Impact of media use on adolescent’s mental health and well-being

Pages:103-110
Akanksha Srivastava and Ram Kalap Tiwari (Department of Psychology, K. S. Saket P.G. College, Ayodhya, Faizabad, U.P.)

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between adolescent’s media usage (television, computer, &cell phone) and their mental health and well- being. It was assumed that adolescent’s use of media (television, computer &cell phone) have significant collision on their mental health and well-being. The study was conducted in Faizabad and Lucknow cities using a cross sectional analytical design. A sample of 200 adolescents was carried out from intermediate colleges of both cities. Data was collected using three tools devised specifically for the study. Results indicated that 90% of adolescents reported having television, computer, &cell phone at their home. There was a statistically significant relation between excessive media use (television, computer, & cell phone) and mental health and well-being of the adolescents. Excessive use of these medium affected negatively all dimensions of mental health and wellbeing of the adolescents. Heavy media users felt more emotionally unstable, less self-confident, minimum sociability and unhappiness in their daily activities. They also showed high inadequacy, depressive activities, high level of anger and tension in their routine work. The findings point to the importance of giving more emphasis to research in the area of media usage among Indian adolescents and its consequence.