Relationship Between Social Media Use and Psychosocial Well-Being of Young People in Selected Public and Private Tvet Institutions in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

The relationship between social media usage patterns and the psychosocial well-being of young people has become increasingly concerning in recent years. Numerous studies have been conducted, revealing the prevalence, trends, and underlying motives driving social media engagement among young people. This study aimed to elucidate the nexus between social media use and the psychosocial well-being of young people in TVET institutions in Kiambu County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to; establish the forms of social media used by young people in TVET institutions, determine how use of social media influences the social well-being of young people studying at TVET institutions, examine how use of social media influences the mental well-being of young people in TVET institutions, and determine how use of social media influences the spiritual well-being of young people in TVET institutions. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping and the Uses and Gratification Theory guided the study. Employing a convergent mixed-methods research design and stratified, simple random sampling method, data collection involved administering questionnaires to young people in selected public and private TVET institutions within Kiambu County and interview schedules for counsellors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present the data distribution with the help of SPSS version 29. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis method. Quantitative results showed that WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok were the most frequently used platforms, with 81.3%, 62.0%, and 62.3% of respondents reporting frequent or very frequent use, respectively. Inferential analysis showed that while the set of social media platforms explained 33.8% of the variations in social well-being, only Twitter use (β = .276, t = 3.312, p = .001) had statistically significant positive effects on social wellbeing, none of the individual social media platforms significantly predicted mental well-being (p>.05), and only YouTube had a statistically significant positive effect on spiritual well-being (β = .179, t = 2.089, p<.05). The findings were corroborated by findings from in-depth interviews which revealed both positive and negative implications of social media use on psychosocial wellbeing. The study concluded that young people in TVET institutions in Kiambu County are highly engaged with a variety of social media platforms. However, the impact of social media use on psychosocial well-being of young people varied by the social media platform used. The study recommends that young people be encouraged to balance their online engagement with offline relationships and participation in community while using social media in ways that promote meaningful interaction, learning, and positive social support. Future research should incorporate a broader range of psychosocial, environmental, and personal variables in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape the psychosocial well-being of young people.