Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication

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https://scholar.ucu.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12311/94

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Browsing Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication by Author "Bridget Komuhimbo"

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    Assessing Facebook Usage and It’s Influence on Ucu Students’ Mental Health in Uganda a Case on Uganda Christian University Students
    (Uganda Christian University, 2024-10-08) Bridget Komuhimbo
    This research takes a critical look at Facebook usage and its impact on UCU student‘s mental health. It also establishes the challenges have Facebook posed to Uganda Christian University students‘ mental health. Facebook has become a channel through which people share ideas, news, advice and analyses on different ideas and research in the society. Students also use it to share knowledge in one way or another. In Africa, Facebook is now a permanent feature in the media environment as the students‘ performance grows, and at the same time affects their mental health. This study tried to examine the impact of Facebook addiction among students‘ mental health and what can be done to eradicate these challenges. The study also sought to assess the impact of Facebook usage on the mental health of students at Uganda Christian University (UCU). The study aims to identify specific patterns of Facebook usage that may contribute to positive or negative mental health effects and to provide evidence-based recommendations for promoting healthy social media practices among university students. The study was guided by the following questions; what are Facebook usage patterns among UCU students? What are UCU students‘ perceptions and experiences regarding the influence of Facebook on their mental health? Which features or behaviors on Facebook contribute positively or negatively to UCU student mental well-being? To achieve these objectives, the qualitative design used and the Random sampling technique was carried out. The research sampled 10 respondents who were students of Information Technology and third year Journalism students. To put this research in perspective, New Media and media dependency theories were briefly examined. The findings reveal that there are some threats posed by Facebook usage among students, but most of them use it to find information in regards to their education. There are those who study in Facebook groups formed by different students from the different schools. The study concluded that Facebook addiction has negatively affected students‘ performance, led to stress, depression, and other related mental health issues.