A Study of Mental Health of Users and Non-Users of Social Networking Sites among Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to explore differences in mental health level between users and non-users of social networking sites among college going students. The sample consists of 132 participants pursuing Bachelor of Arts with age ranging from 16 to 21 years. Mental health battery by Singh and Sengupta (2005) was administered on all participants. Data is analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test was employed to find out differences in mental health level and dimensions of mental health between users and non-users of social networking sites. Analysis of the data revealed that users and non-users of social networking sites do not differ significantly in their mental health level whereas users and non-users of social networking sites differs significantly in various dimensions of mental health i.e. emotional stability, over-all adjustment, autonomy, security-insecurity, self-concept and intelligence. Educational implications were further discussed.