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@article{200466,
        author = {Komal Kumari and Krishna Kumar Rathi and Kishan JT and Midhun GB and Saravanan N},
        title = {Analyzing How Social Media Platforms Influence the Behaviour and Mental Health of Students: An Empirical Study},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {12},
        pages = {2128-2135},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=200466},
        abstract = {The study focuses to assess the effects of social networking sites on students' mental health and behavioural tendencies. This paper discusses the impact of Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube on Gen Z students studying at a Private University. Primary data were collected through a structured survey using a quantitative method involving the use of 100 participants whose digital behaviour was investigated, their emotional behaviour, and behaviour change. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data to determine the trends and relationships underlying the data. The results show that Instagram is the most popular platform with students spending a large amount of time on social media every day. Such excessive use is associated with behavioural issues, such as poor attention, procrastination, and sleeping disorders. Moreover, students often contrast their appearance, as well as their lifestyle with those of other students on the Internet. Nonetheless, the levels of anxiety and stress were moderate, in general. These online mediums create social networks, encourage creativity and enhance motivation. Further results showed that the number of hours of screen time was only weakly correlated with mental health outcomes, meaning that the nature of platforms usage is more important than exposure. Finally, social media is a two-faced coin, thus the need to be careful and moderate in the use of digital technologies by the student population.},
        keywords = {Digital Well-being, Gen Z, Instagram, Mental Health, Social Media Usage, Student Behaviour},
        month = {May},
        }