Abstract
Adolescents’ mental health is increasingly shaped by their interactions within digital spaces, with social media emerging as a powerful influence on their psychological well-being. Despite growing research internationally, limited attention has been given to the South African private school context, where adolescents face distinctive academic, social, and cultural pressures alongside greater access to digital technologies. For this reason, the primary aim of this study was to explore how social media usage contributes to the mental health of adolescents attending a selected private school in Johannesburg. The secondary aims were to identify the risk factors associated with social media engagement that may negatively affect adolescent mental health, and to explore the protective factors that support psychological well-being in this context.
A qualitative single-case study design was adopted, framed within Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. A private school was the single case involved in this study. Eight adolescents from the selected private school participated in the study, completing the qualitative questionnaire based on DSM-5, the DSM-5-TR Self-Rated Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure (Child: Age 11–17), to provide a qualitative profile on the mental health of each participant, individual semi-structured interviews, and a focus group discussion. Thematic content analysis was used to interpret the data. Findings revealed that social media contributed to adolescent mental health in complex ways, shaping identity development, emotional states, academic functioning, and social connections. Risk factors included exposure to cyberbullying, social comparison, performative behaviour, and sleep disruptions, all of which undermined psychological well-being. Protective factors were also identified, including establishing digital boundaries, emotional maturity, engagement with positive content, supportive parental modelling, and access to help-seeking resources.
This study contributes to South African research by focusing specifically on adolescents in private schooling contexts, where unique pressures and resources influence the dual roles of social media as both a risk and resilience factor. Methodologically, integrating qualitative thematic analysis with mental health profiling provided a comprehensive understanding of adolescents’ experiences. The findings offer practical recommendations for families, schools, and mental health practitioners, including fostering healthier digital habits, enhancing parental involvement, and promoting school-based support programmes. The study concludes that adolescent social media engagement must be understood as a...