How online habits shape student mental health

PSY 220 – Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health

Assignment 2: Applied Research Essay

Assignment overview

Write a 1,200–1,500 word applied research essay that examines how social media use relates to mental health in adolescents or college students. Focus on one clearly defined outcome (for example depression, anxiety, self-esteem, body image, loneliness, or sleep) and analyse the relationship using current empirical evidence.

Assignment context

Social media platforms have become a routine part of daily life for young people, and concerns about their psychological impact now form a central topic in contemporary psychology and social science teaching. Many courses ask students to move beyond opinion and media commentary and instead work carefully with peer-reviewed evidence to describe risks, potential benefits, and the conditions under which social media use is more or less harmful.

Assignment instructions

1. Define your focus

• Choose one population: adolescents (13–18 years) or college/university students (18–25 years).

• Choose one primary mental health outcome, such as:

  • Depressive symptoms

  • Anxiety

  • Self-esteem or body image concerns

  • Loneliness or perceived social support

  • Sleep quality or sleep disturbance

2. Describe the phenomenon

i. Everyday use patterns

• Briefly describe how your chosen group typically uses social media (for example common platforms, typical daily time online, key activities such as messaging, posting, or passive scrolling).

• Summarise main public concerns and claims about social media and mental health for this group.

ii. Conceptual definitions

• Define your mental health outcome using an accepted psychological description (for example depressive symptoms as persistent low mood, loss of interest, and related cognitive changes).

• Clarify what counts as “social media use” in your essay (for example total screen time, type of engagement, or specific online behaviours).

3. Review and interpret empirical evidence

i. Summarise key studies

• Select at least four recent empirical studies (2018–2026) that examine links between social media use and your chosen outcome in adolescents or young adults.

• For each study, briefly report the sample, main variables, and core findings, noting whether the association appears harmful, neutral, or potentially beneficial.

ii. Identify patterns and limits

• Discuss points of agreement and disagreement across the studies, including any evidence of small or mixed effects.

• Comment on important limitations, such as cross-sectional designs, self-report measures, or lack of attention to individual differences.

4. Explain mechanisms and conditions

i. Potential mechanisms

• Explain at least two plausible psychological or social mechanisms that might connect social media use to your chosen outcome (for example social comparison, cyberbullying, fear of missing out, positive peer support, or identity exploration).

ii. When harm is more likely

• Identify conditions that may make negative effects more likely, such as high daily use, night-time use that disrupts sleep, particular types of content, or pre-existing vulnerabilities.

• Note any protective factors or potential benefits found in the literature, such as online support groups or access to mental health information.

5. Discuss implications for students, families, or practitioners

i. Practical recommendations

• On the basis of the evidence you have reviewed, offer two or three realistic recommendations for your chosen group (for example guidelines on use, digital literacy, or ways to seek help).

• Describe how these recommendations follow from the findings you have presented rather than from general opinion.

ii. Future questions

• Identify one or two research questions that remain open, such as the long-term impact of early adolescent use or the role of specific platforms.

6. Academic writing and format requirements

• Length: 1,200–1,500 words, excluding title page and reference list.

• Structure: Use clear headings that reflect the sections above.

• Style: Write in a formal academic tone with precise language and logically ordered paragraphs.

• Sources: Include at least four peer-reviewed empirical articles (2018–2026) that directly address social media and mental health in adolescents or young adults. Additional high-quality reports may be used to support context.

• Referencing: Apply current APA style for in-text citations and reference list.

Marking criteria (grading rubric)

Criterion 1: Focus and clarity of topic (15%)

• High distinction: States a clear, specific focus on one population and one mental health outcome and maintains that focus consistently throughout the essay.

• Credit: Focus is mostly clear, with only minor shifts or digressions.

• Pass: General topic is identifiable but population or outcome is only loosely defined.

• Fail: Topic is vague or shifts substantially across the essay.

Criterion 2: Use and interpretation of empirical evidence (35%)

• High distinction: Integrates at least four recent empirical studies, summarises methods and findings accurately, compares results across studies, and draws balanced conclusions about size and direction of effects.

• Credit: Uses several appropriate studies and interprets them broadly correctly, with some comparison or synthesis.

• Pass: Relies on a small number of studies or summarises findings with limited detail or integration.

• Fail: Evidence is minimal, outdated, or misinterpreted.

Criterion 3: Explanation of mechanisms and conditions (25%)

• High distinction: Provides clear, plausible explanations for how social media use might influence the chosen outcome, supported by theory or data, and identifies conditions that increase risk or support potential benefits.

• Credit: Describes some mechanisms and conditions with reasonable clarity.

• Pass: Mentions possible mechanisms but with limited depth or weak linkage to evidence.

• Fail: Mechanisms and conditions are largely absent or speculative.

Criterion 4: Discussion of implications (15%)

• High distinction: Derives realistic, evidence-based implications or recommendations for students, families, educators, or practitioners and links them clearly to reviewed findings.

• Credit: Offers sensible implications with some connection to evidence.

• Pass: Provides general suggestions with limited grounding in the literature.

• Fail: Implications are missing or not logically connected to the essay content.

Criterion 5: Academic writing and referencing (10%)

• High distinction: Writing is well structured, clear, and coherent with very few errors; APA referencing is accurate and consistent throughout.

• Credit: Writing is clear overall with minor lapses; APA style errors are occasional and non-disruptive.

• Pass: Organisation or expression sometimes limits clarity; referencing shows recurring errors.

• Fail: Frequent errors in writing or referencing substantially reduce readability.

Many strong essays begin by noting how near-constant access to social media on smartphones has blurred the boundary between online and offline life for teenagers and college students and then move on to describe how specific patterns of use, such as passive scrolling and upward social comparison, relate to depressive symptoms in large survey studies (Naslund et al., 2020). High-quality work typically summarises several studies that show small but consistent associations between heavy use and poorer mood, while also acknowledging findings that highlight potential benefits such as peer support and access to mental health information. Clear paragraphs that separate description of evidence from interpretation allow the writer to show how particular mechanisms, like social comparison or cyberbullying, may explain when social media use is especially harmful and when it may offer support instead.

References

• Naslund, JA, Bondre, A, Torous, J & Aschbrenner, KA 2020, Social media and mental health: Benefits, risks, and opportunities for research and practice, World Psychiatry, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 350–361, https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20727

• U.S. Surgeon General 2023, Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, viewed 20 January 2026, https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf

• Thorisdottir, IE et al. 2019, Depressive symptoms, mental wellbeing, and substance use among adolescents before and during the economic crisis in Iceland, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 139–148, https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494818765400

• Gao, W et al. 2022, Social media discussions predict mental health consultations on a college campus, npj Digital Medicine, vol. 5, article 6, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00574-8