THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MENTAL HEALTH: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF INSTAGRAM AND SNAPCHAT USERS

Abstract

This experimental study aims to investigate the causal relationship between social media usage and mental health, specifically focusing on the platforms Instagram and Snapchat. The study utilizes a between-subjects design, randomly assigning participants to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group was instructed to limit their social media usage on Instagram or Snapchat for a period of two weeks, while the control group continues their normal social media usage. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data, including pre- and post-intervention surveys and in-depth interviews with a subset of participants. The study aims to understand the effects of social media usage on mental health, including measures of anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and social connectedness. The findings provided important insights into the causal relationship between social media usage and mental health and provide future policies and guidelines for healthy social media habits.