Influence of Social Media Engagement and Perceived Quality of Life on Mental Health Among Emerging Adults

The study examined the influence of social media engagement and perceived quality of life on mental health, among emerging adults, using a cross-sectional design. Three hundred research participants were administered structured psychological tests, measuring social media engagement, perceived quality of life and mental health. Three hypotheses were tested. The first result showed that the social media engagement levels did not significantly influence mental health outcomes among studied emerging adults (t = .59, p > .09). The second result supports that, a better quality of life is associated with higher levels of mental health among emerging adults (t = 9.02, p < .01). The final result shows that social media engagement (β = .654, t = 2.457, p = .015) shows a statistically significant positive relationship with mental health. Conversely, quality of life (β = .027, t = .134, p = .894) demonstrates a non- significant relationship with mental health. It is recommended that, researchers and practitioners can advance their understanding of the complex interplay between social media, quality of life, and mental health, ultimately leading to more targeted and impactful intervention for promoting wellbeing among emerging adults.