Exploring the digital mirror: Problematic social media usage and its influence on body shape among medical students in a South Indian Tertiary Care Setting.

Abstract

Social media usage addiction has become very rampant in this AI era. In India, the idea of body image has received less attention, particularly among young females. Environmental and cultural factors have a big impact on how body shape concerns develop. 1. To determine the pattern of social media usage among medical students. 2. To assess the body shape satisfaction among medical students. 3. To determine factors associated with body shape concerns among medical students. This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 430 medical students of a Private Medical College in Tamil Nadu using a semi-structured questionnaire. Social media addiction was assessed using Bergen scale (six-item) and body shape satisfaction using a validated BSQ 34-item scale. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Variables significantly associated with body shape concerns were identified using univariate and multivariate analysis. The mean age was 21.43 ± 3.40 years and 67.1% were females. Among the study participants, 56.5% were using social media for an average of 1-3 hours in a day and 76.3% of them had problematic social media usage (PSMU). About 36.2% had various degrees of body shape concerns and it was significantly associated with PSMU and body mass index in regression analysis. Nearly 76.3% had problematic social media usage, and 36.2% had body shape concerns. Awareness programs should be conducted among medical students to identify early cases of social media addiction and body shape and image-related concerns.