key: cord-0070753-kx8aqldx authors: Islam, Md. Rabiul; Tushar, Md. Ismail; Jannath, Sanjida; Moona, Amena Ahmed; Akter, Shahinur; Islam, Sardar Mohammad Ashraful title: Data set concerning the use of social networking sites and mental health problems among the young generation in Bangladesh date: 2021-11-19 journal: Data Brief DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107593 sha: 739d6d8aa06d201a718bba98b58e45e183f13cb6 doc_id: 70753 cord_uid: kx8aqldx The article depicts a unique dataset of responses from 791 adults to a self-made questionnaire of five sections sent via Google survey tool (Google form) from February 4, 2021, to March 18, 2021 [1]. We collected responses for establishing a paradigm of the relationship between the social networking sites (SNS) use and four dimensions of psychological distress including depression, anxiety, loneliness, and sleep disturbances. Facebook is the most popular social media in Bangladesh, we observed 669 Facebook users and 122 non-Facebook-users aged between 15 to 40 years in this data set. We analyzed the collected data using the Microsoft Excel (version 2016) and presented as frequencies and percentages based on responses to the whole survey. The survey contained items focusing on (i) sociodemographic information, (ii) usage patterns of SNS, (iii) assessment of mental health problems. We collected responses from all across the country regardless of sociodemographic background. Therefore, government authorities and healthcare providers can use this data for dealing with the mental health issues concerning the use of SNS. The article depicts a unique dataset of responses from 791 adults to a self-made questionnaire of five sections sent via Google survey tool (Google form) from February 4, 2021, to March 18, 2021 [1] . We collected responses for establishing a paradigm of the relationship between the social networking sites (SNS) use and four dimensions of psychological distress including depression, anxiety, loneliness, and sleep disturbances. Facebook is the most popular social media in Bangladesh, we observed 669 Facebook users and 122 non-Facebook-users aged between 15 to 40 years in this data set. We analyzed the collected data using the Microsoft Excel (version 2016) and presented as frequencies and percentages based on responses to the whole survey. The survey contained items focusing on (i) sociodemographic information, (ii) usage patterns of SNS, (iii) assessment of mental health problems. We collected responses from all across the country regardless of sociodemographic background. Therefore, government authorities and healthcare providers can use this data for dealing with the mental health issues concerning the use of SNS. Table Subject Social science Specific subject area Social media, Psychology Type of data • This data set contains responses from people of a target age limit (15-40) who belong to the young generation. The data set shows the vulnerability of mental health of the young generation in Bangladesh due to the use of SNS. • The data can help researchers finding out the factors for poor mental health concerning the use of SNS among the young Bangladeshi population. • Government authorities and non-government organizations can use this data set as part of their policymaking and developing models to improve mental health related to the use of social media. • This evidence-based study can utilize in designing prevention programs for mental health issues like loneliness, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances by policymakers. • The data set can provide in-depth insights into the impacts of social media in our lives by causing mental health problems. Social media has transformed our way of communication and interaction with people. It explicitly holds a major contributing factor for killing time. Is it good or bad in our day-to-day life -is a big question for us. It is rational to conduct studies on its relation to our mental health condition. As an attempt, this cross-sectional study was planned, designed, and carried out. We constructed the survey questionnaire in separate sections to measure four mental illnesses by following internationally validated scales: the UCLA Loneliness Scale-8 (UCLA-8), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) [2] [3] [4] [5] . The survey data set provides insights about the usage pattern and triggering factors for mental health problems due to the use of SNS. It also provides perceptions of what people think about social media and SNS-induced depression, anxiety, loneliness, and sleep disorders. We obtained responses from authentic users of a specified age limit and different sociodemographic backgrounds in Bangladesh. The data set comprises (i) assessment of loneliness (UCLA-8) in Table 1 , (ii) Assessment of depression (PHQ-9) in Table 2 , (iii) Assessment of anxiety (GAD-7) in Table 3 , (iv) Assessment of sleep disturbances (PSQI) in Table 4 . It also presents a flowchart of the collection and exclusion procedure of data (viii) Fig. 1 . Based on the present dataset, it Table 3 Distribution of responses based on the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Scale. How often the respondents bothered by the following problems in last two weeks? Frequency (n) Percentage (%) is difficult to conclude whether the mental health of the young Bangladeshi population is affected by the use of SNS or the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic and its responses have enormously impacted individuals' mental health, social life, physical health, etc., in Bangladesh [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] . People were heavily involved with SNS than ever due to the ongoing COVID-19 responses. Therefore, frequent use of SNS during the COVID-19 period might create additional mental health problems. It was not feasible to carry on a face-to-face population-based study due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we designed a self-administered questionnaire using google survey tools (Google Forms) and sent it to the participants through various means like Facebook messenger, email, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. Inclusion criteria were: any Bangladeshi within 15-40 years who has a social media account or SNS user. Initially, we received 826 responses from February 4, 2021, to March 18, 2021 . After careful evaluation of dada, we discarded 35 responses due to the partial or incomplete information. We involved people from different education levels, economic statuses, and occupations in this study. Also, we kept the required option for each question in the Google Form. The survey questionnaire contained five sections. The first sec- tion was regarding the socio-demographic profiles and the usage pattern of social media in the respondents. Seven questions regarding socio-demographic profile followed by names of social media use, time spent, number of friends and groups, what they think of social media affecting their mental health, etc. questions were involved. The second section had eight questions about "how often the respondents feel the below statements descriptive of you in the past 30 days?" to figure out loneliness. Each question had four options: I never feel this way, I rarely feel this way, I sometimes feel this way, I often feel this way. The third section had nine questions about "how often the respondents bothered by any of the below problems since last two weeks?" with four options: not at all, several days, more than half of the days, nearly every day to figure out depression among the participants. The fourth section had seven questions about "how often the respondents were bothered by the following problems in the last two weeks?" with the options -not at all, several days, more than half of the days, and nearly every day to measure anxiety among them. The final section was to measure sleep disturbances. This section contained nineteen structured questions about their overall sleep quality during the last month. Finally, these nineteen questions were grouped into seven components to calculate the sleep equally score on a four-point scale [15] [16] [17] [18] . After the collection of data, we analyzed them using Microsoft Excel (version 2016). We calculated the frequency and percentage of collected data and presented it in table format. However, the collected information using electronic platforms may not always be representative of the population. Committee for Advanced Studies at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Asia Pacific approved this study protocol (No. UAP/Pharm/2021/01004). We obtained electronic informed consent from all participants for this study. Also, we took informed consent from legal guardians in the case of minors who participated in the study. The authors do not have any conflict of interest to declare. Association between the use of social networking sites and mental health of young generation in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study The pittsburgh sleep quality index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research Patient health questionnaire-9 as an effective tool for screening of depression among Indian adolescents A short-form measure of loneliness A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7 Mental health of children amid COVID-19 pandemic in bangladesh: an exploratory observation The massive attack of COVID-19 in India is a big concern for Bangladesh: the key focus should be given on the interconnection between the countries The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: an urgent call to save lives Mucormycosis or black fungus is a new fright in India during COVID-19 pandemic: associated risk factors and actionable items Mucormycosis or black fungus infection is a new scare in South Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: associated risk factors and preventive measures Increments of gender-based violence amid COVID-19 in Bangladesh: a threat to global public health and women's health Social stigma and suicide in Bangladesh: The COVID-19 has worsened the situation, chronic stress (Thousand Oaks) Sexual violence against woman at quarantine center during coronavirus disease 2019 in Bangladesh: Risk factors and recommendations The "Delta Plus" COVID-19 variant has evolved to become the next potential variant of concern: mutation history and measures of prevention A nationwide dataset on the mental health of the Bangladeshi population due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Data Brief Dataset concerning the mental health of healthcare professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, Data Brief Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among general Bangladeshi population: a cross-sectional study Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among Bangladeshi healthcare professionals: a cross-sectional study All the authors are thankful to the participants for their cooperation in this study. Supplementary material associated with this article can be found in the online version at doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107593 .