Social Media Addiction and Its Relationship to Symptoms of Depression and Generalized Anxiety in Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing Students

Abstract

Social media has become a virtual social and entertainment environment for many individuals. In today's society, although social media provide a useful way to connect with peers, it can expose users to addiction to these means, affecting their mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between social media addiction and symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety in deaf and hard-of-hearing students (DHH). Data was collected from 165 students in integration schools in southern Saudi Arabia. The mean age of the sample ranged from M = 18.6 years, SD = 1.81 years. The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (Andresen et al., 1994) was used. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (Spitzer et al., 2006). The results revealed that more than 50% of DHH students have a moderate level of addiction to social media. More than 25% have a severe level of addiction. In addition, as expected, the results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between social media addiction and both symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety. Linear regression analysis showed that generalized depression and anxiety significantly predicted social media addiction. The study recommended the importance of spreading psychological awareness of the dangers of social media addiction, and the damage it carries to the mental health of individuals. Holding awareness courses and lectures for DHH students and people with disabilities in general on the negative effects of social media addiction on mental health.