In the era of technology, every time the world confronts any kind of crisis or challenge, we use technology as a weapon. Like other emergencies, as COVID-19 is announced as a pandemic, all countries have started trying to control the situation with technological advancement in the medical sector, educational progress, and in the continuity of productions. As most of the educational institutions have been closed since March and the learning process in higher education has moved online, therefore, developing countries like Bangladesh are also trying to continue classes through the online platform with a lack of technological resources, readiness, and inclusiveness from the perspective of the students. This quantitative study surveyed over 844 students of different universities of Bangladesh to analyze the status of preparedness, participation, and classroom activities through online during the pandemic. The findings revealed a lack of preparedness, participation, and less scope of classroom activities through online learning. Problems of infeasible consistency of the internet and electricity, paying attention, understanding lessons through the online platform are the main constraints of online learning in the developing country. Finding ways of mitigating these problems can be the next subject for further researchers.

Suicide, a major public health concern, is a leading cause of injury and death worldwide. The present study aims to assess suicidal behaviors and suicide risk among Bangladeshi people during COVID-19. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from July 10 to July 20, 2020, involving 1,415 Bangladeshi residents ages 18 years or older. Data was collected via an anonymous online questionnaire. The Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised was used to assess suicide risk. The depression and anxiety subscales of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 were used to assess depression and anxiety. Logistic regression analyses and Pearson's correlation were performed to examine the association of variables. The prevalence of suicide ideation and planning among Bangladeshi people during the COVID-19 pandemic was 19.0% and 18.5%, respectively. Having suicidal risk during the COVID-19 pandemic was reported by 33.5% participants. Suicide risk was associated higher with females, divorced or widowed marital statuses and low educational attainment (i.e., secondary or below and higher secondary/diploma). Additionally, living in high COVID-19 prevalent areas, having economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, relatives or acquaintances die from COVID-19, direct contact with COVID-19 patient(s), and fear of COVID-19 infection were associated with suicide risk. The COVID-19 pandemic imposes significant psychological consequences on people, thus, concerned authorities should pay attention to people's mental health and focus on suicide prevention and awareness during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Problematic use of Internet (PUI) and problematic use of Facebook (PUF) has been linked to escalating behavioral health issues among university students and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study estimated the prevalence of and explored associated factors for PUI and PUF among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken among 1101 Bangladeshi university students between November and December 2020. The Internet Addiction Test and Facebook Addiction Scale were used to assess PIU and PUF, respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounders. Among the participants, PUI and PUF were found in 39.3% and 37.1%, respectively. The multiple linear regression model indicated PUI was significantly associated with participants residing in a village, arts majors, those unsatisfied with their major, having mediocre parental relationships, failure in romantic relationships, physical comorbidities, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, using social media, and downloading movies/TV series. PUF was significantly associated with village residence, lower income, arts majors, failure in romantic relationships, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, and downloading movies/TV series. Both PUI and PUF have been prevalent among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal & exploratory studies are warranted in the future to identify causal factors for PUI and PUF and appropriate interventions should be designed quickly for this population.

Background: Social media (SM) use has gained much popularity among young adults, which could impact their mental health. The association between SM use time and young adults' mental health in Bangladesh has been less researched. Aim: To determine the association between SM use time and mental health among young adults in Bangladesh. Methods: Cross‐sectional data were collected from 440 young adults aged 18–35 from two districts in Bangladesh: Dhaka and Cumilla. Data were collected using a self‐reported questionnaire, including their socio‐demographic characteristics, SM use time, and mental health disorders—depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety were assessed by PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7, respectively. SPSS version 22 was used to perform data analysis. Results: Of the 440 participants, 29.5% used SM for < 2 h/day, 36.6% used for 2–4 h/day, and 33.9% used for > 4 h/day. The crude analysis showed that participants who used SM for > 4 h/day had significantly higher odds of depression than those who used < 2 h/day (OR = 2.094, 95% CI: 1.245, 3.522, p = 0.005). The association also remains significant after adjusting for socio‐demographic variables (OR = 2.158, 95% CI: 1.241, 3.753, p = 0.006). Also, this study showed that using SM for > 4 h/day was associated with increased odds of anxiety both in crude and adjusted models (OR = 1.864, 95% CI: 1.041, 3.337, p = 0.036) and (OR = 1.945, 95% CI: 1.054, 3.587, p = 0.033), respectively. Conclusion: This study shows that using SM for more than 4 h a day is significantly associated with higher odds of depression and anxiety among young adults. A more robust study should be carried out to determine the setting limits for daily SM use that could help reduce the burden of mental health disorders among Bangladeshi young adults.

Background: Facebook addiction (FA) has been suggested as a potential behavioral addiction. There is a severe lack of research evidence regarding the Facebook addiction behavior among university students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with Facebook addiction among Bangladeshi university students. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 2,161 Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic from June 2021 to September 2021. A well fitted regression model in R programming language was used for this study. Results: Female respondents and those whose family monthly income was <25,000 BDT were more addicted to Facebook than other respondents. Respondents who lost a family member or a relative to COVID-19, engaged in physical activities (exercise) during the pandemic, used Facebook for work purposes or used Facebook to relieve daily stress were more addicted to Facebook. Conclusion: Overuse of social media is problematic as it can trigger several mental health symptoms, especially among students. Adequate and effective interventions are required to educate students about the dangers of Facebook addiction and to provide an alternative, healthy options.

Cross-sectional data were collected from 787 Bangladeshi students ages 18 to 27 years, to assess dysfunctional COVID-19 anxiety using the Coronavirus anxiety Scale or CAS and to identify factors influencing their anxiety. Results indicated that 53% of the respondents attained CAS scores in the clinical range. Women reported a significantly higher anxiety than men. Additionally, not having a steady family income, having poor physical health, having relatives or acquaintances infected with COVID-19, and being highly worried about becoming infected were associated with COVID-19 anxiety. Psychosocial interventions should be adopted to mitigate the anxiety of these high-risk groups and to deter harmful behavior during this emergency.