Social Media And Its Influence On Body Image, Self-Esteem, And Mental Health Of University Students Athletes

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationships among social media use, body image concerns, self-esteem, and mental health among university students’ athletes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among athletes of various sports at different universities in Lahore, Pakistan. Lahore hosts a large, diverse higher education sector with approximately 50 to 60 recognized universities, including both public and private institutions. So it is quite difficult for the researcher to contact the whole population. To overcome this problem, the researcher selected four hundred (400) student-athletes through an available sampling technique during different intervarsity competitions. Participants completed standardized questionnaires assessing their social media use (SMU), body image dissatisfaction, self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and mental health (WHO-5 Well-Being Index). Collected data were tabulated and analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Version-32) and thus suitable statistical tools were applied. On the basis of data analysis and findings, the researcher arrived at conclusion that use of social media is strongly linked to negative body image, low self-esteem, and worse mental health among university student’s athletes.