Abstract

Objective: The use of social media has increased exponentially in the last 2 decades, especially among young adults. This study aimed to investigate the role of social media addiction and emotional regulation on mental health among medical and dental students in Pakistan.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional quantitative research was conducted from January to May 2023. A convenient sample of 503 students (345 females, 158 males) was taken from different private and government universities in Pakistan. A self-developed demographic sheet was administered along with the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), emotional regulation questionnaire, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS).
Results: There was a significant positive relationship between social media addiction with DASS subscales scores (r = 0.39, r = 0.38, r = 0.37, p<0.01) and a positive correlation with emotional regulation (r = 0.21, p<0.01). Cohen's d value for social media addiction was 0.33 (<0.50) which indicated moderate effect size, showing significant mean differences among gender (p<0.05). Cohen's d values for mental health problems were 0.60 (>0.50) and 0.80 (>0.50), showing significant mean differences among marital status and gender respectively (p<0.05), which represents a large effect size.
Conclusion: There is a significant role of social media addiction in the mental health of students. This research illustrates new insights for research by presenting empirical support for its incidence among medical and dental students in Pakistan.