Social media use in Baghdad dorms linked to more anxiety, depression and isolation

A survey of female university students in dorms in Baghdad found that longer daily use and social comparison content were associated with higher anxiety and depression and weaker in-person interaction.

Editorial illustration — not from the study.

The article examines how daily social media use relates to mental health for female students living in university dormitories in Baghdad. It looks at patterns of use, how strongly usage is associated with psychological indicators such as anxiety, stress, depression, and social isolation, and whether the associations differ by age, year of study, and major.

The results show differences in how much time students spend on social media, with a higher proportion reporting longer daily use. That greater use was associated with higher anxiety and stress and with weaker social interaction in the dorm environment, particularly when the content involved entertainment and social comparisons.

Links to anxiety and isolation

Researchers found that students varied in their daily time on social media, and that a relatively large share reported longer use. Higher daily use was associated with increased anxiety and stress and reduced direct social interaction in dorm life. The study also reports that the kind of content used—especially entertainment and social comparisons—was associated with students’ psychological state, including anxiety, stress, depression, and social isolation.

Support for dorm mental health

The findings describe an association between social media use in university dorms and mental health indicators among women in Baghdad. The authors emphasize the need for support inside dorms and for awareness programs about healthier, more positive social media use, along with mental health counseling in the university environment.

Survey evidence and caveats

This is a social survey study using a questionnaire developed for the research, with data collected from female dormitory students in universities in Baghdad during the study period. Because the study is based on survey associations rather than a controlled experiment, it cannot show that social media use directly causes the mental health differences. The abstract does not specify the sample size, the strength of the statistical relationships, or details needed to judge how broadly the results apply beyond the surveyed students.

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