Pupils’ use of social media and its relation to mental health from a school personnel perspective: A preliminary qualitative study
Hjetland, Gunnhild J.; Schønning, Viktor; Aasan, Bodil Elisabeth Valstad; Hella, Randi Træland; Skogen, Jens Christoffer
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2789370Utgivelsesdato
2021-08Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
Originalversjon
Hjetland, G.J., Schønning, V., Aasan, B.E.V. et al. (2021) Pupils’ use of social media and its relation to mental health from a school personnel perspective: A preliminary qualitative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), 18 (17), 9163. 10.3390/ijerph18179163Sammendrag
The extent of mental health problems among adolescents seems to be on the rise, and this observed trend has often been linked to a coinciding increase in social media use. The goal of the current preliminary study was to investigate how senior high school personnel experience the role of social media in relation to the mental health of their pupils. Two focus group interviews (total n = 11) were completed and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, resulting in 4 themes and 11 subthemes. The results illustrate that school personnel experience social media as a tool for communication, but also as a potential cause of mental health issues and reduced academic performance among pupils. The participants called for schools to become better equipped to meet the opportunities and challenges of social media.