Psychological effects and changes in the lifestyle of young individuals due to exposure to digital media

Abstract

Background & Aim Digital media is the most recent form of media and has many features and characteristics. It has many facilities on the same channel as communicating, texting, images sharing, audio and video sharing, fast publishing, linking with all over the world, direct connecting. It is also the cheapest fast access to the world so it is very important for all ages of peoples. The aim of this study is to elucidate the effects of digital media on the psychological and lifestyle changes in young individuals. Materials and Methods A questionnaire containing 15 questions was created and validated. 350 responses were received. The responses were tabulated and graphical representations were made. Chisquare analysis was done. Results Three hundred and fifty individuals participated in this study, of which 58.2% (n= 203) were males and the majority of the respondents were students 58.8% (n=206). The common activities leading to excessive usage was to watch series/movies 42.2% (n=148) and keeping updated 34.5% (n=121). Of the 350 individuals, 61.6% (n= 216) of the individuals feel that the content they watch online affects their mood, and about 75.4% (n= 263) participants feel that it is very important to get likes on their posts. The need to procrastinate is also on the rise with almost 62.1% (n=217). Exposure to such globalized knowledge has brought in positive changes in 57.5% (n=201) of the individual's lifestyle and has also influenced some major decisions in life 43.7% (n=153). 77.65% (n=272) of individuals also feel that the exposure to digital media has widened their viewpoints about merchandise and products. Conclusion A healthy mind gets progress in a healthy physique. The youth should avoid excessive use of social media. They should be balanced in their life and give proper time to the co-curricular activities in their daily life routine.