Social Media Use and Body Image Dissatisfaction Among University Students in Saudi Arabia
Author Information
Author(s): Muacevic Alexander, Adler John R, Abdulwahab Ihdaa J, Khouja Jumana H, Alzahrani Noha A, Bargawi Amina
Primary Institution: King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences
Hypothesis
What is the prevalence of body dissatisfaction among health science students in Saudi Arabia and how is it associated with social media use?
Conclusion
The study found a low prevalence of body dissatisfaction among health science students, with no significant association between social media use and body dissatisfaction.
Supporting Evidence
- 88% of participants were satisfied with their body image.
- 11.2% reported body dissatisfaction.
- Body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with gender and BMI.
- 87% of students spent ≤3 hours on social media daily.
- Most common social media platform used was TikTok.
Takeaway
This study shows that most health science students in Saudi Arabia are happy with their bodies, and using social media a lot doesn't seem to make them feel bad about how they look.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study was conducted using a survey sent to students' emails, analyzing responses from 392 participants.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to self-reported data and exclusion of non-iPhone users.
Limitations
The study may not accurately reflect social media use as students often use multiple devices, and it did not assess the content viewed on social media.
Participant Demographics
Participants were aged 18-25, with 63% female and 95% single.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p = 0.038 for gender association, p = 0.031 for BMI association
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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