IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND SELFCOMPASSION ON DEPRESSION AMONG SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS IN OWERRI, IMO STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of social media usage and self-compassion on depression among sports enthusiasts in Owerri. Two hundred participants were selected from Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, for this study using a convenient sampling technique. The
participants were 130 male and 70 female adults living in Owerri. The participants’ ages ranged from 23 to 50 years with a mean age of 34.64 and a standard deviation of 6.4 years. Two hypotheses were postulated and tested. Three instruments were used in the study: the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) by Andreassen et al. (2012); the self-compassion scale (SCS) by Neff (2003) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale by William and Zung (1965). A cross-sectional survey design was adopted; two-way ANOVA was used to analyse the data. The results showed that social media addiction (presence and absence) significantly impacts depression among sports enthusiasts in Owerri. However, the results also showed that self-compassion (high and low) did not significantly influence depression among sports enthusiasts in Owerri. It is recommended that sports enthusiasts in Owerri endeavour to regulate the amount of time they spend on the internet, as well as the media content they access online to curb its negative impact on their mental health.