![]() Last year, a study team from Denmark split more than a thousand Facebook users into two groups and asked one of those groups to take a week-long break from the social site. Quitting social media seems to improve mood. “At least two studies have followed people over time and showed that heavy social media use came before lower psychological wellbeing and feelings of loneliness, rather than vice versa,” Twenge says. While that’s probably true, Vannucci and Twenge say the relationship seems to flow both ways-meaning people with anxiety or mood disorders are more likely to use social media compulsively, but that compulsive use may also promote these sorts of negative emotional states. Some experts challenge the cause-and-effect relationship between social media and negative mood, arguing that people who are prone to anxiety or isolation may be more likely to spend a lot of time on social media. ![]() Sites like Snapchat may be less about “performing” than some others-“but these sites go out of style so quickly now that it’s hard for the research to keep up,” she says. “I think young people, especially, look at the so-called ‘highlight reels’ people post on social and compare themselves, so they may feel depressed or negative emotions as a result,” she says. Social media overload may be even more detrimental for teens and adolescents, says Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and author of the forthcoming book iGen. MORE: Why We Shouldn’t Tell Workers When to Unplug “Just being exposed to all of it constantly on our phones could be overwhelming to the brain.” “The idea of communication or technology overload is something else we’re exploring,” she says. On a news-heavy site like Facebook or Twitter, the steady stream of current events headlines and “opinions of other people that you may find disturbing” could cause despair or negative feelings, Vannucci says. On lifestyle-focused sites like Instagram, a user may see a friend’s perfectly framed, glamorous photos and compare herself negatively to those images. “We think social media use may exacerbate stress.”Įxactly how social media does that may depend on which site you’re using. The more time they spent on it per day, “the greater the association with anxiety symptoms and the greater likelihood of an anxiety disorder,” says Anna Vannucci, coauthor of the study and a research associate at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Another 2017 study looked at 18- to 22-year-olds and how social media impacted their anxiety levels. Social media also appears to be stressing people out. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |