Page 83 - JCBP-3-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Coping with a crisis

compared to spiritual coping. In addition, we found that we also found that women spent more hours per day
higher spiritual coping scores were associated with greater and had higher social media intensity scores than men,
resilience, highlighting its potential role in mitigating the which manifested in higher levels of anxiety. Twenge and
38
impacts of challenges like the recent pandemic. According Martin observed similar findings in a large sample of
to Srivastava, resilience is trainable. Therefore, fostering adolescents. Their study revealed that moderate to heavy
35
a climate that encourages spiritual practices could be digital media use was more strongly associated with low
beneficial, as it may naturally enhance resilience. psychological well-being and mental health issues in girls
compared to boys. Among both genders, they found that
The positive correlation between age and resilience
aligns with previous research showing that resilience tends heavy digital media users were often twice as likely as light
to increase with age. Interestingly, in our study sample, users to experience low well-being or mental health issues,
36
38
females reported lower resilience levels than males but had including risk for suicide. Consistent with these studies,
significantly higher levels of non-religious coping. This may our findings revealed correlations between social media
suggest that men are more inclined to rely on themselves, use and poorer mental health, though they do not allow
while women may be more open to seeking support or for definitive conclusions about causation.
external sources of comfort, even if non-religious. This It is important to note that not all social media use
finding is consistent with prior literature indicating higher is inherently harmful, and many individuals use these
resilience in males compared to females, which may also platforms in positive and meaningful ways to connect with
be related to higher levels of anxiety typically observed in others, seek support, and share experiences. However,
12
females. 37 moderation and mindful usage are key to minimizing
Social media use was associated with increased levels potential negative effects on mental health. The average
39
of anxiety, depression, and stress and decreased resilience person spends 145 min on social media every day. Our
among our sample population. In a previous study on student group reported an average of 3.56 h/day on social
Facebook use and subjective feelings of well-being among media and the faculty/staff group reported an average of
young adults, Kross et al. found that the more their 1.25 h. Given the correlation between time spent on social
13
participants used Facebook, the more their life satisfaction media and poorer mental health outcomes, we recommend
levels declined over time. Current societal norms often focusing on raising awareness among students about the
15
associate social media with supportive social relationships potential risks of excessive social media exposure. This
40
and social connection, but it was clear among our sample aligns with findings by Shakya and Christakis, who
population that social media use provided no buffer or observed that social media use reduced psychological
release from mental health disturbances as measured well-being in adults, while in-person social interactions
41
by levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and resilience. improved it. Similarly, Tromholt found that those who
Similar to Kross et al., we found that social media use, took a break from social media experienced increases in
13
particularly while experiencing adversity by way of the life satisfaction and their emotions became more positive.
COVID-19 pandemic, may actually have undermined the Encouraging a healthy balance between online and offline
mental health of our participants. Our findings highlighted activities, setting boundaries around social media use, and
notable differences in social media use between faculty/ promoting engagement in activities that foster well-being
staff and students, with concerning impacts on students’ may help mitigate the negative impact of excessive social
mental health. Faculty and staff, while spending fewer media consumption.
hours on social media, had higher social media intensity This study has limitations common to survey research
scores, which were linked to increased anxiety and stress and self-reported data, including potential recall bias. Self-
(but not depression). However, students showed much reported data can be inaccurate due to misunderstandings
higher overall usage, and this extended time on social or reluctance to disclose personal information, especially
media correlated with elevated levels of depression, given the stigma surrounding mental health or the influence
anxiety, and stress. It appears that the students struggling of social desirability. In addition, the use of a convenience
with the highest levels of anxiety, depression, and stress did sample limits the ability to draw causal inferences,
not find relief by spending more time on social media; in meaning the results may not be fully representative of
fact, their mental health may have worsened with increased the broader population. Longitudinal data could provide
exposure. This trend aligns with research indicating that greater insight into the dynamics of mental distress and
prolonged social media use is particularly detrimental to its relationship with both social media use and spirituality
the mental well-being of younger individuals. 13,38 When over time. Moreover, the use of a convenience sample
comparing genders, while not statistically significant, led to a disproportionate number of male participants

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 77 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4563