Open AccessEffect of Social Networking Sites on the Quality of Life of College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from a City in North India
Author(s) -
Neeru Saini,
Garima Sangwan,
Madhur Verma,
Adarsh Kohli,
Manmeet Kaur,
P V M Lakshmi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the scientific world journal/thescientificworldjournal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.453
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 2356-6140
pISSN - 1537-744X
DOI - 10.1155/2020/8576023
Subject(s) - the internet , quality of life (healthcare) , cross sectional study , psychology , social support , social network (sociolinguistics) , quality (philosophy) , social media , gerontology , internet privacy , medicine , computer science , world wide web , social psychology , pathology , psychotherapist , philosophy , epistemology
With the advent and extensive use of the Internet and smartphones, social networking has become a pervasive part of human interaction. The use of these social networking sites or the Internet affects the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the people. Hence, there is need to understand how the time spent on social networking is affecting the quality of life (QOL) as a whole, especially among college-going students who are most likely users of social networking sites (18–21 years).Materials and Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 220 college-going students (18–21 years) in Chandigarh in 2012. The data were collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire, adapted from Young's Internet usage questionnaire. Appropriate statistical analysis was done.Results Almost all (98%) of the respondents use the Internet. As compared to nondaily users of social networking sites, daily users were better able to handle stress related to (1) relationships (moderate to severe stress among daily users vs. nondaily users, 15.2% vs. 30.5%) and (2) work (moderate to severe stress among daily users vs. nondaily users, 18.2% vs. 35.4%). The daily users of social networking sites feel significantly more satisfied with their classmates, the way they handle the problems, their physical appearance, and their accomplishments in their life.Conclusion Social networking sites are steadily penetrating in the lives of adolescents in India. The advantages on quality of life for daily users of social networking sites versus nondaily users are enormous. Also currently, Internet use might not have reached the levels where it embarks on the existing state of health; therefore, continuous and critical observation of the changing trends is warranted.