Impacto das redes sociais digitais na saúde mental e no quotidiano dos jovens portugueses

: o caso do Instagram

Abstract

Nowadays, social networks are becoming more and more relevant to daily life, especiallyamong young people. The technological evolution inherent to the emergence of newmedia has made a significant contribution to changing the way they relate to each otherand perceive themselves and others. The rise of digital platforms has allowed the creationof small online communities, new socialization trends, even new jobs, among others.There is a line of research that shows that communication is easier, faster and that it isnow simpler to keep in touch with other people, while others researchers argue that thereare negative aspects associated with this use; such as the development of anxiety attacks,sleep problems, addiction, among other problems associated with mental health.As such, this study aims to understand how young Portuguese people use the digitalnetworks and how they perceive the uses they make of them, focusing on their routinesand mental health. Therefore, a quantitative methodology was used, through an onlinesurvey. The data collected belongs to a sample of 124 people.The results show us that digital social networks are part of the interviewees’ daily haits, with Instagram being one of the digital networks most used by young people. About the impact of the use of these plataforms in their daily lies and mental health, young people indicate mainly positive factors, such as improved communication, reduced feelings of loneliness, an increase in their self-confidence, among others. On the other hand, a smaller part points out negative factors such as increased anxiety and techological dependance, which shouldn’t be disregarded.

Date of Award	8 Feb 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Clarisse Alves Monteiro Pessôa (Supervisor)