Exploring the role of social media in educational support and mental wellbeing of university students in the UAE

Despite the rapid digital transformation in the UAE, research often relies on quantitative metrics that fail to capture the lived experiences of students. A significant gap exists in understanding how specific cultural and academic pressures in the UAE intersect with social media usage to influence mental well-being beyond surface-level usage statistics. This study explores how social media usage influences the mental well-being and educational engagement of university students in the UAE, highlighting the tension between social support and psychological stress. Using a qualitative, interpretivist framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 single university students between the ages of 18 and 24 who resided in the UAE, attended a UAE educational institution, and had used social media for at least six months. We selected 15 participants for this study because it allowed us to develop themes that the data strongly supported across their lived human experiences. We limited participation to single individuals to isolate the impact of social media from variables related to marital or domestic responsibilities. We selected this age range because some social media platforms only permit users over 18 to create accounts, and individuals older than 24 are generally no longer university students because they have completed their degrees. We analyzed the data using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis approach. The analysis moved beyond descriptive listing to reveal a digital paradox categorized into four themes. Findings revealed that social media functions as a vital tool for educational support and professional networking (e.g., LinkedIn and WhatsApp groups) while simultaneously acting as a psychological stress through curated perfectionism and social comparison. Notably, findings also suggest that students are not passive victims of algorithms but active agents who use content curation as coping mechanisms to overcome digital distractions and maintain emotional regulation. This study contributes to digital well-being literature by providing a contextualized concept of intentional engagement within the UAE's unique cultural landscape. Practically, it offers evidence for the need of designing targeted interventions that promote digital literacy and healthier social media boundaries. While limited by its English-speaking sample, yet this study clearly highlights the strategies to promote healthier social media engagement in diverse linguistic and cultural context.