Abstract
Background
Generalized anxiety and depression is the initial stage of mental illness and reflects a mood disorder reflected in sadness, hopelessness, nervousness, and worry. There are different factors associated with general anxiety and depression (GAD). Together with basic demographic and economic factors, we observed the use of social media by GAD. The aim of this study is to explore globally the influence of social media on self-reported general anxiety and depression.
Methodology
We chose different factors associated with anxiety and depression affected for more than 2 weeks from the 2020 Wellcome Global Monitor from the available secondary data. The samples from each country are nationally representative of the resident population aged 15 and older with access to a phone in 113 countries. The research design process was completed by leading researchers and subject experts; cognitive testing was conducted in ten countries to ensure questions could be understood across countries and by various demographic groups; and pilot tests were conducted in 10 countries. Independent variables were demographic variables: age, gender, economics, education, employment status, belief factors, and trends in social media use. Univariate variables were presented in frequency and percentage; bivariate analysis was performed with cross-tabulation using the chi square test; and logistic regression was used among significant variables by adjusted odds ratios and 95% CI as multivariate analysis.
Results
The prevalence of self-reported generalized anxiety depression (GAD) was 20% out of 119,234 in 113 countries. More than 38.27% were between the ages of 30 and 49, with 51% being male, more than half having completed high school, and 27% falling into the 4th and 5th quintiles (rich group). Similarly, more than 63.4% were employed, 81.3% believed in science, 42.3% believed in traditional healers, and 81.5% used social media, which was significantly associated with self-reported GAD. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) showed that young age (15–30) years 1.24 times, females 1.21 times, elementary and primary education 1.34 times, the poorest twenty 1.39 times, and those who use social media several times an hour are more likely to be GAD with reference to early old age, males, higher education, the richest twenty, and those who did not use social media in the past 30 days. At the same time, the older age group (65+), those who trusted science and traditional healers and did not use social media in the past 30 days, were less likely to be GAD.
Conclusions: There is an increasing risk of GAD worldwide, and young adults and females are more vulnerable. Excessive use of social media is a challenging and risky factor.