THE IMPACT OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE ON HEALTH EQUITY AND ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY IN EMERGING ECONOMIES

In recent years, Ghana has seen an unprecedented rise in social media use among youth, prompting concern over its psychological consequences. This study explored the impact of excessive screen time, cyber bullying, and negative social comparison on mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, cognitive exhaustion, and poor sleep, while examining how socioeconomic status moderates these effects. The research was necessary due to alarming increases in reported mental health cases and the lack of digital wellness education or policy regulation. Employing a quantitative design based on secondary data from 105 valid respondents, the study applied correlation and regression analyses. Results showed that excessive use had the strongest relationship with mental health deterioration (r = 0.712; β = 0.491), followed by cyber bullying (r = 0.683; β = 0.463) and negative comparison (r = 0.648; β = 0.429), with a total correlation coefficient of 0.83 and R² = 0.69. Socioeconomic status had a significant moderating effect (β = -0.377), revealing disparities in vulnerability. The findings conclude that social media overuse is a statistically significant threat to youth mental health and call for nationwide interventions. It is recommended that digital literacy be integrated into curricula, tech platforms be regulated for user well-being, and rural mental health outreach be expanded.