Intersections of Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship
Articles

From Reels to Real Life: Understanding Youth Identity and Well-Being in Bangladesh and India

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  • Rajib Nandy
Rajib Nandy
Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh

Published 2026-06-24

Keywords

  • Social Media Reels,
  • Youth Identity,
  • Mental Well-Being,
  • Cross-National Study,
  • Bangladesh,
  • India
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Nandy, Rajib. “From Reels to Real Life: Understanding Youth Identity and Well-Being in Bangladesh and India”. Swami Vivekananda University Press, June 2026, pp. 224-42, https://swamivivekanandauniversitypress.com/index.php/svup/article/view/638.

Copyright (c) 2026 Swami Vivekananda University Press

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The student life embraces social media. The presence of Smartphones and fast internet keeps the students on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and YouTube hours on end. Short videos such as Reels influence psychology, self-identity, and social behavior of the users. Digital echo chambers are caused by encoding users with similar content using algorithm-based recommendations. This may increase self-esteem, body awareness, social comparison and stress more so among the students of the university. This paper will examine the effect of Reel use on mental health, self-identity, and focus on studies. It targets the students of Chittagong University and Dhaka University in Bangladesh and Jadavpur University and Calcutta University in India.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.9788199963313.2026.224-242

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