Do Social Media and Messaging Apps Influence Loneliness? The Case of Young Malaysian Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research into the impact of social media on psychological well-being has produced conflicting findings, with a corresponding lack of certainty about the direction of the effect. Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a re-assessment of the available evidence, also in Malaysia. The present study focuses on feelings of loneliness among unmarried young Malaysian adults, the so-called Generation Z, a demographic most likely to suffer mental health problems due to social confinement. An exploratory online survey (n = 103) was conducted to find out how lonely Malaysian youngsters are, focusing on those in higher education. To measure this, use was made of the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The main research question is whether loneliness relates to participants’ usage of social networking sites (e.g. Instagram), messaging apps (e.g. WhatsApp) or their reasons for doing so (e.g., meeting diversion or affective needs). Results show that in Malaysia, young adults’ feelings of loneliness under COVID restrictions vary independently of their social media and messaging app usage and the needs these digital technologies fulfil. Even the weak or moderate associations that were identified are likely due to chance factors. Our study supports, therefore, scholarship that questions the direct effect of social media platforms on loneliness regardless of the role they play in promoting meaningful in-person interactions. Possible explanations and implications of these findings will be discussed. One conjecture is that Malaysia’s shared cultural values might form a buffer against adverse well-being effects of both the pandemic and SMMA usage. Keywords: Social media, loneliness, young adults, COVID-19, Malaysia.