Social media usage among rural youth in Punjab

Social media has become part of our daily lives with a major impact on youth's life. It changed the lives of people for the good but alongside created risks for the individual by impacting their behaviour and mental health as well as society alike. The present study was conducted to examine the pattern and purpose of social media usage among rural youth in rural areas of Ludhiana. Through a simple random sampling technique, a total of 150 respondents were selected from six villages of two blocks and were interviewed. You Tube and Whats App were the main sites on which the youth spent most of their time. While buying the phones, respondents prioritised the brand and quality of the phone whereas the selfie mode of the phone was least preferred during selection. The source of knowledge followed by source of entertainment was perceived as merits of social media whereas the demerits were undue peer pressure and communication gap within the family. The study suggested judicious use of social media in the right direction along with digital detox.