| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 38
| Issue : 1 | Page : 26-31 |
|
|
Screen time and mental well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a survey among medical and engineering students
Ragul Ganesh, Swarndeep Singh, Rachna Bhargava, Yatan Pal Singh Balhara
Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Yatan Pal Singh Balhara
Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_365_21
|
|
|
Background and Objectives: Concerns have been expressed about the possible adverse impact of increased screen time on the psychological well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between screen time and mental well-being among college students. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey-based study was conducted among Indian college students. Details regarding sociodemographics and the amount and pattern of screen time usage and mental well-being (assessed using World Health Organization Well-Being Index; 5) were collected. Furthermore, personality traits were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Results: The final study sample comprised of 731 medical and engineering undergraduate students with a mean age of 20.7 years. The total screen time across different devices among the study participants for both weekdays and weekends was comparable, with a median value of 540 min. Poor mental well-being was significantly associated with higher total screen time (P = 0.03). Furthermore, screen time use predominantly to access social media for noncommunication purposes was associated with significantly lower mental well-being scores (P = 0.03). Conclusions: The current study highlights the impact of screen time on the mental well-being of students. The higher total screen time use was associated with poor mental well-being. Various types of screen time could have a differential relation with the mental well-being of students. Increased screen time use predominantly to access social media for noncommunication purposes was associated with a higher risk of poor mental well-being.
|
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
