Social Networking Usage, Psychological Distress and Happiness among Young Adults during COVID 19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has wreaked havoc throughout the world, impacting millions of people physically and mentally. Interpersonal connections are confined to social networks during the pandemic. However, there has been a dearth of research focusing on social networking usage during COVID-19 in particular. As a result, it is currently unclear whether and how utilizing social networks during epidemic is linked to mental health. The present paper examines the relationship between social networking usage among youngsters and its impact, like the psychological distress and happiness during the COVID-19 epidemic. Furthermore, because young adults are frequent users of social media, it is important to study the effects of social networking usage in this age group. Methodology: An online survey of a sample of 316 young adults was carried out using Social Networking Sites Usage and Needs Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS -21) and Oxford Happiness Scale. Results: The results show that females were happier than males. Further, the number of social networks used was negatively correlated with happiness. Personal integrative needs were found to be a positive predictor of psychological distress. The implications of the findings are elaborately discussed. Conclusions: