EXPLORING THE SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE OF NURSING STUDENTS: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AT SMT. NAGARATHNAMMA COLLEGE OF NURSING, BENGALURU

Social media addiction has become a growing concern worldwide, affecting individual across various age groups and professions. The nursing students, being digitally connected and frequently engaged with social media platforms, are not exempt from the potential risks associated with excessive social media use. In research findings, approximately 36% of Indian adolescents and 28.3% of nursing students in Mangalore, India, showed symptoms or signs of social media addiction, according to surveys conducted by AIIMS in 2021 and by Nandini and Nayak in 2019, respectively. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of social media addiction among nursing students in Smt. Nagarathnamma College of Nursing. Materials and Methods: A convenient sampling technique was employed to collect data from 256 nursing students enrolled in a nursing college. The participants were provided with a standardized questionnaire (social networking addiction scale) to assess their level of social media addiction. The questionnaire included items that assessed various dimensions of social media addiction, such as salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. Results: The analysis of the collected data revealed that 40% (104) of the nursing students exhibited symptoms of social media addiction, while 60% (152) did not show addiction towards social media. These results indicate a considerable propotion of social media addiction among nursing students in the nursing college under study. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the significance of addressing social media addiction among nursing students. The high prevalence of addiction indicates the need for preventive measures and interventions to promote healthy social media use and mitigate the potential negative consequences on academic performance and mental well- being.