Students using social media to cope with COVID-19, research finds

University students are increasingly turning to social media as a way to cope with social isolation and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Carleton University researcher says.

Professor Kim Hellemans, chair of the neuroscience department, has been studying how the pandemic has influenced cannabis use, stress and mental health among students taking university courses. 

She told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning that survey results have shown a clear trend of higher scores on a problematic social media scale — a psychological tool based on a similar scale used to measure substance use.

"For a lot of [the pandemic], we've had to remain relatively physically isolated from our other friend groups. Students, unlike others, are using these tools to try to connect with people," said Hellemans.

"But like everything, it has a dark side."

Overuse of social media causing anxiety

That "dark side," Hellemans said, comes when people spend more time using social media than intended, have difficulty cutting down their time online or experience withdrawal symptoms like anxiety when not using the apps.

Hellemans had already been studying student mental health at the beginning of the year, surveying students to learn more about the relationship between mental health, cannabis use and academic outcomes.

When the pandemic hit Canada, she added new questionnaires specific to the pandemic. So far, her team has conducted three phases of the study with different sets of participants.

Her survey asks students whether they use social media to combat negative feelings or moods, if they neglect friends and other social activities and if they're preoccupied when they're not using it.

In research conducted from May to June, 81 per cent of participants said they'd been using social media as a coping mechanism more since the pandemic began.

Hellemans said female students were more likely to report problematic social media use than male students, partly because women are typically more active users and are more likely to want to feel connected to their friend groups.

Other coping strategies: cannabis, food 

Students are also turning to substances to cope with their stress, Hellemans said, from sweets and desserts to cannabis and alcohol.

Hellemans said data collected during the first phase of the study showed a rise in problematic cannabis and alcohol use among students after March 30, about two weeks after public health officials encouraged people to stay at home and classes moved online.

Use of both substances then declined during the summer, Hellemans said.

"What we think is happening is that the students electing to take courses in the summer are the ones that have the financial means to do so, and are in a better mental position to do so as well," said Hellemans. 

As post-secondary students head back to school, Hellemans said universities and professors need to make sure they are supporting them.

"It's back to normal and yet we're still in a global pandemic," said Hellemans. "I suspect we're really going to need to keep an eye on and make sure our students are doing well."