The Impact of Social Media Addiction on Youth: A Sociological Study

Author(s)	Dr. Renuka M. Reddy
Country	India
Abstract	India has experienced an extraordinary digital revolution over the past ten years, mostly due to the widespread availability of low-cost smartphones and the cheapest mobile data in the world. Social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, and Share Chat) have evolved from being communication tools to spaces for identity construction for India's youth, who make up the country's largest demographic. The influence of social media addiction on family structures, social capital, caste dynamics, mental health, and academic output is examined in this paper using a sociological lens, which goes beyond pathological or therapeutic frameworks. The paper makes the argument that addiction is a complicated reaction to the stresses of urbanization, globalization, and the breakdown of traditional community ties rather than just a loss of self-control, drawing on ideas of symbolic interactionism and network society.
Keywords	India, Social Media, Mental Health, Instagram, Communication, Youth.
Field	Sociology
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-05-30
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i03.79858

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