Internationally, according to eMarketer (2018). Social media is used by billions of people

around the world and has quickly become one of the defining technologies of our time. Globally,

the total number of social network users is estimated to grow to 3.29 billion users by 2022,

accounting for 42.3% of the world's population.

For adolescents, phone-based communication is important to maintain their relationships

and social status. However, anything in excess is bad and may lead to social media addiction or

mental health problems such as stress or anxiety. According to Mastshi, Pruthvi and

Phaneendra (2018). In the current days, adolescents and even younger people have more

access and exposure to smartphones and hence, more prone to social media overuse leads to

addiction.

In words of Hilliard, (2019). The excessive or addictive use of social media is defined as

‘a behavioral addiction that is characterized as being concerned about social media, driven by

an uncontrollable urge to use it and devoting so much time and effort to social media that impair

other important life areas.

Given the huge potential audience available that spends many hours a day using social

media across platforms, most of the young people in ages between 16 to 21 use social media

every day and spend so many hours within.

Despite what academics and practitioners have studied and learned over the last 15-20

years on this topic, due to the fast-paced and ever-changing nature of social media, social

media could become a pervasive necessity in our society.

As social media addiction is turning to be a major issue among youth and in these

current scenarios it could be a huge problem in the future. For that, developing an alternative

and measuring social media usage between young people seems to be necessary.

In the current research it is examined the relation and impact social media has in the life

of teenagers in a local community of Maracaibo city in Venezuela. And the objectives of the

study were to understand the intervention's efficacy in reducing social media addiction and its

possible adverse outcomes on mental health.

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A Brief Overview of the Relationship Between Social Media Addiction and Young People's Mental Health