Evaluation of Social Media Addiction and Its Relationship with Anxiety and Academic Performance Among Medical and Non-Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Social media (SM) use has become an integral aspect of daily life. Overutilization of SM can adversely impact an individual's physical and emotional well-being, especially that of students. This study evaluated the potential impact of SM addiction on anxiety and academic performance among university students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical ad non-medical students at Qassim University during September 2022-April 2023 after obtaining the Ethics Committee's permission. Raosoft was used for calculating the sample size, and participants were selected through convenience sampling. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze and interpret the results, using SPSS version 25.

RESULTS: A total of 269 students participated in the study. The majority of them were male (52%), with a mean age of 22.28. The main purpose of SM usage was entertainment, followed by communication. More than 30% of them were using SM for 4-6 h per day, accessing SM 1-10 times in a day, with more than half of them feeling that they had SM addiction and that it was affecting their daily activities and sleep. The majority of them agreed that SM can be used for group discussion (78.1% vs. 71.6%) and knowledge sharing (93.7% vs. 90%). However, a statistically significant difference was observed about anxiety level between the two groups. A negative correlation was found between cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and anxiety level.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that SM has both positive and negative effects on academic performance and social anxiety. Continuous education and motivation about wise use of SM is warranted among students by parents, university authorities, and policymakers.