Aspectos relacionados à saúde mental e o uso de mídias sociais

Abstract

Introduction: The use of social media has become a worldwide concern due to its potential relationship with mental health problems. Studies have analyzed the relationship between mental health and the use of social networks, however, research lacks consistent evidence on the use of media associated with the presence of symptoms related to mental health. Objective: To identify the relationship between the problematic use of social media and symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness and insomnia in the Brazilian population Methodology: Quantitative, observational and cross-sectional study, whose sample was Brazilian individuals over 18 years old who use social media. The data were collected using an online survey. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener, the Insomnia Severity Index and the Three-Item Loneliness Scale 3 were used as research instruments. Statistical analyzes were performed using the SPSS software and values with p<0.05 were considered significant. Results: 477 participants were included in the study and statistically significant differences were found regarding the presence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, signs of loneliness and insomnia, all with p<0.001. In addition, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 57.2%, anxiety symptoms 50.5% and loneliness 38.6%. Conclusion: The problematic use of social media can cause significant damage to the mental health of its users. Since its use is increasingly present in the population's daily life, this work alerts the importance to guide interventions to prevent the use of harmful social media.