Correlation Between Social Media Addiction and Mental Health Issues: A Case Study of Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi, Kano State, Nigeria

This study assessed the Relationship between Social Media Addiction and Mental Health Among Students of Federal College of Education, Bichi, Kano State, Nigeria with Implication for Counselling. Utilizing a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 365 students through simple random sampling. The Social Media Addiction and Mental Health Problem Questionnaire (SMAMHPQ), a researcher-developed instrument with strong reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.85) was used to measure demographic variables, social media addiction, and mental health status. Results revealed that 71% of students were classified as addicted to social media, while 54% reported mental health problems. WhatsApp (31%) was identified as the most frequently used platform, followed by Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Female students showed significantly higher social media addiction scores (p = .010) and mental health problem scores (p = .028) than males, whereas age did not significantly influence these outcomes. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.859, p = .000) existed between social media addiction and mental health problems. These findings point significant Counselling implications, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions that address social media addiction as well as mental health challenges with particular attention to gender-sensitive approaches. Counselling professionals are urged to facilitate coping strategies, resilience building, and psychoeducation to support students’ psychological wellbeing in the context of pervasive social media use.