Can Social Media Affect Your Mental Health? - Video

Find the questionnaire here: Social Media Self Analysis Questionnaire

We have all heard how damaging social media is for our mental health. So there is no surprise to read that the latest trends in Silicon Valley range from digital detox to quitting social media to “dopamine fasting” but the underlying assumption is that stepping away from our phones will make us happier and more fulfilled.

In the past, studies into social media have focused on correlational data and have looked at how the individual’s screen time affects overall well-being. But let’s face it – that just makes sense. The more time you will spend in front of a screen ,the less time you will have to nurture relationships, connecting with others in real life, to exercise and take care of your self, to be mindful about what you eat and in general to pay attention to all the things that helps us live a balanced life.

Whilst it is much easier to look at the existing patterns of use, especially in a society where most of us use digital devices daily, the reliance on correlational data can make it tricky to separate cause-and-effect. Even if the use of social media is linked to a poor quality of life, how can we be certain that this is not because unhappy people use social media more often?

A new paper that was published in Media Psychology suggests that quitting social media, does not necessarily improve our mental health. We are going to go through the study and then have a discussion about it. One thing I want to get out of this is that when we read a headline in the media that says “New psychological study suggests X or Y or Z” don’t just take it at face value. Question Everything.
In this new study, the team from the University of Kansas decided to look at what happens if a group of people completely avoid social media for a set period.

Community and undergraduate participants were assigned to one of five groups. The first group could continue using social media, specifically Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, as normal. The remaining groups were asked to avoid them for periods of 7, 14, 21 or 28 days. To make sure the participants stuck to it, the researchers created accounts to follow their social media profiles. This was to check that they were not posting or liking or commenting on posts during that time.

Over the four weeks, the participants were asked to record daily how much time they had spent doing normal household activities, such as eating, working, watching TV, shopping. They were also sent a short questionnaire designed to measure their happiness and well-being.

Data from 130 people was fed into statistical models to find out whether there were any differences in their well-being on the days that they were on and off social media, and whether those effects depended on the length of time off-line.

What the team discovered was interesting. They found that there was no real effect to staying off social media, no matter how long the participants avoided it. In the conclusion, the researchers stated that the “days when participants were free to use four types of social media and days when they abstained from using social media were indistinguishable in terms of end of day loneliness, affective well-being, and quality of day”.

So that was part about the research. Now let’s discuss about the limitation of it and why when we see any headline about psychological researches in the media we should not take it at face value.

First of all the sample size was quite small, only 130 participants, and to be fair if you read the full paper the team acknowledges that they did not have enough participants. Second, all the participants were from the circles of the university, meaning that at least the educational background of the participants does not vary enough. Thirdly, the researchers relied on the participants willingness to be diligent, truthful and accurate in their recordings of the household activities. Forth, the researchers did create accounts to see if the participants post or like or comment on posts but they didn’t have a way to monitor whether the participants were passively scrolling through social media on their days off, without making posts or replying to others.

So when I first read the title that said “Psychological research suggests that quitting social media does not improve well being” and then went through the actually paper, I thought “really?”. You can really make a statement like that and generalize after having all these limitations? And don’t get me wrong, I’m not demonizing social media here but being precise in what we state when we report psychological papers, can make all the difference in people’s perception.

Social media user behaviour can become a problem and will affect our mental health only when it has reached the point of addiction. So now the question becomes “how will you know that it has become an addiction?”

I will quote Dr. Gabor Mate’s definition of addiction here that says “Addiction is manifested in any behavior that a person craves, finds temporary relief or pleasure in but suffers negative consequences as a result of, and yet has difficulty giving up”.

So think about the times when you are not using social media. Do you crave the connection through it? Do you crave the likes and comments? Then think about how you feel when you see your likes raising, when you see more comments on your posts, do you find any pleasure there? Be honest with yourself! Then think about how this affects your relationships, the time you spend taking care of your self, exercising or think of any other negative impact social media have in your life. And lastly think how difficult would it be for you to give it up.
I have created a simple questionnaire that you can download, go through and check whether you tend to manifest social media addictive behavior or not.

Find it here: Social Media Self Analysis Questionnaire

We have to see addiction not as a weakness of character or disease. Addiction is the last resort of a person’s strong will to solve the problem of pain. That’s what it all is. It’s a really bold attempt to sooth deep emotional pain.

So again, as per Dr Mate, the question becomes not why the addiction, but why the pain?

I’m Dimitris and thanks for watching this. Click the subscribe button to be part of Design Thyself. I post videos around psychology, psychotherapy and on how to live a well-lived life. Don’t forget to click on the bell so that you’re notified when a video comes out.

Always question everything.