Abstract
Objective: There is substantial evidence that links usage of social media as being marginally associated with numerous harmful effects on the human body consisting of adverse symptoms differing in their manifestation and onset of action. These include including anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue, and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). This study aimed to determine the relationship between the number of hours spent daily on social media and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms in Saudi adults.
Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among the Saudi adult population. The method of distribution was performed by providing a self-administered, semi-structured online questionnaire containing 16 items designated as demographic information (i.e., age, gender, marital state, and residency), the prevalence of IBS, and frequency of social media usage.
Results: Eight hundred and ten participants completed the survey (59.8% females vs. 40.2% males). The most common age group was 20-29 years (58.1%). 43% of participants recorded screen time of 6 hours or more, and 75.8% had used social media for six years or more. The prevalence of participants who were positive for IBS symptoms was 41.2%. In a multivariate regression model, female gender, associated chronic disease, and the use of Twitter were the significant independent predictors of IBS, but screen time did not predict the symptoms.
Conclusion: Consistent with the literature, there was a high prevalence of IBS among the adult population living in Saudi Arabia. This study also demonstrated that the duration of social media use and the number of hours of screen time were not independently accounted for as predictors of IBS. Further research is needed to establish the link between IBS and the use of social media in the region.