Social media, sleep difficulties and depressive symptoms: A case study of South African youth in Cape Town

Abstract

While the rapid evolution of social media has generated several positive outcomes, there is a growing concern of negative effects due to its excessive usage. The excessive use of social media, often termed as Problematic social media use has been generalised as an addiction-like behaviour that is very common with more established features of drug addictions. In this paper, the relationship between social media use, sleep difficulties and depressive symptoms is evaluated using a survey sample of 205 youth participants, recruited from various areas in Cape Town. The participants completed questionnaires that included a social media addiction scale (SMAS-SF), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The results suggest a high prevalence of social media use among the participants. Furthermore, the findings displayed a positive relationship between social media use and sleep difficulties, while a positive effect of social media use on depressive symptoms was also confirmed among the sample. The findings highlight the potential threats to the health of youth from the excessive use of social media and digital devices. Further studies are required to establish a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.