Shodh Prabha: A Multidisciplinary Journal

Impact of Social Media Usage on Mental Health Among Indian Youth

Over the past years, social media has turned into an irreplaceable element of the Indian youth that affects their thought, feelings, and actions significantly. Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Snapchat are the platforms that have produced new patterns of communication and identity manifestation, yet they have been a source of rising interests with regard to mental health. This is a review paper, and it will examine both national and international literature in order to make the connection between the use of social media and psychological well-being among Indian youth. Results have shown both positive and negative effects: on the one hand, social media allows connecting, being creative, and gaining learning experience, on the other hand, social media results in such problems as anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, and body dissatisfaction. The review notes that too much screen time, social comparison, and pressure to get online validation can have a severe impact on emotional stability. In addition to this, socio-cultural variables like family pressure, academic competition, and stigma of mental illness aggravate the situation in India. The paper concludes that psychological burden among the young population in India needs to be minimized through the application of digital literacy, careful media usage, and early intervention on mental health.