DEV Community: Sakeena Navavi

Investigating the Impact of Mental Health on Youth's Social Media Habits: A Statistical Exploration

Sakeena Navavi — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:15:30 +0000

In today's digital times, Social media has become quite a seamless integration into the lives of the youth. It offers its users a platform for connectivity, self-expression and communication. However, given its numerous benefits, it has also come to everyone's attention that social media also comes with its own repercussions. In this article, I will walk you all through intricate relationship between mental health and social media behavior of the young generation revealing insights derived from a quantitative research study conducted as part of my coursework for the Statistics for Computing module at university.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND VARIABLES

In order to better understand the complex relationships between mental health and social media engagement among young adults, our study aimed to answer the following key research question:

"How do various aspects of mental health, including depression, anxiety, happiness, and creativity, influence social media usage among young individuals?"

To address every aspect of this question, we identified four key independent variables that represent different aspects of mental health:

Depression
Anxiety
Happiness
Creativity

We identified these four key independent variables and examined their associations with social media engagement, the dependent variable.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS METHOD

To collect relevant data, we developed a comprehensive 20-question survey using Google Forms and targeted people aged 18 to 25. The survey used Likert scale questions to evaluate participants' perspectives on the relationship between mental health factors and social media usage. With 70 completed responses, we performed thorough statistical analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics, including regression analysis to identify correlations between the independent and dependent variables.
Survey Link: https://forms.gle/wK8uXmxYdaigjxnH7

We started by running simple linear regression models for each independent variable separately, then performed a multiple regression model that combined all four variables to determine their collective predictive capacity for social media usage.

KEY FINDINGS:

Our analysis revealed several interesting insights:

Depression came out as the most significant individual prediction, with a strong positive correlation to social media usage. Surprisingly, increased social media engagement was linked to higher depressive symptoms among participants.
Anxiety also showed a significant positive correlation with social media usage, suggesting that prolonged digital interactions might increase anxiety levels.
Contrary to popular opinion, happiness had a moderately positive relationship with social media use. Many participants reported that social media platforms increased happiness by promoting connectivity and a sense of belonging.
Furthermore, creativity showed a modest but statistically significant positive relationship with social media use. Many young people used social media to express themselves creatively and be inspired.

These four mental health factors contributed to a significant portion (33.8%) of the variance in social media usage, highlighting the complexities of the interplay of variables at effect.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the complex relationship between mental health and social media engagement among young people today. While social media platforms provide outstanding opportunities for connectivity and self-expression, it is critical to recognize and address the potential mental health risks associated with excessive use. By shedding light on these factors, we hope to spark informed debates and initiatives aimed at encouraging healthier online habits and supporting the psychological health of young people in the digital age.

As we conclude this investigation into the complex relationship between mental health and social media use, I invite you, dear readers, to join the discussion. What are your thoughts on the results presented here? Are there any specific questions or topics you'd like us to delve deeper into?

Your insights and questions are invaluable additions to our ongoing discussion. Please leave your comments, questions, and reflections below. I look forward to engaging with each of you in an engaging discussion of ideas.

Warm Regards,
Sakeena Navavi

Harnessing the Potential of APIs: A Deep Dive into POSTMAN API 101🌐

Sakeena Navavi — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 01:33:03 +0000

INTRODUCTION

Today, I had the privilege of attending a POSTMAN API 101 session conducted at our campus by an amazing Postman student expert, and I must say, it was an eye-opener into the realm of API development. Postman is a useful tool for testing APIs and offers a variety of request methods to interact with them.

In this article, I'll discuss my takeaways from this workshop with a special focus on the practical aspects of performing CRUD operations by sending API requests using JSON data format.

Understanding the Fundamentals

A rich introduction to APIs and Postman was given at the start of the session, simplifying difficult ideas into digestible pieces. Understanding the fundamentals established a strong basis for the hands-on activities that followed. Using of real-world and digital examples like how leading social networking applications use APIs for their functionalities really helped to break down the concept of APIs.

Hands-On Experience with CRUD Operations:

The workshop's hands-on demonstration of CRUD operations using POSTMAN was one of its highlights in my opinion. The facilitator walked us through the process of sending HTTP requests with various methods: GET, POST, PUT , and DELETE in an interesting and engaging way. What truly set this session apart was the emphasis on practical application, allowing us to implement these operations in real-time.

URL Parameters - Parameters can be added to API URLs to filter responses for GET requests or specify resources for other request types. The test API supported query and path parameters.

GET Method - retrieve data

We learned how to retrieve data from a server through studying the GET method. The workshop gave participants knowledge about how to formulate requests, manage parameters, as well as interpret responses. The following image shows the way how a random joke with an ID between 1-6 was retrieved when the {base_url}/joke was entered.

To get a joke with a specific ID, {base_url}/joke/{id of joke} had to be entered.

POST Method - Send data

Next, the workshop went over the POST method, which gave us an understanding of how to create new data. We looked at how to send and organize JSON payloads, which is a vital skill for anyone working on API development.

PUT Method - Update Data

The PUT method was thoroughly studied, focusing on updating existing data. Understanding how to modify information on the server side was done using practical examples.

after receiving the 204 status code, the GET method was used to see if the update was successful.

DELETE Method - Remove data

Finally, the CRUD Operations navigation was concluded with the DELETE method, showcasing how to responsibly remove data from a server.

Understanding the nuances of crafting JSON requests was a game changer. The session provided hands-on experience that went beyond theoretical knowledge, from structuring payloads to interpreting responses. The practical exercises improved my ability to work with JSON, which is an essential skill for any web developer.

What truly highlighted this session was its practical application. We participated in real-world scenarios rather than just concepts. This approach not only accelerated the learning process, but also provided us with actionable skills that could be applied immediately in our projects.

Big thanks to Supun Sathsara, Postman student expert for putting together such an engaging and informative workshop. His ability to clearly deliver complex concepts and guide us through practical exercises made the learning experience truly enriching.

In closing, the POSTMAN API 101 session was more than just a workshop—it was a gateway to a new level of technical expertise and I'm looking forward for the workshops that are to be held in the future!
Here's to embracing the journey ahead with newfound abilities and sincere appreciation for a life-changing learning experience🚀.