Browsing by Author "Williams, Nathan Joseph"

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    Social media and mental wellbeing : how can social media be used to support the mental health and wellbeing of young adults : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024) Williams, Nathan Joseph
    This research aimed to explore the role of social media in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young adults (18 to 24 years old) in Aotearoa New Zealand. The literature highlighted that young adults in Aotearoa New Zealand experience a range of impact from various aspects of society on their mental health and wellbeing. Research also highlighted how young adults utilise social media platforms, and how these platforms impact the mental health and wellbeing of young adults, such as by providing psychoeducation and normalising mental health concerns. However, there are also negative effects of social media use by young adults, such as the concepts of self-diagnosing and misinformation. This research project utilised semi-structured interviews with 7 young adults, using a theoretical framework grounded in social constructionism. Participants highlighted their experiences around mental health and wellbeing, and social media. Key findings showed the significance of developing online communities to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for young adults, and the possibility for young adults to develop and strengthen their coping strategies and skills from various social media platforms. Additionally, this research found concerns with misinformation, and the need for better verification processes, and concerns with the growing culture of self-diagnosing by young adults. Lastly, research showed that social media allows for social services to improve engagement with young adults, which increases the potential to support mental health and wellbeing outcomes. From the data, five key recommendations were derived including for social services to purposefully engage with social media platforms to provide psychoeducation on mental health and wellbeing, and on coping skills for young adults. Social services could also better use social media platforms to provide information about their services to enhance engagement with young adults. Additionally, around the need for increased fact checking in online communities, regarding mental health and wellbeing, to ensure accurate information is provided to community members by social services and clinicians. Social services should also review policy and practice relating to social media use of staff, to allow staff have time to post and provide accurate information, or to hire specific staff to manage social media accounts. Further research is recommended on how to best engage with young adults on social media platforms and provide effective psychoeducation to young adults in an online environment.