The influence of social media on youth mental health and well-being among Nepalese adolescents

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of media exposure to social media on the mental well-being of Nepalese youth as mediated by the attitudes toward its positive and negative impacts of social media. The respondents were Nepalese youth aged 18 to 25 years old and had experience using social media in the past one-year period. The sample was selected using purposive sampling and convenience sampling. An online survey collected data from respondents, and Regression analysis was performed, where results revealed that media exposure alone did not significantly predict mental well-being. However, when mediated by the perceived negative impacts of social media, YouTube exposure negatively influenced mental well-being, while Twitter exposure had a positive effect. Attitudes toward the positive impacts of social media, particularly regarding information need importance, emerged as a significant positive predictor of well-being, although the predictive power was low (R² = 0.172). These findings reflected the importance of platform-specific effects in understanding the mental health implications of social media use. The study highlighted the need for targeted policies and intervention programs aimed at enhancing digital literacy and mitigating adverse effects, particularly for platforms like YouTube. This research contributed to mental health studies by emphasizing the role of attitudes in shaping the psychological outcomes of social media use and provides practical information for policymakers, educators, and mental health professionals to ensure emotional resilience among youth.