Young Indians, Social Media, and COVID-19: Study on the Relation Between Engagements on Social Media and Mental Well-Being During the Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Public Policy Relevance Statement The present study sheds light on how social media engagement was associated with different indicators of well-being in India during COVID-19-imposed social distancing mandates. The study also suggests that some of these outcomes may be related to social media users' dispositions, namely, social comparison orientation, sense of loneliness, and their perceived social support. As the people around the globe suffered physically, relationally, emotionally, and financially in response to the COVID-19 crisis and accompanying social distancing mandates, they often turned to social media to cope. This study used an online survey to understand the relationships between social media engagement, loneliness, well-being, perceived social support, and social comparison with an Indian sample (N = 364). Correlations showed significant associations between all variables of interest, with the exception of social media engagement and perceived social support. Partial correlations revealed that an association between social media engagement and loneliness disappeared when social comparison orientation was controlled for;however, an inverse relationship between social media engagement and well-being remained, even when social comparison orientation was accounted for.