SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AS PREDICTOR OF ADOLESCENTS DEPRESSION AMONG IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN EGOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA EDO STATE

The study investigated Social media addiction as predictor of adolescent depression among senior secondary school students in Egor Local Government of Edo State. To guide this study, four research questions were raised and three hypotheses formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the survey research design. The population of the study consisted of 1565 Senior Secondary School (SSS2) Students from the coeducational category registered for 2024/2025 academic session from 10 coeducational secondary schools. The sample size of the study comprised 200 using the simple random sampling procedure. The research instrument that was used for this study is 4-point modified scale questionnaire titled "Social Media Addiction and Depression Questionnaire (SMADQ)". The questionnaire was divided into two (2) parts. Part A elicited demographic details, while part B contains two (2) sub- scales viz: Adolescents’ level of social media addiction with 16 items, Depression level of addicted adolescents to social media 5 items. The instrument was validated by three test experts in the Department of Educational Evaluation and Counselling Psychology. The reliability of the instrument was established through internal consistency using Cronbach alpha statistics which yielded reliability index of 0.757 for adolescents’ level of social media addiction, 0.705 for depression level of addicted adolescents to social media. The simple linear regression and Analyses of covariance ( ANCOVA ) were used to test formulated hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed that social media addiction significantly predicted depression among in school adolescents in senior secondary school in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Factors such as constant usage of social media by the adolescent to wanting to feel belong or associated and having strong desire for acceptance contributed to social media addiction. There was lack of significant difference by sex because both male and female adolescents experience similar patterns of social media engagement in the study context, such as frequent checking, browsing, or interactive participation, which may not differentially affect depressive symptoms. Based on the findings, it was recommended that schools should integrate structured digital literacy and digital wellness education into their curriculum. Such programs should focus not only on technological skills but also on responsible usage, time management, emotional awareness, and coping strategies related to online experiences and parents should be educated about the potential psychological implications of excessive social media use. Parental monitoring should be balanced with open communication, fostering trust while guiding adolescents toward healthier digital habits.