Evaluating the Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Multi-Generational Medical Professionals: Basis for a Mental Health Awareness and Support Program Development

This study evaluated the relationship between social media use and mental health among multigenerational medical professionals to inform the development of a Mental Health Awareness and Support Program. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was used among 150 medical professionals, including nurses, physicians, medical technologists, pharmacists, therapists, midwives, and other healthcare workers. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics, social media usage, and mental health indicators, including stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and sleep disturbance. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, independent-samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Results showed that respondents commonly used social media for communication, professional collaboration, access to medical information, education, relaxation, and motivational content. Stress was the most evident mental health concern, while anxiety, depression, burnout, and sleep disturbance were generally reported at low levels. A significant positive relationship was found between social media use and mental health status (r = .493, p < .001). Social media usage differed significantly by age, generation, profession, frequency of use, and daily duration of use. Mental health status differed significantly by years of professional experience, frequency of social media use, and average daily use duration. The findings support the development of a generation-sensitive mental health awareness and support program emphasizing digital wellness, responsible social media use, stress management, emotional resilience, peer support, and referral mechanisms.