Nguyen Tham Thi, Nguyen Duy Cao, Nguyen Cuong Tat, Vu Thuc Thi Minh, Ngo Toan, Pham Anh Bao Gia, Tran Trang Quynh, Hoang Linh Phuong, Dang Hoa, Boyer Laurent, Fond Guillaume, Auquier Pascal, Latkin Carl A, Ho Roger C M, Ho Cyrus S H, Zhang Melvyn W B
Faculty of Public Health, VNU University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University (VNU-UMP), Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam.
Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 4;25(1):1274. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22337-8.
Vietnam ranked 18th globally in internet users and among the top 10 countries with the highest number of social media users, with 78.6% of the population using the internet and 73.7% active on social media. Despite the high prevalence of social media users, there remains a paucity of studies investigating social media usage and its impact. This study aims to examine social media usage patterns and their impact on the psychological well-being of Vietnamese youths.
A cross-sectional study utilized a convenience sampling method to recruit 1,477 participants aged 14 to 24 from five provinces in Vietnam. The primary outcomes of interest were health-related quality of life and psychological well-being, assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Key predictors included socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and patterns of social media usage, which were systematically examined to explore their associations with the primary outcomes.
50% of participants who used social media met the criteria for the existence of underlying psychological distress. Communicating with friends and staying updated with news were the main purposes of using social media among the participants. The study also revealed the significant correlations between Vietnamese youths' psychological distress and social media usage patterns and sociodemographic traits.
This study is perhaps the first study to have examined and explored the patterns of social media use amongst Vietnamese youths and to explore the psychological impact of their social media usage. The findings underscores the critical need for a multifaceted approach involving the participation of school and family to foster healthier social media habits and protect mental well-being among youth as well as prepare strategies to early coping with psychiatric consequences.
越南的互联网用户数量在全球排名第18位，是社交媒体用户数量最多的前10个国家之一，78.6%的人口使用互联网，73.7%的人口活跃于社交媒体。尽管社交媒体用户普及率很高，但调查社交媒体使用情况及其影响的研究仍然很少。本研究旨在调查越南年轻人的社交媒体使用模式及其对心理健康的影响。
一项横断面研究采用便利抽样方法，从越南五个省份招募了1477名年龄在14至24岁之间的参与者。主要关注的结果是与健康相关的生活质量和心理健康，使用凯斯勒心理困扰量表（K6）和视觉模拟量表（VAS）进行评估。关键预测因素包括社会人口学特征、健康行为和社交媒体使用模式，系统地检查这些因素以探索它们与主要结果之间的关联。
使用社交媒体的参与者中有50%符合潜在心理困扰存在的标准。与朋友交流和了解新闻是参与者使用社交媒体的主要目的。该研究还揭示了越南年轻人的心理困扰与社交媒体使用模式和社会人口学特征之间的显著相关性。
本研究可能是第一项调查和探索越南年轻人社交媒体使用模式，并探讨其社交媒体使用的心理影响的研究。研究结果强调迫切需要采取多方面的方法，包括学校和家庭的参与，以培养更健康的社交媒体习惯，保护年轻人的心理健康，并制定早期应对精神后果的策略。
