People who spend a lot of time of social media are often thought of as seeking approval and likely to be unhappy in real life. However, there is little scientific evidence for any direct connection between social media use and wellbeing. In fact, several review studies have found that any reported effects of social media use on wellbeing is weak.
The absence of any direct effect has led to speculations that the association might be modulated by some aspects of social media use. For example, some studies suggest that the type of social media activity – passive vs. active (eg., viewing and liking posts versus creating posts), might be the crucial factor. Others suggest that too little or too much social media use leads to deterioration of wellbeing, while optimal use enhances wellbeing. Still others suggest that how social media affects wellbeing depends on the individual.
A new study examined several possible ways in which social media use could affect wellbeing using longitudinal surveys. The surveys conducted among Dutch secondary school adolescents measured changes in life satisfaction and several aspects of social media use to see if the two were connected.
- Is life satisfaction connected with type of social media use?
“Active social media use enhances one’s social network, which may increase social capital and feelings of connectedness. Conversely, because people tend to present themselves in an overly appealing way on social media, passive social media use implicates exposure to unrealistically flattering portrayals of others. “
Overall, the study found that the intensity of social media use was not associated with changes in their life satisfaction. This was the case regardless of whether the social media activity was passive (viewing content) or active (making and posting content).
- Does too much or too little social media use lead to poor life satisfaction?
“In contemporary society where (social) media are integrated into the daily lives of many young people, both very little as well as excessive SMU may be harmful to wellbeing.”
According to one hypothesis, too much or too little social media use is detrimental to wellbeing, but an optimal use enhances well being. But the longitudinal study found no evidence to support this hypothesis.
- Does the association between social media use and life satisfaction depend on Individual Differences?
“According to the Differential Susceptibility to Media effects Model (DSMM), media effects depend on individuals’ susceptibility to media effects. One characteristic that may make individuals more susceptible to media effects may be adolescents’ tendency to compare themselves to others, that is, their social comparison tendency.”
The study found that while social media activities were associated with decreases in life satisfaction for some adolescents, it was associated with increases in life satisfaction for others. However, the tendency of individuals to compare themselves to more successful peers on social media (social comparison tendency) did not explain this variation.
According to researchers who conducted the study, findings indicate that the relationship between social media use and wellbeing is more complex than we imagine. Read more about the study by Maartje Boer, Gonneke Stevens, Catrin Finkenauer, and Regina van den Eijnden here.
