The Impact of Social Media Use on the
Mental Health of Young Adults in Nigeria
Akintomiwa Akintunde
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347452699_The_Impact_of_Social_Media_Use_on_the_Mental_Health_of_Young_Ad
ults_in_Nigeria
Dept. of Information Technology,
University of Bournemouth,
Bournemouth, United Kingdom.
s5230926@bournemouth.ac.uk
Abstract—There has been an increase in the use of social
media among young adults globally and in Nigeria.
Increasing concerns on its impacts on the mental health
of young adults has made this study necessary. From this
study, the impact of social media applications on the
mental health of young adults in Nigeria include
emotional support and suicide prevention. Negative
effects include social media addiction; loneliness, anxiety
and depression; low self-esteem and body image issues;
and emotional distress.
tool that allows its users to create and share content
with each other and the public [6].
B.
Mental Health
According to the World Health Organization,
mental health is a core part of an individual’s general
wellbeing and is beyond the nonexistence of mental
disorders [7]. It is a state in which the individual is
productive, aware of his/her capabilities and can deal
with the everyday pressures of life. Different factors –
social, economic, environmental and biological–
contribute to the mental wellbeing of an individual [7].
Keywords—Social media, mental health, young adults,
Nigeria.
I. INTRODUCTION
C.
Social Media in relation to Mental health
Evidence suggests that the heavy use of
social media can result in young people developing
conditions such as stress,depression and anxiety [8].
There are various reasons for this, and this paper will
explore the contributing factors. There is also evidence
that the heavy usage of social media causes anxiety,
depression and stress in young adults [8]. Research
also shows that most of the social media platforms
used today only worsen this anxiety experienced by
young adults [8]. In addition, young adults that spend
over 2 hours on social media applications are more
likely to be affected by mental distress and depression
[8]. Cyber-bullying is another problem that affects
young adults globally. Research has shown that seven
in ten young adults experience cyber-bullying [8].
A.
Social Media
Social media consists of web or mobile
applications which enable users to, share and consume
content or engage in social networking, using the
internet as a medium [1]. It includes a wide range of
applications and websites like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest,
TikTok and Snapchat [2]. It has become a community
in which we get information about everything going
on around the world, build relationships, and shape
self-esteem and identity [2]. Many young adults do not
know experience of living in a world without access to
the internet and the social media [3].
According to Kietzmann et al., social media
is a set of computer-controlled interactive
technologies that allow the sharing of information,
opinions, ideas and other forms of expression using
virtual communities and network [4]. Social media is
an internet-based platform that gives its users access
to share personal information, documents, videos and
photos in a seamless manner. The ability to connect
with anyone from anywhere on the face of the earth is
a powerful feature that it possesses [5]. According to
M. Huddson, social media is any form of electronic
D.
Social Media Use amongst Young Adults
Globally and in Nigeria
Based on a research by the Royal Society for
Public Health, social media applications are largely
used amongst young adults than the older ones [8]. The
most active users on social media, globally, are young
adults between the ages 16-24 [8]. Young adults use
the social media for several reasons including
information
gathering,
information
sharing,
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entertainment, connecting with family and friends to
gain support [8].
There has been a rapid growth in the use of
social media among young adults globally, Nigeria
inclusive [9]. The total number of internet users in
Nigeria is 85.49 million, out of which 27 million are
active social media users [10]. 67.1% (about 18
million) of the total number of active users on social
media in Nigeria are young adults, aged 18–35 years
old [10].
The most frequently used social media
platforms among young adults in Nigeria were
Facebook, with 90% usage and Twitter, with about
78% usage and WhatsApp with 60% [1]. These
platforms are used to meet and communicate with
friends, retrieve news articles, watch movies and
discuss issues (social, political and economic). They
are also used for educational and business purposes
[11].
sender and recipient computers had to be online in
order to exchange messages. Now, messages are
stored on servers which can be accessed by recipients
at any time. ARPANET and CompuServe were
launched in 1969 and are the origin of the internet,
albeit too costly for many people at the time [14]. In
1978, social media saw additional development with
the advent of the Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) and
Bulletin Board System (BBS). MUD was a text-based
chat room. The BBS was used to share software, news
and messages through a modem-connected telephone
line [14]. Usenet was created in 1980 with functions
similar to the Bulletin Board System [15], [14].
Then came the Whole Earth Lectronic Link
(WELL), General Electric Network for Information
Exchange, Listserv and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
WELL, founded by Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant,
initially started as a BBS and was one of the longest
running virtual groups. GENIE used the ASCII
language and it was thought to compete with
CompuServe. The first automated email list software
application, Listserv, was created in 1986. Previous
email lists were manually operated. Internet Relay
Chat was mainly created for group chatting but also
allowed private chats and file transfer between two
people [14].
Social media has evolved to the
contemporary use of digital media [14]. The internet
was open for public use in 1991. With this came the
creation of more social media sites [14]. Examples are
Six Degrees, Asian Avenue, BlackPlanet and MoveOn
for social interaction and activism. Blogging sites like
Epinions, for reading and writing products’ reviews,
and Blogger were also launched. Two platforms
created in the 1990s, ThirdVoice and Napster, were
withdrawn due to public complaints and copyrights
issues [15].
The advent of many more social media sites
in the 2000s has increased communication among
individuals and groups with shared interests and goals
[14]. In 2000, Cyworld, LunarStorm, Ryze and
Wikipedia were created. Fotolog, Friendster and Sky
blog were created in 2001. Hi5, LastFM, LinkedIn,
MySpace and Tribe.net in 2003. Dogster, Facebook
and Mixi came in 2004 while Black Planet, Yahoo!360
and YouTube came in 2005 [14].
Twitter was launched in 2006, where users
exchanged messages called “tweets”. Google+ was
also introduced by Google Inc., enabling users to
communicate via texts and video chat. The first social
media scrap book, Pinterest, was launched in 2012,
allowing users to design and share picture albums [10].
More recent social media applications include
Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Tiktok [5], [19].
II. JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Concerns have been raised over the effects of
the increased used rate of social media on the mental
health of young adults globally and in Nigeria [12].
The period between childhood and adulthood is a
vulnerable time for young adults, during which
emotional and social development take place [3]. It is,
therefore, crucial to analyze the impact of social media
use among this subset of the population, particularly in
Nigeria where not much attention is paid to mental
health generally [1].
III. AIM OF THE STUDY
The aim of this research is to investigate the
impact of social media use on the mental health of
young adults in Nigeria.
IV. HISTORY OF SOCIAL MEDIA
It may seem like the latest social media
platforms are the first to evolve but the earliest form
of communicating across long distances were letters
delivered from one person to another by hand [13].
Postal services dates back to 550 B.C. It was the
earliest form of delivery of letters [13].
The Telegraph was invented in 1972 [13].
This means of communication allowed messages to be
delivered over long distances at faster rates and in
lesser time than travelling by horses to deliver the
letters. Although the messages sent were short, they
were the fastest way to convey information [13]. In
1865, the pneumatic post was developed. It utilized
underground pressurized air tubes to carry capsules of
messages from one area to another [13].
Emails were introduced in the 1960s to share
messages between two computers [14]. Originally, the
V. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
2
This paper explores how social media affects
the emotional and mental wellbeing of young adults in
Nigeria, both positively and negatively as identified by
researchers around the world. For the purpose of this
study, young adults are within the age range 18–35
years. In addition to studies in Nigeria, studies from
other parts of the world (particularly low- and middleincome countries like Nigeria such as India) will be
used to draw inference in this paper. This is due to the
paucity of literature on the impacts of social media on
the mental health of young adults in Nigeria [1].
media, insufficient sleep, reduced work attendance
and productivity, poor academic performance, and
disregarding family duties [19], [14], [7]. A research
by Jenner showed that about 5% of young adults in the
world are affected by social media addiction, placing
it ahead of alcohol and cigarettes addictions [20].
Social media addiction is a major issue
among young adults in Nigeria [21]. All the
participants of a research, carried out on Nigerian
students abroad by [19], revealed that they spent more
than 6 hours on social media daily. They, however,
claimed that it had no negative impact on their
academic performances. According to a study by
Olowu and Seri on undergraduates in eight Nigerian
universities, 50.5% admitted to being addicted to
social media, with 41.5% reporting its negative effect
on their productivity [22]. Echoing this, Idubor [15]
reported a high level of addiction among young adults
in Nigeria. He posited that the more time one spends
on social media, the possibility of being addicted
increases.
However, a study by Alabi [23] among
undergraduates across four Nigerian universities
contradicted this. He found that 1.6% had severe
addiction, 21.7% had moderate addiction and 76.7%
had mild to no addiction to social media. This study
was done using an addiction assessment scale
developed by the researcher. However, there is the
possibility of bias due to the self-reporting nature of
the assessment.
VI. METHODOLOGY
This study employs secondary data for its
analysis. The data were collected from journals and
websites via the Google Scholar search engine. Some
journals were also found from the references of other
journals.
VII. DISCUSSION
A.
Positive Impacts of Social Media on the
Mental Health of Young Adults in Nigeria
i.) Emotional Support:
Social media has its benefits. Social media
enables young adults to create new and healthy
relationships with other people of like minds,
regardless of the distance [16]. It helps them find an
outlet to express their creativity and ideas. It also gives
people the ability to be able to anonymously seek for
mental and emotional support in tough times [16].
Corroborating this, Indian young adults in a study
[17], stated that social media use enables them to
access emotional support and advice from friends and
mentors online. NiRA echoes this, asserting that social
media helps to improve the emotional wellness of
young adults in Nigeria, as it provides an avenue for
encouragement, guidance and counselling [18].
ii.) Loneliness, anxiety and depression:
Loneliness, anxiety and depression are said to
be major causes of social media use among young
adults, as it provides some form of entertainment and
a get-away channel from these mental conditions [14].
Findings from a research conducted by Busari [24],
among young adults in Nigerian polytechnics,
associate social media use with mental health
disorders, such as loneliness and depression. Goel et
al. [14], in a study carried out among young adults in
India, however, maintains that anxiety and depression
are rather the effects, and not causes, of social media
use. This results from comparisons to the flashy and
perfect lifestyles widely portrayed therein by young
adults. Supporting this, Idubor [15] reported varying
levels of anxiety and depression due to online
harassments and unnecessary comparisons that young
adults in Nigeria are subjected to on these platforms.
Contrarily, a cross-sectional study of
university students in Calabar, Nigeria, failed to see a
negative correlation between social media addiction
and mental health disorders like anxiety and
depression [1]. The study rather found that the higher
the social media addiction levels, the lower the anxiety
and depression levels [1]. More in-depth research will
ii.) Suicide Prevention:
A systematic review carried out by Robinson
et al. [16] reported that social media helped to prevent
young adults who have suicidal tendencies from
committing suicide. This is because it allows them to
access therapeutic interventions online without being
identified or criticized [16].
B.
Negative Impacts of Social Media on the
Mental Health of Young Adults in Nigeria
i.) Social Media Addiction:
This is a state in which a person is highly
dependent on social media as a result of its excessive
use. This leads to harmful behavioural patterns such as
lack of self-control, mental obsession with social
3
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