Social media study finds new way to improve overall well-being

June 9, 2022 Justin Peters

.A social media study finds new way to improve overall well-being. True, social media may have a positive impact on the world. It has the potential to help people form and strengthen connections.

As a result of social media, students are more inclined to continue their education and progress. And companies may use it to grow their customer base and increase profits.

Using social media on a regular basis is linked to better social well-being, self-rated health, and mental health. This is according to a Harvard study.

Simply being aware of our online presence and maintaining a realistic view of the impact it has on our daily activities is all we need to do. Then we may use it to inspire, educate, demonstrate empathy, and improve our communication skills.

Social media, on the other hand has many mental health specialists worried. According to some, the constant interruptions of social media have contributed to shorter attention spans. Facebook and Twitter users are also more likely to express feelings of stress.

Employee mental health may directly affect your company’s bottom line. More productive workers and greater interactions with consumers may be achieved if employees are more positive in their work environment.

When people are under a lot of pressure at work, it may lead to a variety of physical and mental problems that have the potential to negatively impact their productivity.

Consumer trust in even established media outlets has been significantly eroded. This is as the cry of “fake news” and the dissemination of incorrect information has become ubiquitous.

Online content that misleads or confuses customers can hurt your brand’s reputation. It can make even your most loyal customers angry, and stop them from buying your products or services altogether.

Social media study finds a new way to improve overall well-being

Depression and poor mental health may be linked to excessive use of social media. A recent study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking suggests that one week away from social media platforms like TikTok may help alleviate symptoms of sadness and anxiety.

In prior research, taking a break has been demonstrated to improve overall well-being and reduce feelings of loneliness and despair. As a result, “there is still a dearth of studies that examine the impact of lowering [social media] usage on well-being, sadness and anxiety,” study author Jeffrey Lambert and his colleagues noted in their paper.

Because of this, a one-week experiment was conducted to see how people’s happiness, sadness, and anxiety changed. This is when they stopped using social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok) and when they kept using it as usual.

From social networking networks, word of mouth and local news ads and radio broadcasts, participants were recruited. In order to participate, individuals had to be at least 18 years old, report using social media every day, and be willing to quit for a week.

The ScreenTime app and the ActionDash app were required for participants who used iPhones and Androids, respectively. This is to record their screen time for this study.

Participation was completely unpaid and optional. Each participant was randomly put in either the intervention group or the control group. They were told not to use social media for the whole study.

All participants had one week to complete the survey, in which they supplied proof of how much time they spent on the relevant applications. At the beginning of the study and at the end, participants filled out questionnaires about their well-being, depression, and anxiety.

The Outcome of the Social Media Study

There was an overall increase in well-being ratings in the intervention group compared to the control group. In addition, as compared to the control group, the intervention group had significantly lower levels of despair and anxiety.

According to follow-up studies, the increase in well-being and decrease in depression and anxiety ratings were attributed to individuals reporting less time spent on social media.

A wide range of psychological consequences were shown to be connected with various platforms, according to the study. “It’s possible that cutting down on Twitter and TikTok might mitigate the impact abstinence has on lowering depressive and anxious feelings,” they added.

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More studies demonstrate that social media usage has detrimental effects on mental health and this study adds to the expanding body of evidence.

The authors point to their recruitment strategy as a possible weakness in their study. They argue that they may have gotten better findings if they had only used participants who were otherwise willing to avoid social media.

Social media study finds new way to improve overall well-being.