1 Faculty of Human Medicine, Universidad Ricardo Palma. Lima, Peru.
a Human Medicine student
Dear editor,
I am writing to you regarding the article titled "Determination of the association between social network addiction and mental health consequences in Human Medicine students at Universidad Ricardo Palma in 2021," published in volume 23, issue 4, 2023. In the aforementioned study, Ortiz V et al.
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1. Otero Carrillo FA, Picoy Romero PR, Espinoza Rojas R. Impact of addiction to social networks on the mental health of human medicine students, in times of COVID-19: impacto de la adicción a redes sociales en la salud mental de los estudiantes de medicina humana, en tiempos de COVID-19. Rev Fac Med Hum. 2024;23(4):62-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25176/RFMH.v23i4.5920
found a strong association between social network addiction and the mental health consequences of medical students. However, I would like to propose an alternative perspective for interpreting these findings.
It is undeniable that excessive use of social networks can lead to addiction and, in the long term, contribute to mental health problems among medical students. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand that social network addiction may be indicative of a more complex underlying issue, such as burnout. A study conducted by Şahin D. (2023) revealed that burnout among physicians acts as a mediating factor in relation to social network use. This study demonstrated that burnout increases cyber-loafing activities, which can contribute to long-term addiction
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2. Şahin D. Mediating effect of creativity on how burnout affects social media use: an examination on physicians. SAGE Open. 2023;13(4). doi: 10.1177/21582440231218528
.
Furthermore, according to research by Luo A.
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3. Luo A, Kong W, He H, Li Y, Xie W. Status and influencing factors of social media addiction in Chinese medical care professionals: a cross-sectional survey. Front Psychol. 2022;13:888714. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.888714
, 41.23% of healthcare professionals used social networks to escape problems and reduce anxiety, while 48.75% did so as a way to alleviate depression. These findings suggest that the high dependency on social networks among healthcare professionals is linked to work-related stress and fatigue derived from burnout.
Additionally, it has been evidenced that burnout measured over time can act as a predictor of the level of social network intrusion, such as on Facebook. One study showed that the amount of time spent on Facebook increases towards the end of the semester due to academic burnout reported at the beginning
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4. Tomaszek K, Muchacka-Cymerman A. Be aware of burnout! The role of changes in academic burnout in problematic Facebook usage among university students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(15):8055. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18158055
. From this finding, it is necessary to consider implementing strategies to improve academic well-being and reduce the tendency towards excessive social network use as a coping mechanism. In this regard, student mentorship programs could be implemented, identifying students at risk of developing an addiction, with the goal of balancing online time and limiting social network use for personal and professional development.
Excessive social network use is not only a cause but also a consequence of academic burnout. Stress increases the feeling of exhaustion, which in turn leads to greater social network use as a means of escape from academic strain. This situation not only affects mental health but also the quality and quantity of sleep, which, in the long term, worsens health problems
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5. Evers K, Chen S, Rothmann S, Dhir A, Pallesen S. Investigating the relation among disturbed sleep due to social media use, school burnout, and academic performance. J Adolesc. 2020;84:156-64. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.09.002
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Therefore, addressing social network addiction without considering academic burnout as a potential underlying cause may be insufficient to comprehensively address the issue. This cycle of exhaustion, sleep disorders, and poor academic performance reinforces the need to implement strategies both to reduce academic load and to promote healthy habits in social network use.
Additional Information
Conflict of Interest Declaration: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Authorship Contributions: RNR participated in the conceptualization, research, methodology, resources, and drafting of the original manuscript. Funding: Self-funded. Received: February 29, 2024 Accepted: October 1, 2024
Corresponding Author Information
Correspondence: Romina Rosario del Pilar Nuñez-Rojas Address: Av. Las Flores de Primavera 1024, San Juan de Lurigancho, Lima-Peru. Phone: (+51) 973581539 Email: rominanr2002@gmail.com
Published article by the Journal of the Faculty of Human Medicine of the Ricardo Palma University. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0 , which allows non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial use, please contact revista.medicina@urp.edu.pe.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
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Otero Carrillo FA, Picoy Romero PR, Espinoza Rojas R.
Impact of addiction to social networks on the mental health of human medicine students, in times of COVID-19: impacto de la adicción a redes sociales en la salud mental de los estudiantes de medicina humana, en tiempos de COVID-19. Rev Fac Med Hum. 2024;23(4):62-7.
2
Şahin D.
Mediating effect of creativity on how burnout affects social media use: an examination on physicians. SAGE Open. 2023;13(4).
doi: 10.1177/21582440231218528
3
Luo A, Kong W, He H, Li Y, Xie W.
Status and influencing factors of social media addiction in Chinese medical care professionals: a cross-sectional survey. Front Psychol. 2022;13:888714.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.888714
4
Tomaszek K, Muchacka-Cymerman A.
Be aware of burnout! The role of changes in academic burnout in problematic Facebook usage among university students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(15):8055.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18158055
5
Evers K, Chen S, Rothmann S, Dhir A, Pallesen S.
Investigating the relation among disturbed sleep due to social media use, school burnout, and academic performance. J Adolesc. 2020;84:156-64.
doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.09.002
