Factors Associated with Social Anxiety Related to Social Media Usage among Nursing Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64767/trcn.2025.272867Keywords:
social networks, social anxiety related to social media usage, nursing students, social comparison, social media addictionAbstract
This descriptive correlational research aimed to investigate social anxiety related to social media usage among nursing students and to examine the associations between social media usage behavior, social comparison, and social media addiction with social anxiety related to social media usage among nursing students
The participants consisted of 190 undergraduate nursing students aged between 18 and 37 years from Suan Dusit University. Research instruments included a personal information questionnaire, a social media usage behavior questionnaire, a social comparison questionnaire, a social media addiction test, and a social anxiety test related to social media usage. The reliability of the instruments, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, ranged from .80 to .97. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple correlation analysis.
The findings revealed that the overall score for social anxiety related to social media usage among nursing students at Suan Dusit University was found to be at a moderate level (Mean=2.79, (S.D. = 1.10). Meanwhile social network usage behavior, social comparison, and social media addiction were all positively correlated with social anxiety related to social media usage at a statistically significant level (r = .35, .49, and .67 respectively; p < .01). These findings suggested that the aforementioned factors could serve as indicators for mental health risk screening for social anxiety related to social media usage among nursing students. In particular, assessments of social media usage behavior, social comparison, and tendencies toward social media addiction can provide foundational data for developing mental health promotion strategies tailored to the context of professional health education.
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