Between Screens and Struggles: Social Media Engagement, Coping Mechanisms, and Depressive Symptoms in Youth

This study examined relationship of social media engagement, coping mechanism and depressive symptoms in youth studying in Pakistani universities. A convenience sample of 196 students (34.7% male, 65.3% female; M = 21.7 years, SD = 2.4; age range = 15–31years) completed standardized measures of Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (SMEQ; Przybylski et al., 2013) Coping Index (Stallman, 2017), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001). Independent-samples t tests revealed that female students reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than males (t(194) = 2.31, p = .022), while no significant differences emerged for coping strategies and social media engagement. Multiple regression analysis showed that gender (B = 1.44, p = .048) and age (B = –1.73, p = .001) significantly predicted depressive symptoms, accounting for 8.8% of the variance, whereas residential status and family system were non-significant predictors. Regression models for coping strategies and social media engagement were non-significant. These findings highlight the elevated vulnerability of younger female students to depressive symptoms, underscoring the cultural salience of demographic factors in shaping mental health outcomes. Social media use did not directly predict depressive symptoms but remains contextually important for youth coping. The study also contributes to understanding how demographic characteristics intersect with digital engagement, coping and depressive symptoms in a South Asian cultural setting.