Psychological effects of following social media platforms (facebook and intagram) regarding COVID-19 news during lockdown in Egypt

The research investigates the psychological impacts on Egyptian youth resulted from following COVID-
19 news on social media platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram, during the lockdown
from March 2020 to July 2020 in Egypt. The research is semi-experimental, where the researcher
uses a survey on a purposive sample of 100 subjects of youth from 18 to 40 years old, males and
females, after exposing them to selected posts from social media related to the COVID-19 in that
specific period. The research results demonstrate a significant psychological effect on youth. Other
than the impact of making youth aware of the situation because of following news of coronavirus
on these platforms, in that period, following news caused them fear, worry, anxiety, and behavior
change, as their usage of social media was growing up in a significant way. Not only fear and worry
but also this caused them insomnia and less productivity as well, to the extent that some of them
tried to avoid social media to keep their mental health safe from anxiety and worry. Most of the respondents
described the posts with the colors red and black, as they clarified that it represents their
moods in that period, representing alarming, death, and fear. The study highlights why youth should
control their usage of social media and have limited hours of social media exposure as it can affect
their psychological health.
(psychological effects, social media, youth, social media exposure, COVID-19, )