Prevalence of problematic social media use among residents and teaching assistants in Ain Shams University Hospitals and faculty of medicine and its relationship to emotional distress

Abstract Background Social media use becomes pervasive and universal among young adults including medical personnel. Furthermore, it become established that more frequent use of the social media is associated with negative psychological well-being, anxiety which represents the second leading cause of disability among all psychiatric disorders and depression which represents the single largest contributor to global disability according to the World Health Organization. The Aim of this study To analyze the relationship between the use of social media, stress level, anxiety and depression among residents in Ain Shams University Hospitals (ASUH) and academic demonstrators in faculty of medicine. Patients and Methods This is an observational cross-sectional study, Conducted in Ain Shams University hospitals (ASUH), we included 200 of staff and medical school academics in faculty of medicine, starting from February 2018 till August 2019. Results 33 participants showed average social media use representing 16.5% while 167 participants showed problematic social media use representing 83.5%. 11 participants showed low stress levels representing 5.5%, 127 participants showed moderate stress levels representing 63.5% while 62 participants showed high stress levels representing 31%. Conclusion Social media use by clinicians is widespread, especially by younger clinicians for personal and reference purposes. Use of multiple SM platforms is independently associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, even when controlling for overall time spent in their use.