A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

ON
“EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENT’S ACADEMIC
PERFOMANCE AND THEIR MENTAL HEALTH IN THE
NAGARJUNA MUNICIPALITY, NEPAL”

SUBMITTED BY
ROMI BAIDYA
4th year,
PU Regd. No: 101-6-2-12955-2018
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN
THE SUBJECT OF PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH REPORT (COURSE
CODE PSD-407.1-PHR) FOR DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
PUBLIC HEALTH

SUBMITTED TO
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
VALLEY COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL SCIENCES
PURBANCHAL UNIVERSITY
KATHMANDU, NEPAL
2023

i
APPROVAL SHEET

This is to certify that the research proposal entitled “Effect of social media on student’s
academic performance and their mental health in the Nagarjun municipality” is study work
carried out by Miss. Romi baidya conducted under our guidance and supervision. This
research proposal is submitted for partial fulfillment of requirement for degree of bachelor of
public health from ‘Valley College of Technical Sciences’ Sitapaila Kathmandu affiliated to
Purbanchal University, Nepal.

…………………. …………………..
Head of department External examiner
Mr. Bishwash Acharya

…………………
Research supervisor

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This proposal report has been prepared with the great support, guidance, and cooperation of
many individuals and instructors. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to my college, Valley College of Technical Sciences, for allowing to conduct this
study.

I would like to acknowledge to head of the department of public health and my research
supervisor for his/her continuous support and guidance.I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to those who directly and indirectly contributed to the study.

Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents and family members for
their encouragement and support.

……………….
Romi Baidya

3
Table of contents

4
 ACRONYMS

SM: Social media

SNS: Social networking sites
FOMO: Fear of missing out
US: United States
SMD: Social media disorder

5
 CHAPTER-I
Introduction
1.1 Background
Social media networking refers to the use of online space by students to connect, share, interact,
establish, or maintain connections with others for academic and socialization objectives. Social
media are computer-mediated technologies that allow students to produce, share, and exchange
information, ideas, photographs, and videos for virtual communities and learners (1).

Social media is described as any digital tools or programs that allow users to interact socially and
differ from traditional media (for example, television). This definition of "social media" includes
social networking sites (for example, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok , text messaging and
messaging applications, social gaming tools, YouTube, and others (2).

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus are being used in learning for the purpose of
convenient communication with other students and potentially with others outside the class such as
students of the same topic and subject experts (3).

The words “Internet” “Social Media” are familiar terms to everyone in this 21st century. With the
evolution of SM sites, the way of interacting and communicating has taken a new pathway. People
are socializing, connecting more and more in different pattern from that of traditional ones (4).

World health organization (Who) defines Mental health as “a state of well-being in which the
individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work
productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (5)

Although social media has helped us connect to the world, its overuse can lead to serious health
problems like depression, anxiety, mania, eating disorders, sleep deprivation, insecurity, FOMO (Fear
of missing out), internet addiction, and other anti-social behaviors (6).

Social media has surprised the world and it has many effect among which only few are found and
many are still left to be researched. The effect of social media has been found both positive and
negative. It has been important to teach young generations the do and donts of using social media
and to use it in balanced way along with other essential of life like study, physical exercise and
nutrition. Different researches claim that social media effects our memory, anxiety, suicide rates,
depression rates along with other physical problems and eye problems (7)

6
Social media has more negative than positive effects. Because nowadays students spend more time
on social media for reasons other than education like posting pictures, unnecessary surfing etc which
causes distraction from the learning environment, affecting their academic progress. Spending too
much time on social networking sites can also lead to a sedentary lifestyle and a decrease in daily
physical activity . Social media also makes people image conscious are many people flaunt their lavish
lifestyles there and also share their pictures in certain way to show themselves fairer, fit, healthier
and wealthier. A large part of social media is projecting a self-image that will receive social currency
in the form of recognition from friends via likes, positive comments, or shares (8).

Social media addiction is one of the biggest problems of our age that we face. Social media addiction
can be expressed as a psychological problem which causes problems such as occupation, emotion
modification, relapse and conflict in many areas of daily life such as private, business/academic,
interpersonal in person's life by progressing with cognitive, affective and behavioral processes ( 9).

Adolescents are individuals between 10–19 years of age, who easily swayed by emotions and
perceive relatively small things as a big issue due to which their psychology is affected. Adolescents
take interest in new things and get easily habituated to it leading to addiction. The access and use of
social media are increasing rapidly among adolescents in Nepal (10).

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1.2 Problem statement
The effects of social media are currently topic of study in research for over decade of time.
The excessive use of social media can have worst effect on mental health as well as physical
health and also can bring change in behaviour as well.

Global scenario
The use of social networking sites for longer period of time leads to various problems like
eyesight problem, back pain due to sitting in same position for longer period of time. A
survey of college students was conducted during the Fall Semester of 2019 to better
understand how these health issues affect students at Midwestern University in the US.
According to researchers, the benefits and drawbacks of social media affect us in ways we
may not yet understand. As a result of the risks and uncertainties associated with the
unknown future effects of social media on generation Z, additional research is required (11).

According to a recent survey, 22% of adolescents access their preferred social networking sites more
than ten times per day, and the majority of young people access SNS more than once per day.
Phones are used by 75% of young people today, with 25% using them for social media, 54% for
messaging, and 24% for instant messaging (12)The impact of internet-based life is dependent on its
use if an individual uses too much social media as well as whatever can harm him. According to
Parmar (2018), in the twenty-first century, youth have been investing their energy in various social
contraptions, averaging 12-15 hours per day on stimulation media such as phones, PCs,
workstations, TVs, and other devices. They use these devices to access WhatsApp, YouTube,
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other services. According to 2019 statistics 2.7 billion people used
Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger each month, with over 2.1 billion using at least one daily. More
than one billion of them were active Facebook users, making it the most visited website (12).

The current global internet user population is estimated to be over 4.1 billion by 2020, accounting
for 60% of the global population. Social media is a major reason why the vast majority of people use
the internet. According to Saudi Arabian statistics, nearly 58% of all citizens use the internet (13).

National scenario

The rate of social media users is high in Nepal among which are mostly students. In Nepalese
students' problems like poor sleep quality, internet addiction and depression are highly seen.

8
According to study done among Nepalese under graduate student 35.4% of students exceeded
validated cut off scores for poor sleep quality, 35.4% for internet addiction, and 21.2% for
depression, respectively. Poorer sleep quality was associated with being younger, not drinking
alcohol, being Hindu, being sexually active, and failing the previous year's board exam. Higher
internet addiction was associated with being younger, being sexually inactive, and failing the
previous year's board exam. Depressive symptoms were more prevalent in students who were older,
sexually inactive, had failed the previous year's board examination, and had completed fewer years
of study. According to statistics, internet addiction mediated 16.5% of the indirect effect of sleep
quality on depressive symptoms. In contrast, sleep quality statistically mediated 30.9% of the
indirect effect of internet addiction on depressive symptoms (14).

1.3 Rationale of study

Social media networking refers to online space that is used by students to connect, share,
interact, establish, or maintain connections with others for academic and socialization
objectives. Social media are computer-mediated technologies that allow students to produce,
share, and exchange information, ideas, photographs, and videos for virtual communities and
learners.

There are several reasons because of which studying the effects of social media on students
academic performance and mental health is important especially in this periods. As we all
know how social media has become an integral part of live especially childrens and how they
spend a significant amount of time on these platforms. Spending maximum time on SM
affects ability to focus academic work and perform well in school in students.

Everything has two sides, likewise social media also have both positive and negative effects.
While it can be a source of support and connection for some students, excessive use or
negative interactions on these platforms can lead to feelings of isolation, anxiety, and
depression in many.

Excessive use of SNS or social media addiction can effect both physical and mental health. It
can lead to poor concentration in student along with problem in eye and can also cause back
problem if used by remaining in same position for long time. It can also cause stress,
depression, anxiety in adolescents.

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So it is must to conduct study in this topic especially among adolescent and school student
especially 8,9 and 10 as adolescent is phase where an individual goes through various change
in their body not only physically but also emotionally .Adolescents are not aware or we can
say they are not able to differentiate between right and wrong. So during this time, excessive
use of Social media or SNS can lead them into various problems and they may get into wrong
things. So it is must to aware them about these things.

They also must be awared that social media can be used in productive way to develop skill or
for learning new things.

During my study, I found that there has not been many study on this topic especially in
adolescent or school students. So in order to aware adolescents about various positive and
negative effects of social media on not only academic but also their mental health, I have
chosed this topic to conduct study on.

1.4 Objectives

1.4.1 General Objectives

To study the effect of social media on academic performance and mental health of
student and factor associated with social media addiction.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

To determine the frequency and duration of social media use among students.

To investigate the relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes.

To examine the effect of different types of social media activities on academic performance
and mental health.

1.5 Research questions

How does the use of social media effect the academic performance and mental health of
students, and what factors contribute to the positive or negative effects of social media use on
students and also how much time does students spend on social media?

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1.6 Study Variables

1.6.1 Independent Variables:

- Age
- Sex
- Education status
- Family income
- Socio-economic status
- Guidance
- Duration of media use
- Wi-Fi availability
- Knowledge and attitude towards social media
- Ethnicity
- Religion

1.6.2 Dependent Variables:

SMD

Mental health

Academic performance

1.7 Conceptual framework

Independent variables
- Age
- Sex
- Education status Dependent variables
- Family income SMD
- Socio-economic status
Mental health
- Guidance
11 Academic perfomance
- Duration of media use
- Wi-Fi availability
1.8 Operational definition

Social media use: The use of any online platform or application that enables users to create
and share content, interact with others but is not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

Academic performance: It refers to the student's level of achievement in academic activities

which is measured by grades, test scores, attendance, and overall academic progress.

Mental health: It refers to the student's psychological and emotional well-being, including
their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Effect of social media: It refers to the influence or impact that social media use has on
students academic performance and mental health which includes both positive and negative
effects.

Social media addiction: It refers to the use of social media platforms in such way or in exceed
that effects other daily activities of students along with their academics and also makes
students habituated to it.

Adolescents: Adolescents refer to individuals between the ages of 10 and 19 years old, who
are in the stage of development between childhood and adulthood.

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 CHAPTER-II

Literature review

Introdution

A literature review is an essential part of an entire research process which is the combination
of the available literature regarding the topic to be studied. The combination merges the
conclusion of many different sources to explain the overall understanding of the topic, thus
laying a foundation for both the research question and primary research.

The main aim of this literature review process was to review articles related to “effect of
social media on students academic and their mental health” and to organize those articles in
systematic way.

Source of information

I have used google scholar for searching articles along with mendely.

Search strategy

Terms such as “social media addiction” “social media effect in academics” “social media and
mental health” “impact of social media academics Nepal” were used to search all databases
using title and in Mendeley to create library of sufficient related article. Total no. of articles
retrieved after excluding irrelevant and with no access to full text-75 and total no of articles
reviewed-36. The review included following three phases: identifying relevant literature,
selection of literature, and summarizing results.

Findings of literature review

A descriptive study was conducted among top 2 universities in Chennai with a sample of 90
respondents in 2020. The study showed that 21.7% of students were using social networking
sites for academics, 15.7% of students were using social networking sites to play games,
16.3% of students using SNS to watch movies, 13.4 % of students were using SNS for sports,
23.6% of students were using it for entertainment and 9.3% of them were using it for
watching serials. this study found that, there was an association between time spent on social
media and the number of social networking sites. the study also found that day by day

13
consumption of media negatively affected the children, preteens, and adolescents by making
them increasingly inclined to depression, anxiety, and other mental issues, just as making
them progressively defenseless to future medical issues. In this study, the result showed that
there was an association between usage of social media and the number of social networking
sites. The study also found that there was a difference between number of social networking
sites and symptoms of depression. The study showed that excessive use of SNS can lead to
heightened depression, anxiety, distress, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction with life, thus
deteriorating mental health (15).

A study was conducted among masters level student in different universities in Kathmandu to
study impact of social media on academics among 176 respondents in 2021. The results of
study showed that the Facebook was most popular social media among students followed by
instagram and Viber. The students using other forms social media except Facebook,
Instagram and Viber were less than 10 percent. Majority of students that is 39.4% used
facebook followed by Instagram (19.4 percent) and Viber (18.1 percent). A majority of
respondents that is 36 percent had been using social media for three to six years and 34
percent students had been using social media for six to nine years. Students who had been
using social media from more than 9 years were 24 percent and only 1.1 percent students had
been using social media for less than a year. The study also showed that majority of students
that is 34 percent had been using social media for 1 to 2 hours per day. The study showed that
0.6 percent of the students did not use social media every day. A significant number of
students that is 22.6 percent had been using social media for more than 3 hours per day.
Majority of the students, that is 58.4% preferred to connect with friends via social media
platforms that they were using. The students who had been using these platforms to connect
with family members and relatives were 19.4 percent. The study showed a negative relation
between the use of social media and the academic performance of students, with more than
80 percent students reporting a decline in their academic performance due to the use of social
media (16).

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 373 medical students distributed across different
academic years in Saudi Arabia in year 2022. The number of students among the participants
who preferred meeting in person were 46.9 percent. The most used application was
WhatsApp that was 97.6 percent followed by twitter that was 78.6 percent, and Telegram that
was 73.7 percent. Among total participants 91.7 percent used social media frequently
whereas 43.4 percent of them used social media for three to six hour per day. The study

14
showed that among participants, 85 percent of them had been using social media for
entertainment purpose whereas 74 percent had been using it for education and 65.7 percent
had been using it for communication. The study showed that majority of participants found
SNSs useful whereas 37.5% believed that social media positively affected their academic
performance (17).

A study was conducted among undergraduates from colleges of Chitwan and Kathmandu.
The study was conducted from total 27 colleges and was conducted among 984 students. The
number of students who suffered from both poor sleep quality and internet addiction was 35.4
percent. The study showed that 55.6 percent students had been suffering from at least of of
the three conditions (poor sleep quality, internet addiction or depression) and number of
students who were suffering from all these three conditions were 10.1 percent. The study
showed that factor associated with poor academics was associated with having lower age, not
being alcohol user and having failed in previous year’s board examination. The study also
showed that depressive symptoms were higher in students of higher age (18).

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduates in Faculty of Allied Health
Sciences among 220 students in Sri Lanka in year 2022 on topic “Impact of social media on academic
performance and interpersonal relation”. The study showed that all participants had social media
accounts, and the majority that is 99.4 percent of them had been using a smartphone and 32
percent of them had been using laptop to access social media. The study also showed that among
participants, 92.6 percent of them had been using mobile data to access social media whereas 45.1
percent of them had been using Wi-Fi to access social media. The mostly used app was WhatsApp
which had been used by 96 percent, followed by Facebook 70.9 percent. The study showed that
nearly 55 percent of participant had one social media account whereas 37.7 percent of them had 2–
3 social media accounts and 7 per cent of them had more than four social media accounts. When
considering the frequency of using social media, most of the participants (72.0%) spend 2–5 h daily
on their favourite social media sites. The study also showed that 12.6 percent had been spending
more than 5 hr on social media. The majority of the participants that is 93.1 percent had been using
social media during their free time whereas thirty-eight participants reported that they had been
using social media at university and 27 percent of them had been using social media at any spare
moment. The study showed majority of the students that is 78.9 percent of them check social media
before getting out of bed (19)

A Cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among sample of 418 among the adolescents of
different colleges of Kathmandu Metropolitan City in topic “Social Media Disorder and Its Association

15
with Depression and Self-Esteem" in year 2022. The study showed that among all participants 411
that is 98.3 percent had been using any of the given social media (Facebook, Facebook Messenger,
WhatsApp, Viber, YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter), while the remaining 11 that is 1.7 percent of
them had not been using any of those media. The study showed that among those who had been
using social media the majority of them that is 43.8 percent of them had been spending one to three
hours on those media daily, 38 percent had been spending less than one hour daily, 10.7 percent of
them had been sending four to six hours daily, and remaining 7.5 percent had been spending seven
hours or more on these media daily. The majority of them that is 91.73 percent had been using
smartphones to access social media, 40.15 percent of them had been using laptops or computers,
13.14 percent had been using tablets, and 0.24 percent of them had been using other devices to
access social media. The study also showed that 78.1 percent of the total respondents had been
using social media for getting updates and news, 69.6 percent had been using them for messaging or
chats or calls, 63.7 percent had been using them for watching videos, 55.5 percent had been using
them for posting their pictures/videos/status , 50.9 percent had been using them for managing their
friends’ posts, 31.1 percent had been using them for following a celebrity or an influencer and the
remaining 5.1 percent been using them for other purposes such as reading memes. The study
determined the prevalence of SMD and describe its association with self-esteem and depression
among adolescents in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (6).

This cross-sectional study among 650 students was conducted in medical centre in Kolkata on topic
“Impact of social media on academic performance” in 2019. This study was conducted to assess the
pattern of social media usage among medical students in eastern part of India and analyse
self-perceived impact on academic performance and interpersonal relations. The study showed that
majority of the participants had been using social media mostly for academic purposes. WhatsApp
(90.6%), Facebook (83%), Google+ (16.7%)) were the most popular platforms. The study also showed
that most participants had been using multiple networking services. A large proportion of students
were using social media for searching news ,59.43 percent of them had using for articles mostly for
academic content (20)

A study was conducted on Pokhara university on “Impact of Social Network Sites in the Life of
University Students” in 2021. The study analysed the impact of social network sites on the life of a

16
university student in terms of intensity of use, personal life satisfaction, social trust, social
expression and physical health. The study was based on close end survey design and consisted of
154 participants of four constituent campuses of Pokhara University. The study showed that 96.8
percent of them had a Facebook profile, 69.5 percent of them had a YouTube account and 56.5
percent had been using Viber. The study also showed that majority of participants had been using
multiple accounts and they had been using all of them effectively. It was seen that 29.2 percent of
participants had been using SNS for more than 2 hrs a day, while 20.8 percent of them had been
using for at least 2 hrs and 5.8 percent of them were always seen active. The study showed that
around 79 percent of them had been using these social network sites for that posting photos, 70
percent had been using for uploading contents, 69.3 percent of them had been using it for chatting,
63.4 percent of them had been using it for communicating with teachers (21).

A study was conducted on group of students in Malaysian university, Malaysia in 2019 on topic
“Influence of social networking sites on students' academic performance”. The study was conducted
to obtain students perceptions on how their use of social networking sites influence their academic
performance. The study showed that majority of participants that is 21 percent had been using SNSs
for making friends and chatting. The participants that is 17 percent of them also had been using SNSs
for receiving and sending messages, 8 percent had been using SNSs for playing games and 7 percent
had been using SNSs to share files. A total of 26 percent of participants had been using SNSs for
academic purposes like communicating with their supervisors and lecturers, conducting academic
related discussions, which is less than the time they spend on other activities unrelated to academics
(22).

A study was conducted on Cullar Oide district among 1000 people o topic “Effect of social media on
academic performance of student” in 2020. The study showed that 123 of the participants
representing 12.3 percent indicated that they had been spending less than 1Hour, 265 participants
representing 26.5 percent spending between 1 - 2 Hours, 498 participants representing 49.8 percent
had been spending between 3-4 Hours and the last group of 114 participants representing 11.4
percent said they had been spending between 5 - 6 Hours a day on the social media sites. The study
also showed that 50 of the participants representing 15 percent indicated that they had been using
during Free Time, 738 participants representing 73.8 percent had been using at School and 112
participants representing 11.2 percent had been using spare time on the social media sites. The
mostly used sites by participants were Facebook used by 441 of them representing 44.1 percent,
Instagram by 63 of them representing 6.3% percent, Twitter by 140 of them representing 14 percent
and WhatsApp by 356 of them representing 35.6 percent respectively ( 1).

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 CHAPTER-III

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research design

Descriptive cross-sectional design will be used to find out the effect of social media among
school students.

3.2 Study Area

The study will be conducted on selected schools of Nagarjuna Municipality, Kathmandu.

3.3 Study population

The study population for this study will be secondary level students of 8,9 and 10.

3.4 Sampling
3.4.1 Sampling frame
Sampling frame will be the secondary level students of 8, 9 and 10 of selected schools in
Nagarjuna Municipality.

3.4.2 Sample size

The sample size is calculated by using formula

2
Z pq
(n) = 2
d

Where,

z= percentage of confidence level (95%)

n = desired sample size

p=prevalence proportion

q=1-p

d= allowable error (5%)

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p=0.5 (Assumed prevalence proportion)

q=0.5 (1-p)

= (1.96)2 0.5*0.5/ (0.5)2

=385

Adding 10% non-response rate to the sample size, the new sample size we get;

=385+10% of 385

=424

Hence, the estimated sample size will be 424.

3.4.3 Sampling technique

Sampling technique was multi stage sampling.

Nagarjun municipality: 10 wards

Cluster sampling
5 wards selected and school from each ward

Simple random sampling

Participants from two school of each ward

PPS method

424 participants

3.5 Data collection method

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3.8.1 Data collection technique

Self-administration questionnaire employed so as to collect the information as

designed in the questionnaire.

3.8.2 Data collection tool

Questionnaire will be used to collect data. Participants will be asked to fill questionnaire
prepared on basis of review of previous literature.

3.9 Data Processing and Analysis

Data will be entered in Epi Data 3.1. Entered data will be exported from Epi-data 3.1 to SPSS
22 for further analysis. Tables, as well as figures, will be presented in the form of pie-chart,
bar-diagram and line-graph in MS Excel. The analysis of data will be done using descriptive
statistics where mean, frequency, proportion, and standard deviation will be calculated. Based
on the objective of the study, data will be analyzed using relevant descriptive and analytical
statistics.

3.10 Validity and Reliability

Before data collection, the pre-test will be conducted on 10% of the sample size to ensure the
reliability and accordingly the appropriate modifications will be made before the
implementation of the actual data collection.

3.11 Inclusion criteria and Exclusion criteria

3.11.1 Inclusion criteria:

School students of secondary level of 8, 9 and 10 including both male and female who were
present during that time will be included in this study.

3.11.2 Exclusion criteria:

The adolescent who have not joined school and the students who were absent
at the time of the study were excluded from this study and the school level
children below class 8.

3.12 Ethical Consideration

20
Verbal and written consent will be taken from the participants before collecting the
information. Approval letter will be taken from college before conduction of research.
Approval letter will be taken from school before conducting study.

21
 CHAPTER-IV

FINDINGS OF STUDY

A cross sectional study was conducted in school students of class 8,9 and 10 studying in four
different schools in Nagarjuna municipality and using social media in Kathmandu, Nepal to
find out the effect of social media on student’s academic performance and their mental health.

Section 1: Socio-demographic information

Table 4.1: Socio-demographic information

Characteristics Frequency Percentage

Age
10-12 85 20
207 48.8
12-14
118 27.8
14-16 14 3.4

16-18
237 55.9
Gender
187 44.1
Male
105 24.7
Female
76 17.9
Ethnicity
219 51.7
Brahmin 13 3.1
11 2.6
Chhetri

Janajati

Dalit

others

22
Religion
Hindu 297 70
Buddhist 126 29.8
Christian 1 0.2
Family type
Nuclear 342 80.7
Joint 55 13
Others 27 6.3
Father’s education
Primary level 169 39.9
Secondary level 131 30.9
+2 102 24
Bachelors 19 4.5
Masters 3 0.7
Mother’s education
Primary level 117 27.6
Secondary level 216 50.9
+2 84 19.8
Bachelors 5 1.2
Masters 2 0.5
Father’s occupation
Agriculture 33 7.8
Business 283 66.7
Others 108 25.5
Mother’s education
Homemaker 246 58
Agriculture 60 14.2
others 118 27.8

23
Section 2: Information about social media
Table 4.2: Information about social media
Characteristics Frequency Percentage

Do you use social media

Yes 424 100
Number of social media accounts
Only one 292 68.9
More than one 132 31.1
Most used social media platforms
Facebook 160 28.5
Instagram 4 0.7
You tube 162 28.9
Twitter 11 2.0
Tik Tok 214 38.1
Others 9 1.6
Social media are useful
Yes 316 74.5
No 108 25.5
If yes how
Learn new things 148 46.8
Get new information 111 35.1
Entertainment 41 13.0
Learn creative things 16 5.1
How long have you been using SM
Less than one year 224 52.8
2-3 years 114 26.9
3-5 years 64 15.1
More than 5 years 22 5.2
Source used to access internet
Data 54 12.7
Wi-fi 370 87.3
Others
Device used to use SM
Smart phones 354 83.5
Laptop 70 16.5
More friends in SM than real life
Yes 99 23.3
No 325 76.7
Spend more time on SM during holidays
Yes 130 30.6
No 294 69.4
If yes how much more time you spend in SM
during holidays in comparison to usual days
2-4 hours 99 76.2
4-6 hours 13 10
6-8 hours 18 13.8

24
 Use sites in productive way
Yes 306 72.2
No 118 27.8
Addicted to SM
Yes 315 74.5
No 109 25.5
SNS affecting academic performance
Yes 135 31.7
No 289 67.8
If yes, how?
Positively 67 15.7
Negatively 68 16.0
Go through SM after waking up
Yes 292 68.5
No 132 31.0
Go through SM before going to bed
Yes 136 31.9
No 288 67.6
Stay awake till late night using SM
Yes 171 40.33
No 253 59.67
Take break from SM
Yes 295 69.55
No 129 30.45
Check SM while studying
Yes 90 21.1
No 333 78.2

Table 4.3: Purpose of using SNS

Purpose Frequency Percentage
For connecting with friends 217 46.5
For chatting 135 28.9
For posting pictures 15 3.2
For other purpose 100 21.4

25
Table 4.4: Time spent on SNS in a day
Time (in hours) Frequency Percentage

Less than one hour 24 5.6

1-2 hours 289 67.8
More than two hours 111 26.1

Table 4.4: Prefer spending holidays

Spend holidays Frequency Percentage
Using social media whole day 34 7.8
during holidays
Going out during holidays 130 29.8
Trying out hobby during holidays 123 28.2
Trying new things during holidays
149 34.2

Table 4.5: Prefer connecting to people

Preference Frequency Percentage
Connecting face to face with 113 22.0
people
Connecting through social media 124 24.1
Connect through phone calls
Connect through texting 143 27.8

134 26.1

26
Section 3: Physical, social and mental health
Characteristics Frequency Percentage

Social media effects mood

Yes 162 38.2
No 262 61.8
If yes, how
Irritation 59 36.42
Get angry faster 61 37.66
Mood swings 42 25.92
Felt any physical or mental health problems due
to use of SM
Yes 238 56.1
No 186 43.9
If yes, explain problem
Headaches 66 27.8
Back pain 41 17.3
Eye problem 56 23.7
Stress 74 31.2

Reduce negative effect of SM

Reduce use of social media 101 23.9
Improve knowledge regarding proper use of SNS 156 36.9
Aware people regarding negative effect of SNS 62 14.42
others 105 24.78

Social media effected social relations

Yes 424 100
No 0 0
If yes, explain how

27
REFERENCES
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[Internet]. Available from: HYPERLINK ""www.marketingcharts.com

2. Understanding the Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health.

3. Agyenim-Boateng R, Amankwaa A. The Impact of Social Media on Student Academic Life in

Higher Education The Impact of Social Media on Student Academic Life in Higher Education
Youth health View project Information and Communication Technology in education View
project [Internet]. 2016. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331000005

4. Tandukar R, Maharjan A. One Health Journal of Nepal Use of Social Media and its Effect on
Health of Secondary Level Students of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. 2021.

5. World Health Organization. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse., Victorian
Health Promotion Foundation., University of Melbourne. Promoting mental health : concepts,
emerging evidence, practice : summary report. World Health Organization; 2004. 67 p.

6. Social Media Disorder and Its Association with Depression and Self-Esteem Among the
Adolescents of Kathmandu Metropolitan City: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study. Journal of
Community Medicine and Public Health Reports. 2022 Nov 8;

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7. Papers R, Vanoverbeke DT. OpenSIUC OpenSIUC The Effects of Social Media on the Health of
College Students The Effects of Social Media on the Health of College Students [Internet].
2019. Available from: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp

8. Haand R, Shuwang Z. The relationship between social media addiction and depression: a
quantitative study among university students in Khost, Afghanistan. Int J Adolesc Youth. 2020
Dec 31;25(1):780–6.

9. Afacan O, Ozbek N. Investigation of Social Media Addiction of High School Students. Int J Educ
Method. 2019 May 15;5(2):235–45.

10. Paudel A, Chhetri M. Association Between Social Media and Psychological Effects Among
Adolescents: A School Based Cross-Sectional Study in Kathmandu City of Nepal. 2021;
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-140958/v1

11. Papers R, Vanoverbeke DT. OpenSIUC OpenSIUC The Effects of Social Media on the Health of
College Students The Effects of Social Media on the Health of College Students [Internet].
2019. Available from: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp

12. Priya D. IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MENTAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS. Available from:
www.ijstr.org

13. Takieddin S, Alghamdi F, Fida H, Alghamdi M, Kamfar R, Alsaidlani R, et al. Effects of social
networking services on academic performance and self-esteem: A cross-sectional study
among medical students. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022;11(10):6221.

14. Bhandari PM, Neupane D, Rijal S, Thapa K, Mishra SR, Poudyal AK. Sleep quality, internet
addiction and depressive symptoms among undergraduate students in Nepal. BMC
Psychiatry. 2017 Mar 21;17(1).

15. Priya D. IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MENTAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS. Available from:
www.ijstr.org

16. Hamal JB. IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADUATE

STUDENTS IN KATHMANDU.

17. Takieddin S, Alghamdi F, Fida H, Alghamdi M, Kamfar R, Alsaidlani R, et al. Effects of social
networking services on academic performance and self-esteem: A cross-sectional study
among medical students. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022;11(10):6221.

18. Bhandari PM, Neupane D, Rijal S, Thapa K, Mishra SR, Poudyal AK. Sleep quality, internet
addiction and depressive symptoms among undergraduate students in Nepal. BMC
Psychiatry. 2017 Mar 21;17(1).

19. Chandrasena PPCM, Ilankoon IMPS. The impact of social media on academic performance
and interpersonal relations among health sciences undergraduates. J Educ Health Promot.
2022 Apr 1;11(1):117.

20. Lahiry S, Choudhury S, Chatterjee S, Hazra A. Impact of social media on academic

performance and interpersonal relation: A cross-sectional study among students at a tertiary
medical center in East India. J Educ Health Promot. 2019 Dec 1;8(1).

21. Shrestha D, Rajkarnikar N, Shrestha D, Dhakal R, Jeong SR. IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORK
SITES IN THE LIFE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF POKHARA UNIVERSITY,

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 NEPAL. International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer Science & Technology. 2021
Jul;9(4).

22. Mahamat Helou A, Zairah N, Rahim A. THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON
STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MALAYSIA.

Click here to enter text.

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 Annexes-I
Work plan

S.N Activities December January February March April May

2022 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023
1 Selection of topic

2 Literature Review

3 Proposal preparation

4 Draft proposal
Development &
submission
5 Tools Development

6 Pre-testing

7 Data Collection

8 Data Analysis &

interpretation
9 Draft Report preparation

10 Research report Defense

& submission

31
 Annex-II

Budget (NRS)

S.N Particulars Total(NRS)

1 Proposal development 1000

2 Questionnaire pretesting 2000

3 Questionnaire printing 4000

4 Stationary 1000

5 Travel cost 10000

6 Internet 3000

7 Report printing and binding 3000

8 Miscellaneous 3000

Total 27000

32
 Annex-III
Questionnaire

Namaste I am Romi Baidya and I am student of Bachelor of Public Health, 8 th

semester studying in Valley College of Technical Sciences, Sitapaila ,
Kathmandu. For the partial fulfillment of Bachelors in Public Health curriculum
in Purbanchal University, I am doing this research on the topic “Effect of social
media on student’s academic performance and their mental health in
selected school of Nagarjuna Municipality, Kathmandu, Nepal”. With your
consent, I would like to ask you some questions regarding your awareness on
social media and networking sites you use. Your honest response will help me
to complete my research study. If you feel any kind of discomfort during any
question, you have your right to stop it any time.

I have read, understand and received copy of consent and desire to participate
in this study.

Do you agree to participate in the research: Yes ( ) No ( )

Participant’s signature:
Date:
Class

33
Section 1: Socio demographic characteristics:
1 Age a. 10-13
b. 14-17
c. 18-21
d. 22-25

2 Gender a. Male
b. Female

3 Ethnicity a. Brahmin
b. Chhetri
c. Janajati
d. Dalit
e. Others…………………
4 Religion a. Hindu
b. Buddhist
c. Christian
d. Islam
e. Others……….
5 Family type a. Nuclear
b. Joint
c. Others……………..
6 Father’s a. Self employed
occupation b. Agriculture
c. Business
d. Others……….
7 Mother’s a. Homemaker
occupation b. Agriculture
c. Self employed
d. Others…………….
8 Father’s a. Primary level
educational level b. Secondary level
c. +2
d. Bachelor level
e. Masters level

9 Mother’s a. Primary level

educational level b. Secondary level
c. +2
d. Bachelor level

34
 e. Masters level

Section 2: Basic information on social media:

1 Do you use social media? a. Yes

b. No
2 How many social media a. Only one
accounts do you have? b. More than one
3 Which of following social a. Facebook
media platforms do you use b. Instagram
the most? c. You Tube
d. Twitter
e. TikTok
f. Others…………..
4 Do you think social media are a. Yes
useful? b. No

6 If yes, how
…………………………………….

……………………………………..
7 How many hours a day do you a. Less than one hr
spend on these sites? b. 1-2 hours
c. More than two hours
8 How long have you been using a. Less than one year
social media? b. 2-3 years
c. 3-5 years
d. More than 5 years
9 Why do you use social media? a. Connecting with friends
b. Chatting
c. Posting pictures
d. Others …………….
10 Which source do you use to a. Data
access internet? b. Wi-Fi
c. Others……….
11 Which device do you use for a. Smart phone/Mobile phone
using social media? b. Laptop/Desktop

12 Do you have more friends in a. Yes

social media than in real life? b. No

35
13 Do you spend more time on a. Yes
social media during holidays? b. No
14 If yes, how much more time
you spend in social media in ……………………
comparison to usual days?
15 How do you prefer spending a. Using social media whole day
your holidays? b. Going out
c. Trying out hobby
d. Trying new things

16 Do you thing you use these a. Yes

sites in productive way? b. No
17 Do you get worried about a. Yes
getting addicted to these sites? b. No
18 Do you think these sites affect a. Yes
your academic perfomance? b. No
19 If yes how a. Positively
b. Negatively
21 Do you go through social a. Yes
media after waking up? b. No
22 Do you go through social a. Yes
media before going to bed? b. No
23 Do you stay awake till late a. Yes
night going through sites? b. No
24 Do you take breaks from a. Yes
social media? b. No
25 Do you check social media a. Yes
while studying? b. No
26 Have you ever found yourself a. Yes
distracted while studying? b. No
27 If yes, how
…………………………………….

……………………………………..
28 How do you prefer connecting a. Face to face
to people? b. Via social media
c. Phone calls

d. Texting

36
Section 3: Physical, social and mental health
1 Do you think social media effects your mood? a. Yes
b. No
2 If yes. Explain how ……………………….

………………………..

………………………..

3 Have you felt any type of physical or mental a. Yes

health problems due to use of social media? b. No

4 If yes, explain ..……………………..

……………………..

……………………..

5 Has social media affected your social a. Yes

relations? b. No
6 If yes, explain how ……………………………..

……………………………..

……………………………..

37
38