media use and mental health problems.

Significance of the Study

This study will be undertaken to find out the effect of social media use on the mental

health of students of Alcantara National High School and to find out if students are experiencing

mental health problems in using social media.

Benefiting the study are the various sectors as follows:

The Students

The direct recipients of the output of this research are the students. The respondent of this

will have the awareness and information regarding about the effects of social on their mental
health. The study will help them know its negative effects and learn to limit themselves to avoid

anxiety and depression.

The Parents

The results of this study will help them know the actions of their children, if their

children are having mental health problems. The given data would help them formulate some

preventive measures to help their children from developing anxiety and depression.

School Organization

This research will enable them to create programs to every student with the advocacy of

learning about mental health awareness. This advocacy will help the students to be

knowledgeable and aware on its effect and learn to help themselves to prevent such problems.

Future Researcher

This is a big help to future researchers because it serves as their guide in making their

first research. The data of this study will be their future reference if they plan to make related

research study.

Research Methodology

Research Design

This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. As a result of the cause–and–

effect relationships, this research design does not permit manipulation of the variables.
Therefore, the independent variables were studied after they had already exerted their effect on

the dependent variable.

Research Respondents

The researchers selected the Grade 11 Senior High School students of Alcantara National High

School to be the respondents of the study. The researchers had come up with minimum of 30

students as respondents having 5 representatives each selected sections from Grade 11.

Research Instrument

Convenience or Purposive sampling was utilized in the study. The researcher selects the

sample based on the availability of the respondent. The type of questions used in the

questionnaire included an open ended questions answered by the respondent through survey

checklist to measure how many students were experiencing mental health problems while using

social media.

Definition of Terms

Operational Definition of Terms

Social media – websites or application student’s spending too much time that develop mental

health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Mental Health – includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.

Mental health problems – are difficult experiences that make it harder for us to get on with our

lives.

Anxiety – a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness dues to the use of social media.

Depression – a mental health problem that involves having low mood or losing interest and

enjoyment of things because of social media.