“Social Media Saved Me”: Exploring the Perceived Impact of Social Media Use During COVID-19 on the Psychological Resilience of Students Transitioning into Higher Education

Jacobs, Laila S. and Leeder, Thomas (2026) “Social Media Saved Me”: Exploring the Perceived Impact of Social Media Use During COVID-19 on the Psychological Resilience of Students Transitioning into Higher Education. Education Sciences. pp. 1-16. ISSN 2227-7102

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a global impact on students transitioning into higher education. During quarantine measures, students often turned to social media for connectedness and peer support in an adverse time. The aim of this research was to explore the perceived impact of social media use during COVID-19 on the psychological resilience of students transitioning into higher education. Data were collected via a qualitative online survey completed by 51 students across the United Kingdom. Following a reflexive thematic analysis of the survey data, three themes were generated: (1) A challenging transition: restricted visits, remote learning, and seeking connection. (2) Facing adversity: becoming resilient in a transitional period. (3) A valued resource: social media as a facilitator of resilience. The findings suggest that social media helped students build virtual connections to overcome feelings of isolation during this transition. Several participants perceived their psychological resilience to have increased through developing strategies to regulate their emotional and mental well-being. Nonetheless, some participants believed that their psychological resilience either decreased or remained untouched. Furthermore, it was explicitly argued that social media played a facilitating role in enhancing participants’ perceived psychological resilience through operating as a ‘coping mechanism’, which fostered a sense of community and togetherness amongst like-minded students.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data Availability Statement: The data sets presented in this article are not readily available due to sensitive data and privacy concerns
Uncontrolled Keywords:	covid-19,pandemic,social media,university transition,psychological resilience,higher education,online learning,digital technology
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	01 May 2026 11:34
Last Modified:	01 May 2026 11:34
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102878
DOI:	10.3390/educsci16040632

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