The Educational Implications on the Association of Social Media Use and Mental Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Period

Mimi Fitriana; Setiawati Intan Savitri; Jasmine Ahmad; Rizwanah Souket Ali; Zahra Khusnul Lathifah

doi:10.25217/0020247450500

Authors

Mimi Fitriana International University of Malaya-Wales, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0722-6793
Setiawati Intan Savitri Universitas Mercu Buana Jakarta, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9083-0213
Jasmine Ahmad International University of Malaya-Wales, Malaysia
Rizwanah Souket Ali Monash University, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3197-2112
Zahra Khusnul Lathifah Universitas Djuanda Bogor, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3624-8983

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25217/0020247450500

Keywords:

COVID-19 Anxiety, educational implications, endemicity, mental well-being, social media

Abstract

This study investigates the educational implications of the association between social media use and mental well-being in the post-pandemic period. As educational practices increasingly incorporate digital platforms, understanding the impact of students' social media engagement on their mental health is imperative. The role of education in the transformation of information and knowledge within the realm of social media contributes to the significant influences towards individuals’ mental well-being, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education also serves as an instrument of social change to help reduce anxiety of COVID-19 among people. This research, therefore, aimed at investigating the association between social media use and COVID-19 Anxiety and mental well-being among Malaysian adolescents. It focused on the importance of educational implications in the associations among the study variables. Using a convenience sampling technique with a correlational research design, 329 adolescents, 18 to 25 years old, were selected for this study. Social Networking Usage Questionnaire (SNUQ), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) were uutilised to measure social media use, anxiety of COVID-19 and mental well-being of the adolescents respectively. Three scales showed high internal consistency with α = .92 for SNUQ, α = .90 for CAS, and α = .94 for WEMWBS. The findings of the study indicated a significant positive association between social media use and COVID-19 anxiety (r = .12, n = 329, p < .05), and a significant positive relationship between social media use and mental well-being (r = .19, n = 329, p < .001). However, results showed an insignificant association between COVID-19 anxiety and mental well-being among adolescents (r = -.051, n = 329, p > .001). The study concluded that the use of social media as a platform for educational transfer and information change abstains from anxiety of COVID-19 and uplifts awareness among Malaysian adolescents on the salient positive influences of it towards their mental health.

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