The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Stress Levels Among Medical Students at Udayana University

Abstract

Background: Social media use among medical students is highly prevalent and has the potential to affect mental health, particularly stress. Medical students face substantial academic demands, and excessive exposure to social media may negatively impact psychological well-being. According to a previous regional study in 2022, among medical students in Indonesia, most experience moderate stress (49.1%), while some experience severe stress (21.8%) (3). Furthermore, previous research from Mental Health Research Canada found that among adolescents and young adults aged 16–24 years with screen time ≥7 hours per day, 52% experienced severe psychological distress. Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between social media use and levels of stress, describe patterns of social media use, and stress levels of medical students in Udayana University, and identify other factors associated with stress among undergraduate medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University. Methods: This study employed an observational analytic design with a cross-sectional approach. The accessible population consisted of undergraduate medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University. 216 participants were selected using systematic random sampling. The independent variable in this research is social media use; measured by the duration of social media use per day, number of platforms used, and most frequently used platform of each individual. The dependent variable is the respondents’ stress levels (measured with Perceived Stress Scale-10). Several covariates are also included in this research, including gender, year of enrolment, place of residence, residential comfort, adequacy of monthly allowance, side job, personality type, sleep duration on weekdays and weekends, grade point average (GPA), academic performance satisfaction, social activity in campus, presence of friend group in medical school, family relationship, and self-esteem level. The data is analyzed using bivariate analysis and ordinal logistic regression to assess the relationships between independent variables, as well as covariates, with levels of stress. Results: 53.7% of students reported using social media for 4–6 hours per day. Factors significantly associated with stress included duration of social media use of ≥7 hours a day (OR = 3.47; 95% CI: 1.36–8.86), GPA of 3.0 - 3.5 (OR = 2.53; 95% CI: 1.25–5.11) , monthly allowance that is sufficient to meet needs (OR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.03–3.45) , and low self-esteem levels (OR = 8.91; 95% CI: 3.44–23.04). Conclusion: Social media use was associated with stress levels among medical students, with longer usage linked to a higher likelihood of experiencing greater stress. These findings highlight the importance of limiting social media use to support the mental health of medical students.