Plugged in: Social Media and Fostering of Affluenza among Young Adults

Page: 437-441
Vinod and Punam Midha (Department of Psychology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana)

Youth culture is glorified which is indeed empowered by social media which has created digital natives whose wealth laden mindset is very much prevalent, who are miraculously under the influence of social media, which no doubt shapes their pattern of behaviour. Nowadays the challenges of social media in terms of promoting social illnesses are increasing rapidly. With these notions in mind, the present study is an attempt to assess affluenza, usage of social media and to explore the role of social media in cultivating affluenza among young adults. A purposive sample of students ranging from 20-22 years from Delhi NCR was taken and data were statistically analysed. The findings revealed the moderate level of affluenza among youth and high level of usage of social media where maximum usage is reflected in the domain of information followed by academics, entertainment and least for socialization. Further correlation analyses indicated that there existed positive significant moderate level of link between affluenza and usage of social media. The maximum positive relationship between the socialization has been found with affluenza thereby indicating that interaction with others may primarily serve as a major source of affluenza. The current findings have unravelled the hidden adverse impact of usage of social media on adults’ mind.